When Alex Baird (2016), Avery Parker (2017), and Ki’anie (Ki) Brooks (2013) first crossed paths at Baker University as Wildcat football teammates, they couldn't have predicted that years later they'd be running one of the Kansas City area's most celebrated gyms together as business owners.
What began as shared experiences on the football field, as track and field teammates, and around campus, has grown into District One Athletics, a 24/7 community-based fitness facility in Overland Park that was recently voted Best Gym in Kansas City by The Pitch.
However, for the three Baker graduates, success has never been measured solely by awards or memberships. It has been about creating a place where people feel like they belong – just as Baker did during their college years.
"Our main goal is to always provide a home-like facility for all of our members," Baird said. "The community and people we have grown with are what I love most. This space has created a true family atmosphere.”
The journey to opening District One Athletics wasn't something they planned during their college years.
After graduation, each built a career as a private trainer, working independently before eventually finding themselves under the same roof at a fitness facility in Overland Park, KS. As they spent more time together, they realized the chemistry and trust they had built years earlier at Baker remained just as strong.
"We started to realize the similarities and camaraderie that we had built amongst each other," Baird said. "We decided we had enough experience and enough of a community to open a facility our clients could truly call home.
Their shared Baker experience became one of the business's greatest strengths.
"Having the same alma mater and sharing the Baker experience together made our business model even stronger," Baird said.
Those relationships were built long before they became business partners at District One Athletics.
All three Baker graduates earned bachelor's degrees in Exercise Science while balancing academics with athletics and campus involvement. Between them, they competed in football and track and field, served as orientation leaders and campus tour guides, and embraced traditions that still bring smiles today—from football Saturdays and STAG (“Staying Together After Graduation”, a tradition that brings together current students and alumni to celebrate graduation and the end of a school year) to late-night walks across campus with their roommates.
Each of them carries a favorite Baker memory.
For Baird, who was a NAIA scholar athlete for the Wildcats who went on to obtain his Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from the University of Indianapolis , it was being named Outstanding Senior at graduation alongside his wife, Callie.
Parker, a four-year starter and a three-time First Team All-Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) cornerback for the Wildcats, as well as five-time conference champion and seven-time nationals' qualifier in track and field events, remembers being a part of the Baker football national championship team.
Brooks, who moved from San Diego to Kansas to attend Baker to run track and play football, reflects on celebrating consecutive HACC track and field championships.
Today, the lessons they learned as Wildcats continue to shape how they lead.
Their vision for District One Athletics is simple: continue building a welcoming community while growing responsibly. They hope one day to expand into a larger facility and eventually open a second location, but not at the expense of the culture they've worked so hard to create.
"We hope to exceed the comfort of our space," Baird said. "But no matter how much we grow, we always want District One to feel like home."
For three former teammates, that's a mission rooted in the same values they discovered years ago at Baker: relationships, community, and investing in others.
