Whitney Johns is a fitness model, entrepreneur, coach, and content creator.

This bodybuilding champion and 16-time magazine cover model has leveraged her experience to build a wellness brand beyond aesthetics and has established herself as a prominent figure in the wellness industry. Her path to success, however, wasn’t always straightforward.

“When I first got on social media, I ended up building a following because I was doing photo shoots and modeling stuff,” Whitney recalls. “I knew that thirst traps got the likes. So post a photo with your ass showing, and you were going to get a lot of people engaging with your posts.”

As Whitney became more invested in her training career, she recognized the need to shift her strategy. “I knew at some point that I wanted to scale my business and help more people,” she explains. “I needed to figure out how to scale my business online.”

This shift marked a turning point for Whitney. She began focusing on providing value to her audience beyond aesthetics. “I got strategic about what value am I bringing to my audience and am I adding to their life. Am I helping educate them?”

The “Movement is Medicine” Philosophy

Whitney’s approach to fitness and wellness is encapsulated in her mantra: “Movement is medicine.” This philosophy developed from her personal experiences with trauma and chronic pain. When I say fitness saved my life, it genuinely saved me during some very low times,” she shares. Trauma stores itself in your cells and your body. That trapped energy and that trapped trauma will hold you back from so much mentally and physically getting to where you want to go.”

For Whitney, movement became a way to release that trapped energy and trauma. This realization led her to create her “Find Your Fit With Whit” programs, customized to each individual’s lifestyle and preferences. “Let’s build a program around what’s realistic for your lifestyle. What do you enjoy? What kind of training do you enjoy? Do we just walk outside that day or go to the gym? Whatever that looks like for you, just move your body.”

As Whitney’s brand grew, she faced the challenge of balancing her existing image with her desire to provide deeper value. “There can still sometimes be a stigma around any kind of sexiness involved in a brand on whether people want to take you seriously or not, or if they want your credit, if they think that you’re credible,” she explains. “I think you have to find kind of that middle ground of being aware of how you’re being perceived, but also having the freedom and expressing yourself genuinely and authentically the way that feels good for you.”

Content Strategy Across Platforms

This balance extends to her content strategy across different platforms. Whitney acknowledges the unique characteristics of each platform, noting that what works on Instagram might not translate to TikTok. “TikTok is different,” she says. I feel like it’s a little less produced, more just fun, organic moments versus the higher production that goes into it, the well-thought-out, polished, and edited that Instagram loves.”

Whitney and her team have developed a strategic approach to managing content across multiple platforms. “We have a few pillars of topics that we need to hit. You know, nutrition, there’s the fitness and mental health aspects,” she explains. “You just have to genuinely be shooting content like all the fucking time. And so you just have to be ready and block out time to do it.”

Launching Whitney Johns Nutrition

One of Whitney’s most significant ventures has been launching her supplement line, Whitney Johns Nutrition. The motivation behind this came from her personal experiences and dissatisfaction with existing products. “I grew up with a lot of chronic pain issues,” Whitney shares. “So there were a lot of gut health issues, hormone health issues, and mental health issues as a kid and as a young adult that I had to end up getting my hands dirty in my research on functional medicine, supplementation, and nutrition.”

This deep dive into health and wellness made Whitney acutely aware of the shortcomings in the supplement industry. “The more I was invested in supplements for my health, it was like, well, there’s a lot of crap out there, too,” she says. “There’s a lot of things being preached that are just all about the marketing and the keywords but aren’t necessarily good for you or performing the function it needs.”

Whitney partnered with a company that has conducted hundreds of clinical studies proving the efficacy of its products. She then tweaked and fine-tuned these formulations to create her own versions. “I really wanted to bring a supplement line that was still going to give you this amazing fitness aesthetic, but also taking care of these things legitimately,” she explains.

Managing a supplement line alongside her content creation and coaching business has been a significant learning curve for Whitney. She emphasizes the importance of having a strong team and delegating tasks. “I have to have this team that works with me with the email marketing and the online e-commerce,” she says. “I think the biggest key to that is to delegate and know your strengths and where you must step back.”

Whitney also stresses the importance of creativity in marketing, especially in an age of short attention spans. “You have to learn how to educate people but also really entertain them because if you don’t at least catch their attention and entertain them, it doesn’t matter how good your product is,” she explains.

Brand Partnerships

As her brand has grown, Whitney has had to navigate the world of brand partnerships carefully. She notes that the landscape has changed significantly in recent years. “Brand partnerships, it’s not the old days,” she says. “You know, it’s not the golden age of brand partnerships like a few years ago on social media when influencer marketing, I feel like you could charge so much money and influencers were getting paid crazy with certain brand deals.”

