Kayla Itsines

Kayla Itsines was born and raised in Adelaide, Australia, and is of Greek heritage.⁠[1][2]

After high school, she studied beauty therapy before moving into personal training. The Australian Institute of Fitness lists her among its graduates. Her official biography dates her work as a certified personal trainer to 2008, focusing on women.⁠[3][4][5]

In a 2015 retrospective, she dated her start on Instagram to late 2012. Sharing training experiences and clients’ progress helped her develop an online fitness community.⁠[1]

She and Tobi Pearce launched Bikini Body Guide (BBG), extending her personal-training work through downloadable guides. The early program followed a 12-week plan with three approximately 28-minute sessions each week.⁠[2][6]

The pair developed their digital guides into the Sweat with Kayla app, bringing training programs and related content to a mobile platform. Itsines served as co-founder and head trainer.⁠[6][7]

She and Pearce brought defamation proceedings in the Supreme Court of South Australia against Leanne Ratcliffe and Harley Johnstone over YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry videos. The defendants maintained that their comments were free speech. A 2017 follow-up reported an out-of-court settlement.⁠[8][9]

TIMETIMETIME is an American newsmagazine and media brand founded by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, which published its first issue on March 3, 1923; it is headquartered in New York and known for its Person of the Year selection and the TIME100 list. Since 2018 it has been personally owned by Marc and Lynne Benioff; its current Chief Executive Officer is Jessica Sibley, and its Editor-in-Chief is Sam Jacobs.Open the full entry included her in its annual list of the 30 most influential people on the internet, highlighting her BBG program and social-media community.⁠[10]

She led the BBG community in a Melbourne group workout that achieved five Guinness World Records. One was the record for the most people star-jumping, with 2,192 participants.⁠[11][12]

Pan Macmillan Australia published The Bikini Body 28-Day Healthy Eating & Lifestyle Guide, combining recipes with a four-week training schedule. The Australian ebook is cataloged under ISBN 9781760550448.⁠[13]

The app dropped “with Kayla” from its name and became Sweat, adding trainers and programs as it developed into a multi-trainer fitness platform for women.⁠[6]

She led the fitness category of Forbes’ Top Influencers list that year.⁠[14]

Her second book, The Bikini Body Motivation & Habits Guide, addresses goal-setting, motivation and habit formation, with checklists, recipes and a 28-day meal plan. The Australian ebook carries ISBN 9781760557621.⁠[15]

She announced that BBG would become High Intensity with Kayla, with corresponding changes to its strength and no-equipment programs. She explained that the old name had come to reflect an outdated view of health and fitness; the 28-minute workout structure remained unchanged.⁠[16]

iFIT’s U.S. securities filing records its acquisition of all Sweat shares on this date, with consideration involving cash, shares following a proposed IPO and contingent deferred payments. Its July 13 announcement said Sweat would operate as a standalone brand, with Itsines remaining head trainer.⁠[17][7]

She and Pearce bought Sweat back from iFIT. In a 2024 interview, Pearce was described as a passive investor and Adam Koch as CEO. The repurchase price was not disclosed.⁠[2]

She married Jae Woodroffe.⁠[2]

School of Hard Knocks released the New York interview compilation Asking NY Billionaires How They Got Rich!, identifying Itsines in its description as one of the featured fitness entrepreneurs.⁠[18]

In an interview with The CEO Magazine, she was described as Sweat’s sole owner. She discussed regaining control of brand decisions and responding to women’s needs at different stages of life through the fitness business.⁠[19]

Her programs have expanded from high-intensity training into strength work, low-impact exercise, and pregnancy and post-pregnancy training. Sweat lists gym, home and 30-minute versions of Strength with Kayla.⁠[5]

Her X account is https://x.com/kayla_itsines (opens in a new window), her YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@kaylaitsines (opens in a new window), and her Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/kayla_itsines/ (opens in a new window).⁠[3][20][16]