Jason Harris
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and owner of Corio Fit, fitness model, entrepreneur, and influencer Katie Corio has continuously grown her empire by helping others reach and maintain a realistic and healthy lifestyle through years of experience. Along with her personalized Corio Fit program, Katie is also creative at heart with her athletic clothing line, Corio Active she created based on needs she felt were not being met by other similar companies.
Helping people of all ages, stages, and levels of experience, Katie’s personally tailored and one-of-a-kind Corio Fit program is the ultimate life-changing call to action to better yourself. Katie treats and respects each and every individual client through Corio Fit by providing personalized workout plans, video demonstrations for every exercise, customized 7-day meal plans, exclusive video content, 24/7 support, and much more, as Katie knows that a healthy and manageable lifestyle looks different on each person.
Along with Corio Fit, Katie has also created Corio Active. This clothing line caters to those who love to stay active and break a sweat but is as comfortable as traditional loungewear. Comprised of several collections, including Active, Lounge, Chill Zone, Primal Instinct, and Serenity, the collections offer a mixture of several pieces, including bras, shorts, crew neck sweaters, joggers, leggings, hats, and more; Corio Active prides itself on having something for everyone.
Born in New Mexico, America, Katie Corio moved to California in 2012. At 18 years old, she began studying Kinesiology at the San Diego State University in California. It wasn’t long until she became fascinated by the physiques on display in her newly adopted home. Katie became aware of the health consciousness in California and noticed her diet wasn’t benefiting her body. In 2015 at 21 years old and after years of training, Katie began competing as a bikini athlete and would walk away from her first competition with the 1ST place trophy in the 2015 NPC Ferrigno Legacy. She would then go on to compete in powerlifting competitions, and in 2017 would earn 1ST place at the USPA Powerlifting Smash Weight Open.
Now at 29 years old, Katie is flying higher than ever with her successful company and clothing line and is in the midst of planning her wedding to her soon-to-be husband, Weston Boucher. When she is not busy running her fitness and clothing empire for training, she can be found spending time with her fiancé living her best life as she continues to work to help others become the best version of themselves they can be.
StarCentral Magazine recently caught up with Katie to discuss her journey in the fitness industry, and here’s what went down:
Can you tell us more about yourself? How did you get started in the industry?
I’ve always been pretty athletically inclined and drawn to being active. Growing up, I dabbled in almost everything–– gymnastics, ballet, soccer, tennis, and volleyball, to name a few. Volleyball is the one that stuck through the longest. I played on a traveling club team and my high school team until I tore my meniscus in my right knee at a tournament. The doctor told me I should avoid the sport from that point forward, and volleyball was laid to rest for the next seven years or so. This is initially how I was introduced to weight training. My physical therapist told me that the knee problem was caused by being extremely quad-dominant. He said if I worked on strengthening my hamstrings and glutes, I would eventually be able to play again. Happy to report that now, nine years and lots of leg-work later, I enjoy playing beach volleyball 4x a week with my fiancé Weston! It just goes to show you that getting a second opinion is so important regarding physical ailments. Had I listened to that original doctor, I would not be nearly as active as I am today.
I did the exercises my therapist recommended and rehabbed my knee quite a bit. By the time I got to college, the urge to play volleyball again was on the back burner. I found myself falling into the typical “college lifestyle.” Going from a lifetime of being active, playing sports, and eating healthy… to drinking, late nights, poor food choices, and ZERO exercise. This led to gaining the “freshman fifteen.” One day, I remember looking at myself in the mirror while trying on bikinis and thinking how different I looked. I didn’t look terrible, but I definitely wasn’t in the fit shape I had been used to. That’s when I decided I need to make some real changes. I hired a personal trainer who competed in Figure competitions (@janelle4health), and she exposed me to a part of fitness that was unknown but fascinating to me, and I was so inspired. I made it my goal to start training for my first NPC Bikini Competition.
I’ve done three NPC Bikini Competitions and one USPA Powerlifting competition since then. For those who don’t know what either is, NPC Bikini is the least-muscular level of bodybuilding for women. It requires a proportionate, lean, toned, and feminine physique… not to mention LOTS of sass while on stage!
