Building body, following and brand on Instagram
Social media new player in women’s fitness
The shrieks begin, followed by cheers and a ministampede. Phones are raised as women scurry forward to take photos of the woman who has brought about a hundred of them together just after sunrise on a December morning.
Kayla Itsines is a surprise visitor to a gathering of her own followers, women who have found one another online and, increasingly, in real life because of a shared interest: Itsines’ 12-week workout program, the Bikini Body Guide (#BBG).
During this meet-up — happening on the Upper West Side on a Sunday, but just one of
hundreds like it taking place across the world since the summer — the convergence is complete: A virtual community has become reality. For a little while at least.
There’s a fascinating conversation developing on Instagram, the popular social media site centered on the visual, and it’s happening between women and for women. At a time when social media can serve as a negative force in people’s lives — from online harassment to emotional manipulation to #FOMO — a community has emerged on Instagram that’s unique for its positivity and its role as a surprising safe haven for women interested in fitness.
And for a select few, it’s also extremely profitable.
Itsines is one of those select few, a 24-year-old Australian personal trainer who has built a fitness empire centered on her BBG, a 12-week program that’s downloadable as an e-book for about $50. The initial program, launched in January 2014, was such a hit it spawned a sequel — BBG 2.0 — another 12-week program. Itsines declined to say how many e-books she has sold, but it’s safe to say business is booming.
Another woman who has built a business via Instagram is Katy Hearn, a 24-year-old personal trainer in Louisville. Hearn’s specialties are her eight-week seasonal challenges and “Build a Booty” plans, which she sells on her website that highlights her own derriere. Hundreds of women sign up for her challenges, which coincide with the start of each season and end with prizes.
Itsines and Hearn built their businesses differently but effectively. They aren’t the only women who have built fitness brands on the shoulders of social media accounts (Cassey Ho’s @blogilates and @emilyschromm, to name two others), but these two epitomize the platform’s profit-maximizing potential.
Each parlayed an enormous Instagram following into a successful business venture. Itsines has 4 million followers; Hearn recently surpassed 1 million. Neither set out to create a new business model based on social media; in fact, neither really understood how to use Instagram when starting out in the platform’s infancy.
They, like their followers, initially discovered the community through hashtags; #fitspo has been used more than 24 million times on the platform, for example, and #girlswholift has been used more than 6 million times.
“It fits, and it’s fantastic for everyone,” Itsines says. “People like simplicity, and the fact that you can click on someone’s profile and you can go, ‘I like that girl’s body. She’s tagged in the caption. I’ll look at her, look at all her photos.’ You sort of go through and it’s really simple, and it’s really easy and it’s great.
“Instagram is a great tool for like not only myself but any business to have to grow as an online business. Fantastic, it really was.” ‘WANT TO RELATE TO YOU’ It seems counterintuitive that women are most comfortable baring (mostly) all for strangers on an online photo-sharing platform, but those most active within the Instagram fitness community say that’s exactly it.
Which is why, for most, fitness accounts start out fairly anonymous, like Hearn’s did.
“I was almost ashamed and embarrassed about the things I was posting — for my family and friends to see them,” Hearn says. “I guess just in fear of being judged for doing something different than everyone else was doing. But I saw how many people said they looked up to me and were inspired by me, and I was like, ‘No, I’m not embarrassed by that.’ ”
Some of the women who closely follow Itsines’ guides have gained enormous social media followings themselves. Abbie Sterling, whose Instagram username is @corporate_sneakers, has amassed more than 110,000 followers, most of whom are #BBG women who look to Sterling for her exercise videos, relentlessly positive attitude and killer ab motivation.
“What’s funny about my fitness account is almost all the photos and videos of myself I’m not wearing makeup and I’m covered in sweat,” says Sterling, 26. “I would never post anything like that to my personal Instagram. … I don’t feel as comfortable sharing something like that on my personal Instagram. Or even: My captions are very long, and I tell a lot of stories about my life. Those are things I would never post on my personal Facebook or personal Instagram.”
Why do these women — many of whom she hasn’t met in real life, some of whom she doesn’t even know their first names — make the perfect audience then?
“They want to relate to you,” Sterling says. “You can put yourself in a vulnerable position because people understand and they appreciate that.”
