Melissa Eckman was working in corporate accounting in Boca Raton, Florida when she signed up for her first Pure Barre class. Over time, she started going every day, eventually landing a teaching gig in 2013 — on top of her 65-hour work weeks. The following year, she started a fitness-focused blog MelisFit.com, along with an Instagram account @melisfit_, where she would create content before her 6 a.m. class.
Steiber has been growing her online following through her blog and regularly posting photos on Instagram — mainly dressed in activewear and doing yoga — while adding hashtags and attending events around New York City. "The biggest thing is interacting with people," she says. "I spent the last year and a half networking.
Like the fashion and beauty industry, consumers are drawn to products that are displayed in context. Authenticity is another factor for building brand awareness, and what better way to portray that than through real, regular folks as opposed to a major celebrity or professional athlete? Lululemon, for example, has built a 1,600-strong community of its own group of local influencers to help endorse its brand among longtime and new consumers.
Last year, Encarnacion stepped down from her role at VSCO to study holistic health and nutrition coaching, so she can start her own practice as an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. "Leaving my full time job was really scary," she recalls. "I left it without a backup plan or savings to cushion myself when things go wrong. Thankfully, I've had some really incredible brand partnerships to help me sustain raising a family and making a small income during this transition.
And while the majority of the fitness influencers we spoke with are not represented by an agent, Faya Nilsson was signed by London-based Prjct Management about a year into starting her blog Fitness On Toast. "I grew to a size I couldn't manage any longer. It was time for professional assistance," says Nilsson. "The volume of partnership inquiries was quite overwhelming and I didn't know how to deal with that myself.
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