Now, Whitney says, companies focus more on data and return on investment. “They’re not just blindly writing chunks and saying, oh, you have a million followers, that means we’re going to pay you $10,000 a post,” she explains. “They’re going to say no. What do your audience metrics look like? It’s a lot more analytical in terms of the data.”

This shift has made Whitney more selective about the partnerships she takes on. “You have to make sure that you are going to be able to provide value to this company because if not, then you’re wasting their time,” she says. “If you’re an ethical influencer, you have to make sure that you’re considering the other person and not just accepting a check for the least amount of work possible.”

Reflecting on her Career

Whitney’s experience as a cover model has also influenced her approach to personal branding and content creation. “With each photo shoot and each deliverable that you’re executing as an influencer is like a really good learning experience, and you’re finding a way to mesh your creative authenticity with somebody else’s objective for you,” she explains.

This balance of authenticity and meeting others’ expectations is a skill Whitney has honed over time. “I think that I learned quickly that you have to also infuse your authenticity into any job that you’re hired to do,” she says. “Because at the end of the day, you’re a creator, you create. And the reason they’re hiring you is they like your flair and your style and the flavor that you bring to it.”

Reflecting on her journey, Whitney identifies several key moments that shaped her success. These include getting her pro card in bodybuilding, her first major magazine feature in Muscle and Fitness, winning Physique of the Year three years in a row for Fitness Gurls magazine, launching her supplement company in 2022, and creating her first fitness app.

Now, Whitney is expanding her brand further with a wellness retreat in Greece. “We’re doing a wellness retreat where I can kind of in-person coach people,” she says. “We’re working out every day. We’re going and doing cool, fun, active adventures every day. But then also some balance. We’re gonna go wine tasting, and we’re gonna have fun; we’re gonna party. It’s gonna be nice to work hard, play hard, which is really what my philosophy is.”

For aspiring creators and fitness professionals, Whitney offers this advice: “Find a way to look at your peers and see who you admire, and give yourself some goalposts, but also really anchor yourself to your own authenticity, your own flavor, and your own flair, because that’s what people are going to ultimately respond to.”

Wellness Retreats

Now, Whitney is expanding her brand further with a wellness retreat in Greece. “We’re doing a wellness retreat where I can kind of in-person coach people,” she says. “We’re working out every day. We’re going and doing cool, fun, active adventures every day. But then also some balance. We’re gonna go wine tasting, and we’re gonna have fun; we’re gonna party. It’s gonna be nice to work hard, play hard, which is my philosophy.”

Sharing Wisdom

For up-and-coming creators and fitness professionals, Whitney offers this advice: “Find a way to look at your peers and see who you admire, and give yourself some goalposts, but also really anchor yourself to your authenticity, your flavor, and your flair, because that’s what people are going to ultimately respond to.”

Whitney emphasizes the importance of staying true to oneself, even if it means turning down opportunities that don’t align with your brand. “I’ve turned down a lot of money and a lot of quick sell products, quick cash partnerships,” she reveals. “Because at the end of the day, I knew it was going to affect the credibility of my brand or the authenticity of what I stand for.”

Whitney believes staying true to yourself is key in an industry that sees major shifts every 6-12 months. “You have to use your intuition when it comes to this business,” she says. At the end of the day, you are not hiding behind a computer screen. You can’t just be the CEO of a company behind closed doors. You are the front-facing representation of your brand.”

Whitney’s journey in the fitness and wellness industry hasn’t been without its challenges. She recounts her experience participating in an international influencer boxing tournament, exposing her to triumph and public criticism. “I lost one of the fights, and then I won the second,” she shares. “The loss was hard because you’re losing in front of millions of people who are also coming for you in the comments and talking shit and belittling you.”

The Value of Taking Risks

Despite the setback, Whitney values taking risks and facing challenges head-on. “Take your hard knocks. You might not win. You might fail. You might fall on your fucking face,” she says. “But guess what? People will be so excited for you when they see that arc, that journey of you picking yourself back up and winning and overcoming.”

For Whitney, these experiences are personal growth opportunities and ways to inspire others. “Taking risks will inspire and help somebody in somebody’s life somewhere,” she says. Don’t be so worried about everybody watching you and expecting perfection. Lose, fail. It’s fine. You’re gonna come back from it, and it will be even better when you do. And don’t be afraid to take a risk.”