“He’s kind of a big deal,” Ali says with a laugh. “He has a lot of fans.”
Ali had no idea he was a big deal when they started dating. She was a student
at East Carolina University. He was a pro rider on the BMX circuit, when Greenville
was home to some of the best freestyle riders in the world.
“He had told me he rode bikes, but I thought he was just another college stu-dent,”
Ali says. “The thing about Ryan, he’s never one to tell you about his acco-lades.
It never really came up. The funny part was when he dropped me off at my
apartment, as soon as he left there was knock knock knock on the door. I lived
next to a group of guys. They were like, ‘Ali, did Ryan Nyquist just drop you off?’
I was like, ‘Oh, you have a class together?’ They said, ‘Ali, he’s on ESPN like every
other day.’”
Further confirmation came when Ali traveled with Ryan to an X Games compe-tition
in Philadelphia.
“We got back to his car, and he had love notes from all these women,” she says.
“I remember thinking, ‘This is really funny.’ But then it goes away because he’s
such an average Joe. He drives a 2001 Dodge Dakota pickup that has a different
color tailgate. It’s just this beater truck, and it’s his favorite thing. I love that about
him.”
“ SOME GUYS ARE STARTING TO REALIZE THAT I SHOW UP. THEY MAY NOT KNOW MY NAME BUT THEY KNOW ME AS After they were married the couple stayed in Greenville, where Ryan had
built and operated an indoor facility called The Unit. They moved to Santa Cruz,
California, when his mother became ill, but after nine years the Nyquists were
ready to return to North Carolina.
Ryan thought a return to Greenville would be ideal, but Ali had a different plan.
“After living in Santa Cruz and being at the beach and enjoying marine life, we
didn’t want to give that up,” she says. “Wilmington seemed like a great spot.”
They chose it because it’s on the coast, it’s a great place to raise their family,
and the health-conscious vibe was right to implement Ali’s dream of opening a
boutique fitness studio.
She doesn’t have her husband’s awards and accolades, but Ali is also an ath-lete.
She’s an accomplished distance runner and triathlete. She’s even completed
an Ironman-distance triathlon — a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a
26.2 mile run.
“I like to push myself and try things that are going to challenge me,” she says.
“I got into triathlons, and that turned into half Ironman distance and the full
Ironman distance. After training for so long, I wanted to get into coaching. I enjoy
helping somebody else cross the finish line.”
Her studio’s primary focus will be on rhythm-based indoor cycling, fitness
classes set to a rock-and-roll beat.
“She made me get certified to be an instructor, so I’ll be in there teaching
classes,” Ryan says.
His primary focus, though, is pursuing his Olympic dream. BMX freestyle will
debut at the Tokyo Games in 2020.
At age 39, Ryan is an elder statesman in a youth-oriented sport. Older athletes
can thrive in extreme sports — 34-year-old Kelly Clark placed fourth in the women’s
60
WBM june 2018
Ryan Nyquist can often be seen at the Ogden Skatepark,
practicing the tricks he hopes will earn him a spot on the
U.S. BMX freestyle team for the 2020 Olympic Games.
Opposite, far right: Ali and Ryan Nyquist with their boys
Jameson, Tristan and Finn at the Kure Beach Pier last
summer.