Hannah grew up in the Bay Area and always knew she’d eventually move to “The City” (San Francisco). After college in San Diego, a year teaching English in South Korea, and a stint as a “digital nomad” in Southeast Asia, she moved back to the Bay in 2019 and landed in an apartment in Potrero Hill. Shortly after moving in, she decided it was time to become the kind of person who did kickboxing. She joined the local martial arts gym (Barrios Martial Arts) conveniently located less than a block from her apartment. In 2020, she noticed a new guy in class. He was quiet, focused, and very cute (at least, the part of his face she could see above his mask was very cute). Then she had her wisdom teeth removed and didn't work out for months. When she finally returned to BMA, she was relieved (and a little surprised) to see that the cute guy was still there. She began quietly observing and, eventually, plotting. One day, she spotted him running up the hill near her apartment and decided this was the opening she’d been waiting for. At the next class, she casually asked, “Do you run around here often?” He looked at her like she had grown a second head. “I don’t run,” he said. Months later, he would remember that he had, in fact, run on that hill exactly one time—while moving from his Dogpatch apartment into one in Potrero Hill. Undeterred, Hannah invited him to Bloom’s Saloon after kickboxing with their instructor and a few others. He said no. She tried again the next week. Again, he said no. She continued inviting him to be polite, but had given up hope that he would ever actually join. Until, to her surprise, he did. In early July 2021, they went to Bloom’s with their instructor and their instructor’s girlfriend, and they drank Duck Fart shots all night long. Zach considers this to be their first date. A few weeks later, they were celebrating their instructor's birthday. At the end of the night, Zach offered to walk Hannah home. On the way, they sat in the park and talked about hanging out sometime, just the two of them. Then they encountered a family of skunks and Zach ran away, before bravely returning to ensure Hannah made it home safely and un-skunked. On August 2nd, 2021, they had (what Hannah considers to be) their first date at the local wine bar. Years later, they live together in the apartment right upstairs. :)

Zach decided to move away from Michigan in 2019 to pursue his Ph.D. at the University of California, San Francisco because he was looking for a change in mindset and weather, and was allured by the biotech industry. Ask anyone who knows him: the best part about UCSF? The gym. Four stories. Indoor pool, outdoor pool. Sauna. Basketball courts. Pickleball courts. Rock climbing wall. Racks as far as the eye can see. However, in early 2020, his safe space closed its doors indefinitely… He decided to look around for other types of gyms and thought, why not switch it up? He came across Barrios Martial Arts, just a short walk across the highway from his Dogpatch apartment. He was all about it and quickly immersed himself in the culture. However, he had a rule. He wasn’t going to use this as a dating opportunity. Women were there to work out, not to date! He kept his head down for a while, focusing on being the best he could be in his Muay Thai training. He would briefly chat with the other participants but wasn’t really interested in developing friendships. The classes were on school nights (either 6:30–7:30 or 8–9), and by the time he got home and showered, it was well past his conservative 9:30 PM bedtime, which would hurt his next day’s training. Because of that, he was really a get-in, get-out, all-business type of guy. Being who he is, though, he eventually started getting closer with the instructors and would stay around a bit after class to talk with them. As he got more comfortable with the techniques, he started looking around class as well… and noticed that one of these ladies was actually pretty cute. He brought it back to his War Room (Pop’s, in the Mission) and told his close friends that he thought he was going to make a move on a lady in kickboxing, but was still hesitant because, you know, she was there to work out, not to date. He told his friends that he had talked to her a couple times.. But couldn’t really tell if she was interested. He boldly made the first move and took the initiative to ask Hannah, their instructor, and another friend if they would be interested in going to Bloom’s Saloon after class. He made sure to get there early to try to get some one-on-one time with Hannah. He even texted his instructor and friend (who were dating at the time) to see if they could “run late” so that he could lay the groundwork for a relationship. They talked about books, exchanged numbers, and said they needed to hang out again. Zach considers this their first date. 🙂 Zach knew pretty quickly that this was going to be serious. Since then, Zach and Hannah have visited 7 different countries together. On every trip, Zach has booked a professional photographer, because he knew that one day, it would be a perfect opportunity to capture a picturesque proposal (it worked btw, she bought it). They moved into a charming apartment in Potrero Hill above the wine bar where they had their 5th date, across from the book store. They adopted a grumpy dog, with silly streaks, that Zach convinced Hannah to let them name after a Wheel of Time character (Perrin). They mutually love Halloween, and Zach was planning for the Saturday, October 31st, 2026 wedding date for ~4 years.