USPA Powerlifting is a competition where you perform three exercises (squat, deadlift, and bench press) on a platform, lifting the heaviest weight you can with perfect form. You compete against other people in your weight class. There are experts to judge your form, and everyone in the crowd cheers you on.
Both competitions give an addicting adrenaline rush and an incredible sense of accomplishment.
However, training for both types of competition is extremely difficult and completely different. For Bikini, you train to look the best you possibly can, and strength doesn’t matter at all. For Powerlifting, it doesn’t matter what you look like, only how strong you are compared to your body weight.
Here is how I placed in my competitions:
1st Place Novice Bikini Class B, NPC Spartan Championships, 2013
3rd Place Open Bikini Class B, NPC Spartan Championships, 2013
1st Place Bikini Class B, NPC Ferrigno Legacy, 2015
NPC Jr. Nationals 2016, Bikini Class B (4th callouts, no place)
1st Place Women’s 140 weight class, USPA Powerlifting 2017 –– my totals for the meet were: 296lb squat, 374.5lb deadlift, 170.75lb bench press (total of 841.25lbs, 381.58 kilos)
I have since earned my certifications as a NASN-Certified Expert-Level Personal Trainer and a NASN-Licensed Sports Nutritionist and graduated with my B.S. in Kinesiology.
In the past ten years, my fitness career has taken off–– I’ve been on three magazine covers, worked out with Lou Ferrigno on a TV show called Celebrity Sweat (the original incredible hulk and Arnold’s biggest competitor back in the day), where he let me beat him in an arm wrestling contest. I trained thousands of people through CorioFit’s programs and eBooks, partnered with charitable organizations to raise money for good causes and launched my own women’s activewear line.
I love achieving my own personal fitness goals, and feel driven to help others achieve their goals as well. Whether working with people through coaching or simply sharing something that helps others in their journey to health & wellness, I want to use my platform to make a positive impact. Life is so much better when you are fit and healthy! I firmly believe that feeding your body good nutrition and staying active & strong leads to improved mental and emotional wellbeing.
How did you develop an interest in fitness, and what drove you to pursue that passion onto social media?
After experiencing how much the body can change with different nutrition and training, I fell in love with fitness. My business as a trainer bloomed organically as I continued on my own journey. Now it is my passion to help others adopt a healthy lifestyle and improve their lives for the better!
What do you like most about being an influencer?
I love the community we’ve built across my platforms. Everyone is supportive of each other and encouraging. I feel like I have a little family with the people who follow me on socials. Connecting with them is my favorite part of what I do.
In what way has social media changed your life?
Social media has allowed me to start a business, connect with hundreds of thousands of people, and make a huge global impact. It’s launched my career in ways that would have been near impossible otherwise.
What are some of the difficulties of being in the industry?
Although amazing in ways, social media can also be equally negative at times. I miss a real face-to-face human connection, and I get sick of the screens. The negative comments get overwhelming at times too. But I’ve learned to use them as fuel to keep going stronger and stronger.
Can you tell us more about Corio Fit?
Corio Fit is unlike your basic fitness app because it is 100% personalized and each program is written by me, for each individual. When you sign up, I will create your personalized program according to your goals and current fitness level. Then you’ll check in with me every two weeks and I will tweak your program depending on your progress. We have a big community on FB of Corio Fit members where we all encourage and support each other, post transformations and motivation and keep each other accountable. I love seeing the members of the Corio Fit group communicate and bond with each other! It’s like a family. I also host new challenges a few times each year– the biggest being our annual New Year’s challenge, where you can win many prizes.
What makes Corio Active different from its competitors?
It’s important to me that Corio Active gives back— I started the brand with the eventual goal of being a totally non-profit and philanthropic brand. I want to donate the proceeds from each launch to various good and charitable causes. I want people who wear the brand to feel like they are part of something bigger and that they are making a difference, while also feeling and looking their best!
What are your future plans? Inside your career or out of it.
I am getting married this summer, which is so exciting! So I am focused on family in this season of life, preparing for this wedding and hopefully having a baby soon after. I hope to continue my career and stay passionate about helping people. Future plans include writing a book and accomplishing my next fitness goal– a marathon!
Jason Harris
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