Who We Are: Stacked began with a simple belief: hydration should meet the demands of real training. Too many products stop short, focusing on either salt or sugar, without addressing the full needs of performance. We set out to create something different. We are a company built on integrity and science, committed to making strength accessible to anyone willing to show up and put in the work.
What We Stand For: We believe strength is built in the chaos, in the setbacks, and in the comebacks. It is not about chasing perfection. It is about stacking progress one choice at a time. Our brand stands for inclusion and grit. No gatekeepers. No shortcuts. Just support for real people doing real work. We are here to challenge expectations and to redefine what strength looks like and who gets to claim it.
What We Make: Our formulas go beyond basic hydration. We combine electrolytes with performance-driven ingredients like BCAAs and creatine to fuel training, recovery, and everyday resilience. Stacked is hydration designed to work as hard as the people who use it. We are not here to add to a crowded shelf. We are building a new standard for what fitness hydration should be.
Founding Story
Stacked Fitness Hydration began with a simple idea: hydration should be built for training.
Kris Wilkins, co-founder of Stacked Fitness Hydration and a cycling instructor at Equinox in New York City, saw it firsthand. As someone deeply involved in fitness, people constantly asked him what they should be taking to support their goals. Friends, class members, and family all had the same questions: what works, what is worth it, where do I start?
Over time, he realized that most people were simply overwhelmed. The supplement world felt confusing and unapproachable, the sports drink aisle was packed with sugar and artificial ingredients, and most hydration powders stopped short of addressing real performance needs. None of it felt designed to support the full range of people who train, from those just getting started to those looking to push further.
Drawing on his background building brands and selling beverages across both nonalcoholic and alcoholic categories, Kris saw how the industry operated and, more importantly, where it fell short. The categories people relied on most, including sports drinks, supplements, and hydration powders, had barely evolved. That realization sparked an idea: to create something built for the way people train today, something that fuels progress, feels approachable, and inspires people to keep showing up.
That idea led him to call his friend and entrepreneur Gabe Nazario, someone who shares his belief in what fitness can unlock when it becomes part of your lifestyle. Together, they began building Stacked Fitness Hydration, taking the best from traditional categories and leaving behind what holds them back. From sports drinks, they kept electrolytes but removed the artificial dyes and sweeteners. From supplements, they kept performance ingredients but removed the complexity. From hydration powders, they kept convenience but added purpose. The result is hydration designed to do more for people who put in the work.
What began as a simple idea between two friends grew into a brand built on progress, accessibility, and inclusion. Stacked Fitness Hydration was created to make wellness approachable, functional, and built for the way people actually train.
Kris Wilkins is a Texas-born brand-builder and fitness instructor based in New York City. He has built his career helping brands find their place in culture by using strategy and insight to tell stories that feel real, relevant, and human. His approach blends commercial discipline with a deep understanding of what drives people, helping brands earn meaning in a crowded market.
After earning his degree from The University of Texas at Austin, Kris began his career at PepsiCo, learning the fundamentals of sales and what it takes to earn space on a shelf and in a consumer’s day. He later left to pursue his MBA at Rollins College, where he joined The Walt Disney Company and learned how strategy, emotion, and storytelling work together to build an enduring brand. Since then, he has led brand-development and go-to-market strategy across the toy, spirits, and beverage industries, building expertise in how to take ideas from concept to shelf and connect them to real consumer behavior.
Outside of brand-building, Kris is a cycling instructor in New York City. Time spent in the studio has deepened his empathy for people’s fitness journeys and shaped how he understands their goals, challenges, and motivations. It has also reinforced a simple belief: progress comes from showing up, staying consistent, and pushing for more.
As CEO and Co-Founder of Stacked Fitness Hydration, Kris brings together years of commercial experience and his passion for fitness to create products built for modern training. His perspective gives Stacked a unique advantage: a brand founded by someone who understands both what drives business and what drives people to move.holder
Gabe Nazario is a creative strategist and filmmaker based in New York City, where his work lives at the intersection of storytelling, movement, and visual clarity. As Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Stacked Fitness Hydration, Gabe guides the brand’s voice, identity, and narrative, ensuring Stacked doesn’t just market to people who train, but truly reflects the lifestyle and discipline of those who show up for themselves every day.
Alongside Stacked, Gabe is the Founder of Offbeat Creative, a creative content production company known for thoughtful, narrative-first commercial and branded content. Offbeat’s work spans corporate impact stories to cinematic campaign films, crafted with a focus on emotional resonance, human connection, and strong creative strategy. Whether working with global financial organizations, growth-stage consumer brands, or community-focused initiatives, Gabe leads with a grounded sense of intention and visual discipline.
At the core of his creative approach is identity. His Puerto Rican heritage is woven into the way he lives, shaping how he collaborates, builds community, and tells stories with clarity and purpose. That same lived authenticity is what grounds Stacked: real people, real training, and performance support that fits into real life, not the polished version of it.
For Gabe, Stacked is a lifestyle: discipline in motion, hydration as foundation, and creativity leading every step forward.
