Iva is the owner of iROW Fitness Studio and teaches private lessons as well. She started rowing at the age of 10, with the support of both of her parents, former rowers. At the age of 13, Iva won her first medal in a single scull - bronze - at the Bulgarian Nationals. From there, she went on to achieve more than 6 Bulgarian National wins before the age of 18.

In 1997 at the Junior Worlds Championship in Belgium, Iva was recruited to row in America for the University of Southern California. With the help of a translator, she accepted the chance to come to California and row for USC. Iva led the team to several USC victories including a win in the Cal Cup in the San Diego Crew Classic, as well as a win in the coxed four at the NCAA National Championships in 1998. In addition, Iva had some major individual accomplishments while at USC, including a world record setting win at the CRASH-B World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston, where she won the open women’s race with a time of 6:37.9 at the age of 18.

Iva turned to coaching in 2002 as an assistant for the USC team and their coaching staff. Through coaching the novice women at USC she discovered a love and talent for teaching and ever since then coaching has become a permanent part her life, initially through coaching groups and private lessons for the former Lions Rowing Club in Marina Del Rey, then expanding to other clubs and teams such as the Marina Aquatic Center, California Yacht Club and Sports Club LA, to eventually opening iROW Fitness Studio in 2009 and establishing her own practice for private clients of all age groups and skill levels.

Liz came to us in the summer of 2011 after two seasons as an assistant coach with the UCLA women. Prior to her time with the Bruins, she was active in the rowing community of Rochester New York where she served for seven seasons as the Freshman women’s coach at the University of Rochester. She was also integral to the development of the Genesee Rowing Club, which provides competitive, recreational, and learn to row opportunities for masters rowers. Liz has been a competitive rower herself since 1996 and currently races with BMA boat club where 2012 has been a successful season highlighted by a Gold medal at the San Diego Crew Classic, a Silver medal at the Head of the Charles Regatta and 4 medals at the USRowing Masters Nationals Regatta. Liz is currently a member of LARC rowing club.

Shannon started rowing when she was 11 years old in Upstate New York. She rowed all through middle school and high school for Saratoga Rowing Association (SRA) in Saratoga Springs, NY. She attended Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles, CA, earning a BS in Environmental Science, on a full athletic scholarship for their NCAA Division I women's rowing team. After graduating in 2012, Shannon moved back to New York to attend graduate school. A job opportunity brought her back to LA in 2016 and allowed her to get involved with and attend more alumni rowing events at LMU. She re-entered the rowing world in 2018 when she joined the Marina Aquatic Center (MAC) coaching staff as the assistant varsity men's coach.

Michele Bond is an exercise physiologist with 20 years of experience designing and instructing exercise programs for all levels of fitness, including diseased populations. She has a Master’s degree in Kinesiology (Exercise Physiology focus) with her area of research focused on the fascial system of the body (the soft connective tissue). Originally a cardio endurance coach, Michele furthered her studies in human movement and began to help people correct muscle imbalances to exercise more efficiently. Designing and implementing weight bearing, cardio, and flexibility programs to follow this principle is what her practice is based on. Michele’s belief is that anyone who partakes in an exercise program or sport should really be aware of the scientific principles that the body truly functions on. She provides this information in a manner that is easy to understand, enjoy, appreciate and most of all, apply immediately.

Nick Nistal started rowing at the age of 16 in Miami at the Miami Rowing Club. During his time there, he placed 5th in the men’s double at Youth Nationals and finished with 6:19 for 2k in the erg. He was eventually awarded an athletic scholarship to row at Northeastern University where he competed alongside some of the fastest crew s in the country. During his time at Northeastern, he went on to pull a personal best on the erg of 5:59 at Crash B’s Indoor World Championship, placing him in the top 10 in the country (in the collegiate category). He was invited to the U-23 national team training camp his senior year. He fell just short of making the team, but continued training and competing in hopes of making the Olympics for several years. He has now been coaching the sport for 10+ years at all different levels. Nick is very excited to have the opportunity to share his expertise and motivate every individual at iROW Fitness Studio. He has now been coaching the sport for 10+ years at all different levels. Nick is very excited to have the opportunity to share his expertise and motivate every individual at iROW Fitness Studio.