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Kayla Itsines is a name that may be unknown only to a minority of Australians. The Instagram superstar has taken the reign of the fitness and the social media industry.
A gym guru, who created one of the most successful fitness apps of all time, SWEAT, and wrote a number of books about wellbeing and workouts, seems to be unstoppable in her fitness career.
Born in Adelaide, the 25-year-old fitness megastar built her way up through 28-minute workout videos. She helped women around the world to feel more confident about themselves. She went on many fitness tours in the US and the UK and offered high-intensity training (HIIT) exercises. With her workout plans, Ms Itsines proved that a human body could experience astounding results without spending hours in the gym.
How did Ms Itsines start her career?
Ms Itsines started her fitness journey back in 2008 when she became a licensed personal trainer. The rest is history.
The fitness guru started her Instagram account by posting results from her clients. More people started recognising her talent for personal training and quickly become her followers.
However, the root of her success started to grow when she met her, now ex-fiancé, Tobi Pearce. As a couple, they started 12-week training plans under the name of Bikini Body Guides in 2014. The program gained mass acknowledgement, and the term BBG clan became widely known.
A year later, Mr Pearce and Ms Itsines developed SWEAT with Kayla app, which reported revenue of A$100 million in 2018. The app had a combination of food and workout plans that could be paid for either monthly or annually.
Image Source: Shutterstock
Ms Itsines’s workout sessions became popular due to their flexibility and affordable rates. People liked the idea of working out from home and joining the HIIT-based training sessions with just a click on their mobiles.
Negative backlash
Ms Itsines’s empire was not always covered in milk and honey. Her BBG product received heavy criticism due to its name (Bikini Body Guide), as customers could potentially feel uncomfortable if their body shape did not fit similar to Ms Itsines’s vision of a bikini body.
Ms Itsines defended herself, saying she was only 18-year-old when she named the guide. For that reason, she changed its name to now world-famous SWEAT, which represents her goal in a sufficient matter.
What are Ms Itsines’s most successful business projects?
Ms Itsines’s growing stature as a fitness guru got acknowledgement from mobile giant Apple which contacted her for collaboration. The tech behemoth wanted Ms Itsines to be one of the ambassadors for the new Apple Watch in 2017.
Another great business success was Adidas’s sponsorship for Ms Itsines’s SWEAT tour around the US in 2016. She attracted thousands of women to attend her workout sessions, marking another milestone in Ms Itsines’s career.
Finally, Ms Itsines’s social media empire brought her the global recognition when she made the Top 30 Most Influential People on The Internet list in 2016. As a comparison, mega-celebrities like Beyonce was not even on that list.
Image Source: Shutterstock
What is Ms Itsines’s net worth?
As Ms Itsines’s shared all her fitness projects with her former partner Mr Pearce, their collective net worth was estimated at whooping A$486 million in 2018. That number put the couple on Financial Review’s Rich List, which records the top 200 richest Australians.
