As a Brazilian triathlete, Sylvia Giamanco first visited San Diego in 1999, lured here to train. She’s back now, reinvented as a personal trainer and head of Vai Fitness & Spa that works out of the San Diego Athletic Club. She is also a budding fashion designer, a line of work that began when people began asking about her workout clothing.

Resembling gear from Nike and Under Armor, Giamanco says her outfits, imported from Brazil, are soft, stay dry and figure-flattering. “It makes everything tight,” she says. “Even if you have a little belly, you don’t see the belly.”

The one-size-fits-all clothing is being customized with personalized labels and sold at local fitness centers and online at vaifitness.com. (Click on shop and then Upvibe Clothing to see her line.) Meanwhile, Giamanco remains a competitive athlete. At the Catalina Triathlon in November she placed first for women 35-39, fourth overall among women and in 58th place among all competitors. As she focuses on the clothing, her competition is changing, but the entrepreneur senses opportunity. “The wind is blowing stronger that way,” she says.