on October 17, 2016 / by Downtown Dallas Inc. / in Blog Posts, Dine and Drink, Doing Business

This blog is part of a special series featuring winners of Downtown Dallas Inc.’s Live Like a Local contest, which asked for locals to submit mobile friendly, self-guiding experiences on the Guidrr app that showcase their #mydtd journeys. Mai Lyn Ngo is featured today, along with a link to download her free, winning fitness/health experience: Downtown Workout Date.

Live Like a Local contest winner Mai Lyn Ngo (pronounced May Lyn No) is a Dallas blogger and small business owner working at the intersection of good food and a healthy lifestyle.

Since she travels around town in workout gear, and has a petite and youthful build, she is often taken for younger than her years. This is why it’s all the more cool what this Asian millennial entrepreneur is doing for the serious growth of fitness as a lifestyle business community in DFW.

Born and raised in East Dallas, Mai Lyn grew up in an Asian household and was raised to focus on a great education and a stable corporate career. She attended SMU where she studied journalism and minored in Chinese and English and then began working a corporate job.

“But I always loved writing, and blogging was a creative outlet from my traditional role. A friend suggested I start a blog for fun and I would use it to sharpen my writing skills and get reacquainted with a content management system,” she says. “I’ve always loved both being active and good food so these topics were a natural fit.”

Fast-forward a few years, and Mai Lyn’s story started to make a turn toward her career today as a full time fitness influencer and event manager. “We’re the generation of the side hustle. I started blogging about fitness studios and my love of food. I wanted others to feel comfortable arriving at a studio for the first time, and know all the details, like the style, the level of intensity, even if they stocked water! Plus, I wanted people to enjoy fitness as a lifestyle, not feel they need to deprive themselves.”

At the intersection of food and fitness, Mai Lyn began building an engaged local audience with her popular @deepfriedfit account on Instagram and her blog, both of which feature her local experiences. “At the same time, I was looking for community around my interest in fitness blogging and food, and discovered others shared my passions and questions.” She decided to create a membership community around fitness enthusiasts and bloggers under the brand Dallas Fitness Ambassadors. Now more than 50 strong, the group is a big part of Mai Lyn’s professional life as she teaches and grows the community around successful ways to build online influence and a sustainable brand. “We share ideas on how to post authentically, how to work well with brands, and how to grow our communities while supporting each other,” she says.

As the founder of Dallas Fitness Ambassadors, Mai Lyn creates community around local fitness options

When Mai Lyn isn’t blogging and posting, she’s out there exploring Dallas and sharing her discoveries, making her a true #mydtd ambassador.

“I recommend taking the DART and getting off at St Paul or Akard, and letting yourself walk and get a little lost.” ~ Mai Lyn Ngo

“Downtown Dallas like a scavenger hunt; there’s so many cool unique spots – parks and coffee shops, random stairs, train stations – you can take 20,000 steps simply by walking somewhere … fitness and exploration go together,” she says. “I recommend taking the DART and getting off at St Paul or Akard, and letting yourself walk and get a little lost.”

Don’t miss Mai Lyn’s winning free experience, Downtown Workout Date, on the Guidrr app, a perfect way to explore downtown, either solo or with a friend. Download it for free here on the free Guidrr iPhone app.  

Thanks for being a #mydtdcontest winner and #downtowndallas ambassador, Mai Lyn. We’re looking forward to more of your downtown fitness journeys hitting the Guidrr app.

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