Introduction
Kayla Itsines is a personal trainer, author and entrepreneur from Adellaide, Australia. Ever since she was a kid, she has always been interested in health and fitness. She played basketball as a child but truly fell in love with working out and loved how it made her feel. By the age of 18, she became a master trainer in fitness. Her main accomplishments are creating an ebook called ‘Bikini Body Guides’, creating a meal-plan, and developing an app called Sweat. Her main goal is to educate and support women with their health and fitness journeys.
Career
Right after graduating from high school, Kayla studied at the Australian Institute of Fitness and became a personal trainer. Kayla began her fitness career by helping her sister and her friends train for netball. They gave her the idea to take before and after photos to post on social media. She began to use Instagram as a way to organize her photos. Her account quickly got popular and she was getting many requests from followers for workout and nutrition advice. Her fiancé, Tobi Pearce, gave her the idea to put her workout routines into an eBook. Together, Tobi Pierce and Kayla Itsines created the Bikini Body Training company in 2013 of March. Kayla is the director while Tobi is the CEO. They initially created two guides and had over one million downloads by October that same year. Kayla continued to post before and after photos of her clients on her Instagram. Exercise and diet have been trending on social media and people are looking for a support system. “Participants of many weight loss-driven studies have noted that it was the social support garnished by a support system that most greatly aided them in their successful weight loss endeavors, or the lack thereof that made them unsuccessful in their efforts” (Faw, 2014). Social support is essential for weight loss and this can be a very sensitive topic for most people. Kayla’s social media accounts are a way for individuals to embrace their fitness journey and have a support system.
In 2015, Kayla and Tobi went on tour which they called ‘Kayla Itsines Bootcamp World Tour’. During this tour, Kayla would host group workout classes in large cities and they would sell out instantly. Also in 2015, Kayla created an app called ‘Sweat’. Initially, this app was criticized by customers who already spent money on the Bikini Body Guide. In response, Kayla gave all customers who purchased the eBook a discount of $1 for the first month’s use of the app. In 2017, Kayla published her second and most recent book titled ‘The Bikini Body Motivation & Habits Guide’. The price of the eBooks are $75.20 euros. A monthly membership for the app Sweat is $19.99 euros a week or $119.94 euros a year. These workouts are designed for anyone interested in working out; from beginners to experts. These workouts are designed to be completed either at the gym or at home. Within the app, there is a blog to discover new workouts and get nutritional information, a forum to share your fitness goals and support others, and a shop to purchase necessary items to help you train. Kayla’s fitness career has really taken off and she was titled one of the most influential people on the internet in 2016. In addition, her and Tobi were on the BRB Young Rich list in 2016.
Social Media
Facebook and Instagram are important platforms used by Kayla Itsines. In 2016, she had 8 million followers on Facebook and 5 million followers on Instagram. Today, she has 25 million followers on Facebook and 11.2 million followers on Instagram. Kayla focuses on her followers and their needs on her social media accounts. On her Instagram, she posts photos of her workout routines, before / after pictures of her clients, food pictures, and inspirational quotes. She doesn’t post up-close pictures of her face and rarely posts personal photos. Kayla doesn’t promote every brand that is offered to her, she is very particular with what she promotes and makes sure she believes in what she promotes. According to an article by Elmira Djafarova and Chloe Rushworth, “The research findings show that celebrities on Instagram are influential in the purchase behavior of young female users”. It is also more common for non-traditional celebrities (Instagram influencers) to impact the purchases of followers compared to mainstream celebrities (movie stars) because they are more relatable and credible. This can explain why Kayla Itsines’ eBooks and app are so popular among the public. People can relate to her and can strive to get more fit and healthy.
Identity
There are many aspects to Kayla that create her identity on social media. First, her fiance Tobi Pearce is part of her identity. He is also a personal trainer and is the CEO of Sweat. Their social media platforms coincide and they post numerous pictures together. In addition, Kayla came public in December of 2018 on Instagram that her and Tobi are expecting their first child in May of 2019. This has become part of her new identity on social media. Although, this hasn’t stopped her from exercising and posting fitness videos of herself. Being pregnant has created a whole new demographic of people who would be interested in following her. Pregnant women around the world can learn how to remain fit and healthy while being pregnant if they follow Kayla’s social media. Another part of her identity is that she is Greek and comes from a strong rooted family. Her heritage is incorporated into a variety of the foods she recommends and posts on her Instagram. All of these elements help creates Kayla’s identity that she portrays on social media.
Conclusion
Health and fitness are very important to me and have always been something I strive to excel in. Following Kayla’s Instagram account has taught me new workouts and ways to incorporate fitness into my everyday life. I have tried a bunch of her short workouts but have not yet purchase the Sweat app. I truly appreciate everything that Kayla posts and she definitely has an influence on my life. She has become not only a fitness influencer but also a life influence and someone people admire. Researching her story has helped me appreciate her even more and I plan on purchasing her eBooks and app in the near future.
Sources
Djafarova, Elmira, and Chloe Rush worth. “Exploring the Credibility of Online Celebrities’ Instagram Profiles in Influencing the Purchase Decisions of Young Female Users.” Science Direct. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563216307506.
Stark, Hiliary, Abdulrahman Habib, and Duha Al Smadi. “Network Engagement Behaviors of Ree Online Diet and Exercise Programs.” The University of Akron, December 2016. https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.es/&httpsredir=1&article=1061&context=docam.
Keogh, Joey. “The Untold Truth of Kayla Itsines.” The List. https://www.thelist.com/128410/the-untold-truth-of-kayla-itsines/.
“About Kayla Itsines.” Kayla Itsines. https://www.kaylaitsines.com.
“Kayla Itsines.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayla_Itsines.
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