Sterling is one of dozens across the USA who plan and host regional “BBG meet-ups,” like the one in Manhattan this month. Sterling ’s Central Florida-based meet-ups allow like-minded women to meet — and sweat with — each other once a month. Others in the online community have organized workouts from New York to San Francisco and in other countries. They’re advertised, of course, on Instagram; Itsines herself often highlights them, too. She decided to surprise her devotees in Manhattan because she loves the idea of local gatherings.
“It’s incredible, because we didn’t do that, we didn’t ask the girls to meet up, but they created that themselves,” Itsines says. “It’s the best thing ever, because I love encouraging women to come together to work out. ... Women are coming together to work out together, and that’s really cool.” POSITIVE MESSAGES Hearn’s followers also have created a network, one that’s easily searchable during any particular challenge. For example, #khfitgirls and #khfallchallenge can help connect one client to hundreds of others. Some of Hearn’s earliest online clients have organized real-life meet-ups as well.
“That isn’t something that I ever thought would happen — because girls can be mean,” Hearn says. “Girls can be really, really mean. I experienced that when I started working out. People that I considered friends were so hateful to me. So, no, I never expected all of these strangers to come together and say, if someone was having a bad day, ‘ You look awesome, and it’ll get better tomorrow.’ ”
Says Itsines: “It just happened. I think because the message was so positive that was coming from me. It was all like health, confidence and just being strong. Having a good mind-set, I think, attracted like an amazing group of girls who influenced pretty much the world. Then it went on from that.”
Itsines runs her own Instagram account and plans her posts for a worldwide audience, meaning a lot of different time zones. She tries to post something every three or four hours for that particular reason. Sometimes, it’s a photo of a delicious, healthy snack. Or a photo of herself working out. Or a client transformation — and always with a direct link to the woman’s Instagram page so others can see her natural progression. Other times, it could be a motivational pep talk.
“It’s always targeted at like when people wake up or when people go to sleep, just so they’ve got something there,” Itsines says. “I want to be able to motivate everyone.” In every Instagram caption, Itsines includes the link to purchasing her app or BBG guides online.
The client progress photos often make the biggest impact.
Meghan Corraro, 27, does Itsines’ guides and drove from Connecticut for Itsines’ New York City bootcamp, part of a world tour Itsines conducted this past summer. Corraro said she always clicks through the Instagram pages of women Itsines features.
“I wasn’t going to say stalking — but you’re basically Instagram stalking these people to make sure they’re not fake,” Corraro says.
Hearn doesn’t plan out her posts as deliberately as Itsines, and Hearn’s captions also are generally shorter. Hearn posts selfies or bikini-clad photos whenever she wants. She has gotten more selective about posting client photos, more so because of logistics than anything else.
“If it’s a time I’m not accepting clients and I’m at my max, I cannot handle one more client or else my brain will explode,” Hearn says. “I do not post any client photos. That’s when my Instagram and email blow up with people wanting to sign up with me. I hate the feeling of these people wanting to work with me and not being able to help them. I’m only one person.” MAKING A CONNECTION When Itsines finished her summer bootcamp workout in New York — consisting of her trademark body-weight workouts in circuits along with pep talks interspersed — she stayed for more than an hour, meeting some of her most devoted followers and posing for pictures with them. A popular shot was the “Kayla” pose, with one biceps flexed. Backdrops for photos gently reminded women to post on social media and use the following hashtags: #kaylaitsines and #sweat withkayla.
“I’m a big softie, and I definitely got tears in my eyes when I saw Kayla for the first time because she’s been such a positive force in my life — even though I’d never met her,” says Sterling, who flew in from Florida and got in line hours early for the bootcamp so she could work out in the front row.
“Everybody connects with her on Instagram even though most people have not met her for the same reasons that initially drew me to her account — she’s so real and genuine,” Sterling says. “She’s very kindhearted and positive. Those characteristics make you feel like you connect with her. She’s changed my life and the lives of millions of women in a positive way. We’re all proud to be a part of her fitness community. It’s so supportive and welcoming for women of all shapes and sizes. I think what makes it different is it doesn’t matter where you’ve been in your life, it’s just really that you want to feel better, stronger and healthier and you’re using fitness to do that. I think what Kayla has done is so special.”
That’s why these virtual communities have such devoted followings. To their loyal followers, these women are just Kayla and Katy. They’re women they feel like they know, women they see every day.
And sometimes, like a select few did in New York, they actually do.