How have fitness influencers changed our attitude towards sports brands?

Into the Sports Industry: Part 1

‘Fitfluencers’ or fitness influencers are exploding on the social scene; since lockdown more than ever, people turn to these influencers for guidance, advice, free workouts and a community to help them in their fitness journey.

It can be argued that social media has made our lives simpler and easier for the better. And if anything it has made covid more bearable… I mean we have the privilege to access a gym, within the comfort of our living room for free. So much so that 52% of UK consumers have been influenced to do at home workouts since March 2020, and 53% have been affected to buy workout products.

So why are we, as a collective, now all hitting the dumbbells?

There’s no doubt everyone’s had societal pressure to look their best, but it’s been a significant concern for many to have a lockdown glow-up. Forgetting about the shit-show that is going on in the world and utilizing one’s time to benefit himself. All to fit either the ideal hourglass figure or a toned, muscled physique.

Now before we start, yes, Glow-Up culture is very toxic. The pressure to look conventionally attractive and the need to change oneself to fit society’s standards, to put it lightly, is appalling. As a 90s baby I have been desensitized to the many examples in the media from The Princess Diaries and Clueless. But most recent and notable is that of Khloe Kardashian’s Revenge Body show in 2017 “All those people who doubted you, who rejected you — what they’re now missing.”

Before we go onto a rant about the influence of the Karashian/Jenner clan and their influence on the BBL (Brazillian But Lift). Where do fitness influencers come into this? Well, as most people don’t have the disposable income for a £7K BBL and the next best (plus significantly healthy) option is to build their ideal body at the home gym.

With an abundance of creators on platforms like YouTube and Instagram, you’re spoiled for choice with workouts, trainers body type, nutrition plans etc. Influencers like Dana Falsetti, jjlomax, fitgurlmel, show diversity and represent large audiences/markets. Making fitness content more attractive and attainable for viewers to achieve their ideal body shape in a natural healthy way.

But what do these influencers do so differently for brands to need them?

With the upper hand of being relatable, fitfluencers do more than promote a product/brand — they subconsciously tell their audience that they need this product to achieve their fitness goal and get a body like them. Look at the example posts below of their carefully curated images/videos.

On top of that, they create content that’s personal and meaningful of their fitness journey — it’s generally a positive space for people to raise community spirit. With these factors paired together, it can create big names in the industry. Most notable is that of:

Joe Wicks (The Body Coach) — 4.2M on IG

Chloe Ting — 22.8M on YouTube

Cassey Ho (Blogilaties) — 5.96M on YouTube

Kayla Itsines — 13.9M on IG

Famous YouTubers and Instagram models are seen pictured with products, not necessarily posting as an #AD, but simply associating the brand with themself lends itself for their audiences to want to become like them, to look like them, essentially. By buying the same gym attire, consumers may likely feel as though they can have the same feeling they get in themselves, as they do as they see their favourite influencer wear.

The result?

As most of these influencers are in sportswear 24/7, it’s popularised ‘athleisure’ (we’ll get more onto this in part 2), activewear designed for both exercising and comfort. Millennials like this new type of sportswear a lot. So much so that it has found its way into the daily leisurewear of influencers and their followers. Designers quickly followed this trend and started creating athleisure clothes, says the CBI. As a response to this, the athleisure market has 42% in the last 7 years, and its expected to reach a value of over $250 billion in 2026.

With athleisure added to the definition of sportswear, it helped propel the US sports apparel market, as it was valued at $105.1 billion in 2020.

The future with TikTok

Now it can only go up from here, with TikTok kicking off with 1 billion users as of 2021. More influencers are creating a name for themselves on the platform, exposing more sports brands to younger and more diverse audiences. Notable users are Demi Bagby racking up 14.3M followers and 294.2M likes, and Antonie Lokhorst with 4.2M followers and 76.5M likes.

So to answer the question, how have fitness influencers changed our attitude towards sports brands, and what can we learn from this?

Well first, these fitfluencers (like any other influencer) have humanised the sports industry; we are now seeing (by large) real people with natural bodies and genuine lifestyles in the diet and fitness culture. By creating such meaningful communities, they help build a loyal following, with some becoming macro-influencers. It’s our job as marketers to keep up to date on the current trends and their societal impact on our markers, especially younger demographics, as there is so much discourse on platforms, it best to align your values with good intention for the customer, this consequently lends itself to brand loyalty. And as we keep saying, there is so much potential with TikTok, and it’s becoming a Millennial/Gen Z app staple.