Alumna Mia Kairouz and partner Simão Santa Barbara opened VeloFit in Amherstburg in July 2026 (PROVIDED BY M. KAIROUZ/University of Windsor)
By Kate Hargreaves
At just 24, Mia Kairouz (BA ’25) jokes that she’s already lived many lives.
She’s been a lifeguard, a first responder, an endurance athlete, a personal trainer and a cancer survivor.
In July, she became an entrepreneur, opening VeloFit Performance and Fitness Coaching in Amherstburg, with her partner Simão Santa Barbara.
“In general, my goal is to help people,” Kairouz says.
“I want to bring people together. If it’s physical, mental health, fitness and wellness or if they’re medically having a problem, I want to be there. That’s just what my focus is.”
While she’s long had this passion for helping others, Kairouz didn’t always know what her trajectory would be.
When she enrolled at the University of Windsor, her interest in working as a first responder drew her to a double major in forensics and criminology.
At the same time, she continued to pursue her interests in fitness and health.
“I was stuck in this moment of asking how do I combine all of my interests,” she says. “And instead of choosing one, I wanted to figure out how I could create a path where I have all of it.”
As a student, Kairouz joined the Student Medical Response Service, which she attributes with giving her the knowledge and confidence she has today.
“It taught me a lot about the importance of repetition and relying on your training and the training of your peers,” she says.
“It’s about teamwork and learning to stay focused when you’re really stressed and there’s a lot going on. You have your training, you have your planning and you rely on your team.”
In her work as a personal trainer, Kairouz says her first-responder experience also taught her to adjust client plans in the moment when things aren’t working as expected.
It also reinforced the value of understanding fitness training itself is a team endeavour, with a client’s family doctor, specialist or physiotherapist all part of their team.
While the move from forensics to owning a gym may seem like a left turn, Kairouz says her interest in fitness and health began years before she enrolled in her undergrad degree and helped keep her motivated throughout.
Kairouz first learned to lift weights in Grade 8 and says the gym helped her build confidence not just physically but mentally.
When she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Grade 10, she was forced to take time off not only from school but also from her fitness routine. Once in remission and cancer free, Kairouz returned to school in Grade 11 but says she felt lost at the time.
“It’s almost like you have your life back, but you don’t have everything back," she recalls. "It doesn’t feel the same.”
It was the gym that helped her get through this period and supported her return to fitness and confidence after some setbacks during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
“I’ve had four trainers throughout my life,” she says. “And my trainers have helped me a lot, not just that physical aspect but also as a friend and a mentor. I really loved how they helped and guided me, and that is what inspired me in this field of first responding and being a personal trainer.”
This guidance was crucial for Kairouz as she acknowledges that her own journey has been far from linear.
“It’s about persevering and pushing through,” she says.
Her latest venture is VeloFit, where she trains clients and runs the back end of the business. She also works part time as a first aid and CPR instructor and has returned to college to become a paramedic.
Owning her own business while juggling so many responsibilities has been both exciting and nerve-wracking, Kairouz says.
“A lot of time, you make a plan and deadlines, and then it gets extended because sometimes you’re not only relying on yourself. You’re relying on contractors and other people, and you have to have patience with things not going your way all the time.”
Luckily, she is not alone in the venture as she both co-owns and works alongside Santa Barbara at VeloFit. While both train clients in the space, he also provides fascial stretch therapy and bicycle fitting services, while Kairouz is getting certified to teach Pilates.
“We have clients interested in bodybuilding, we have endurance sports, we have people doing their first marathons or Ironmans or maybe someone’s very new to the gym and they just want to learn how to lift weights safely,” Kairouz says.
“We wanted a gym that focuses on the individual. It’s all about how we can make them feel better about themselves, where they can have a private space, so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. When you come in for a session, it’s yours.”
With a shared passion for fitness and endurance sports, Kairouz and Santa Barbara met while both working as trainers at a corporate gym.
While she may not have seen herself becoming an entrepreneur at that time, Kairouz says that her path to VeloFit has taught her the importance of anchoring life in what interests you.
“I was very focused when I first started university on what job title I need to have. Who am I or what am I going to be?” she says. “But who you are does not have to be defined as a job or a title.”
The sentiment fits Kairouz, whose path has already encompassed many roles.
She’s a trainer, entrepreneur, athlete, survivor, partner, mentor, coach, first responder, alumna and a student — and soon, she hopes, an Ironman.
“I’m going to be doing a 70.3 half-Ironman triathlon,” she says. “But the big goal is that by next year I’m doing full Ironmans, and the ultimate goal is I want to get to Kona, Hawaii.”
For most people, completing an Ironman triathlon — consisting of a 3.9-km open-water swim, followed by a 180.2-km bike ride and then a full marathon — is itself a daunting task, let alone qualifying for the world championships in Kona.
For Kairouz, though, it’s just the next goal in a long list of accomplishments, and she’s only getting started.
This profile is part of a special series celebrating Alumni Week. Discover events and more at uwindsor.ca/alumni.
