Vertical Fix

Thomas took over as owner of Vertical Fix in June of 2018.  He has been in just about every position possible since Vertical Fix opened in May of 2015.  He has worked his way through the organization starting as a student, becoming a volunteer, assisting other instructors, becoming an instructor, and utimately owning the business.   He's passionate about dance trapeze and shares that joy through random performances and teaching at the studio.  Thomas also owns a landscape company that keeps him busy during the day.  He specializes in desert landscapes and botanical collections.

Brent and Alisha are a circus artist duo named “Edge Acrobatics” who specialize in dynamic partner acrobatics. Since establishing their partnership in 2014, they have trained with and learned from some of the best acrobats in the world. They currently reside in Phoenix but escape the heat training at the San Diego Circus Center under renown teacher Jean-Luc Martin. Dabbling in anything they can from tramp wall to duo trapeze, their primary focus is in hand balancing and hand-to-hand.

Alisha’s love for acrobatics started at a young age as a competitive gymnast and eventually a collegiate cheerleader on her University’s all-girl and co-ed team. After graduating with a degree in Commercial Recreation and Event Management, Alisha kept her movement background up with rock climbing, yoga, and acro. It wasn’t until she met Brent that she decided to escape the 80-hour work week to train, perform, and teach full time. She currently is a USAG certified gymnastics coach and co-owns Edge Acrobatics teaching tumbling, handstands, and acro.

Brent has been teaching and sharing his passion for movement for the majority of his life. Starting his love for movement with countless hours spent at his martial arts studio and even teaching martial arts at a very young age. He moved his focus to rock climbing and began to coach the Rock Phenoms, a competitive youth team, for the past 5 years. Alongside coaching, Brent runs Edge Acrobatics teaching and performing acro around the valley.

Edge Acrobatics currently teaches and performs around the valley and loves sharing the discipline of acro and hand balancing through workshops, events, and private lessons.

From a child, the art of body movement always intrigued MoNika. From Wushu at age 6, to ballet at age 13, he always pushed for more. His high school ballet teacher introduced him to a local circus company Pendulum Aerial Arts, where he trained over the next 12 years. MoNika joined Pendulum Aerial Arts at age 14 and went to be with the company until the age of 25. Throughout the years with Pendulum, he grew with the company as the years went on. The timeline follows starting off in the after school kids program, the recreation classes, the youth program, the Pre-professional 4 year program, Principle company member, head coach, director of education and assistance artistic director.

But MoNika wanted more, and began taking opportunities to travel abroad, which led him to Hong Kong. There, he was introduced to pole dance, and in just a few years, he placed 2nd in the world and 1st in the nation.

The summer of 2015, he left his home in Oregon and traveled south to California and then to Arizona. While maintaining his training, he immersed himself with yoga, Pilates, conditioning, technique, and overall health. Through diverse instructing, philosophy, and continuous research, he wants his student’s body movements to be a reflection of a healthy core.

MoNika has never let fear and limits intimidate him from achieving more, making him broad-range artist. MoNika has worked with: Cirque du Soleil, Pendulum Aerial Arts, Aerial Arts Academy, Oregon Ballet Theater, Oregon Gymnastics Academy, Nike, Adidas, Columbia Sportswear, Lululemon Athletica, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Atlantis, Intel, Engelbert Strauss, Les Farfadias, and many others. MoNika’s genres include: Wushu, ballet, aerial circus arts, modern &contemporary dance, pole dance & competition, contortion, jazz, tap, hip-hop, gymnastics, Pilates, and yoga. He has performed charity events, collaborated with artists from countless nations and backgrounds, and is an instructor in nearly all genres.

MoNika wants the best for his students and will always make sure the students have a strong foundation in the discipline they choose. May it be in yoga, circus, dance, Pilates, etc, a strong foundation is key to progress as an artist, and athlete. Along with his focus on foundation, he continues to challenge his students in and out of the studio with his teaching methods. He loves to share his knowledge to those who have the hunger to learn and who has an open heart and mind.

Nichole is a professional aerialist, mermaid performer, aerial arts instructor, and Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200). She found her calling in aerial arts in August 2016 and specializes in aerial silks. She loves sharing her passion of aerial arts with her students. She strives to push her students to reach their goals through hard work and dedication while keeping safety and injury prevention in mind at all times.

When she isn't teaching yoga or aerial, Nichole performs professionally as an aerialist as well as a professional mermaid at the Arizona Renaissance Festival each year. She has experience in character acting, cosplay/costuming, swimming mermaid, aerial silks, lyra, trapeze, straps, and aerial bartending.

Laura began her aerial training in 2015 and at a studio in Southern California, where she focused primarily on sling and silks. She then transferred to learning skills on lyra and most recently on trapeze after relocating to Phoenix, Arizona and joining the crew here at Vertical Fix. She is also currently a doctoral student at the Hugh Downs School of Communication in Arizona State University.

Laura has been teaching aerial since 2016, where she taught youth and adults at Urban Aerial Fitness and McCoy Rigby Arts in California. She looks forward to continuing to grow as an aerialist and is excited to share her passion of aerial arts with her students.

Scott discovered partner acrobatics in 2016, and since then has spent over a thousand hours practicing the discipline. He has extensive experience with L-based acro, with an emphasis on basing. He began formally teaching partner acrobatics in 2018, and joined the Vertical Fix teaching staff in 2019.