Baldwin City, KS has a new healthy option in town located at 820 High St. for those looking to add workouts to their routine or just stop by for a refreshing juice beverage. Sunflower Juice & Fitness Owner Ondria Niehoff was looking to create a space to help individuals build up their lifestyle habits through healthy living.

Neihoff comes from a health background with her undergraduate degree in exercise science and experience as a personal trainer. The idea of holistic wellness through food and fitness came about when she was hit with a variety of medical issues.

“I have an autoimmune disease and a couple of other health issues, so after dealing with the health industry and what they were wanting me to do, it just wasn’t for me,” Neihoff said.

Soon after she discovered holistic medicine and clean eating, others started coming to her asking for her help after exhausting all other options.

“I am from Chicago, so a lot of people from home were calling and texting me ‘hey I have all these problems, do you have any solutions for them?’” Neihoff explained. “Then more moms here in town were popping up with health issues related to them personally or their children and I started offering solutions to them.”

It wasn’t until after Niehoff started providing individuals she was close to with healthy tips that she realized she should expand these services to more people.

“My husband was like, ‘you should just do something small since you’re doing it out of the house anyways,’” Neihoff said.

Junior Exercise Science Student Mason Dukes reiterates the importance of what places like Sunflower Juice & Fitness mean to Baldwin City.

“Coming from my background and what I learned here Baker, I think it’s important to allow people to have better nutritional products or people who know what they’re talking about when it comes to nutrition. This is important because we have a lot of athletes here,” Dukes stated. “Being able to replenish your body the right way is super crucial.”

Baldwin City Resident Kristin Walters agrees that Sunflower Juice & Fitness provides the community with endless benefits to improve healthy lifestyle habits.

“I think that Sunflower Juice & Fitness is a great addition to Baldwin City. It has everything from fitness classes to juices under one roof. Residents of Baldwin should check it out for a new kind of lifestyle,” Walters said. “The juices have amazing taste and are made with all-natural ingredients with no added sugar.”

Neihoff is currently earning her degree online through Cornell University to become a holistic nutritionist on top of running Sunflower Juice & Fitness. Once she earns the degree, she plans on adding appointments to her services to further discuss ways to improve health and wellness on a one-on-one basis.

Neihoff mentions that not dealing with internal problems of the body can contribute to a vicious cycle.

“You’re just masking things but not fixing the root of the problem, people don’t care to take the time to do that, so I’ll take the time for you,” Neihoff said.

One of the biggest challenges Neihoff faced when opening the business was fitting a wide variety of needs.

“Right now we just have juices, so I really just focused on that and eventually will have more added, but it’s frustrating because everything that I like not everybody likes. I have to try to find a balance,” Neihoff explained.

Neihoff hopes to serve Baker students with the offered fitness classes and also with the five healthy juices her business currently has to offer.

“I want to be versatile to fit everybody’s needs and also really focus in on the Baker kids having a place they can come into and get moving. Fitness plays into mental health majorly,” Neihoff said.

Taxes are included in the prices, which means all fitness classes are a flat rate of eight dollars and juices are seven dollars. Sunflower Juice & Fitness is a starting point for those looking to make a change to their health and offers clean juice varieties for those looking for a healthy alternative on the go.

Currently, Sunflower Juice & Fitness is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with 30-minute circuit classes at 9 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and HIIT classes on Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. As summer approaches, Niehoff plans to extend business operation days to Monday through Saturday with a wider range of fitness classes and juice options.