Brianna Joye, who started content creation during the pandemic, has since founded a thriving online and in-person fitness community across the country

Brianna Joye, who has millions of followers across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, found her love of fitness through dance. “I grew up dancing my entire life,” Joye told Athletech News. “I homeschooled for dance in high school because I was so heavily into the arts.” At Pace University, she pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance and moved to New York City, where she began using ClassPass to explore boutique studios.

“In New York, there are so many classes and ways to stay in shape. I realized I didn’t want to be just a student. I wanted to be the one teaching.”

After teaching at various studios, the pandemic served as a catalyst for Brianna’s growth in the digital space. “My online community really started during COVID,” Joye explained. “I started posting my workouts—things you can do anytime, at home, with no equipment, on TikTok. That’s when my online presence really took off.”

As Joye began posting workouts designed for those without access to a gym or equipment, her community began to grow rapidly. “A lot of people were focusing on workouts with weights or Peloton bikes, but mine were different,” she said. “I offered things like quiet cardio, Pilates arm workouts, or dancer arm workouts—all without any equipment.”

After building a strong online presence, Joye founded City Girls Who Walk in 2022, a walking group born out of her desire to connect with others during the isolation of the pandemic. “Most of my friends had moved out of the city, and I was feeling lonely,” Joye shared. “So I posted on my platform, which by then had a million followers, asking if anyone wanted to walk with me on the West Side Highway. We could grab coffee and just walk.”

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To her surprise, the response was overwhelming. City Girls Who Walk grew into a community where women could connect, bond, and embrace the beauty of their surroundings. “We’re now in over 200 cities,” Joye noted. “We’re actually working on bringing all the cities together, so there are some big plans in the works.”

While Joye’s fitness content initially centered on no-equipment workouts, her approach has evolved.

“I still love my no-equipment workouts—they’re so easy, and you can do them anytime, anywhere—but I’ve added more variety over time, like incorporating weights here and there,” she said.

Joye is also now pregnant, which has attracted a new audience of moms and moms-to-be. “Now that I’m pregnant, I’ve started posting more relatable content about the experience,” Brianna explained. “I’m getting a whole new audience, and people appreciate the realness of what I’m sharing. After the baby, it’s going to be amazing. I’ll be sharing my journey of getting back into shape while balancing motherhood. It’s a whole new world to explore.”

Joye credits her online success to persistence and consistency. “I think the key is not comparing yourself to others,” she said. “There are so many influencers and people on TikTok now, but I always say, post every day, and don’t worry about the views. In the beginning, I was getting maybe a hundred views on my videos, but I kept posting two or three times a day. Eventually, it started to take off.”

City Girls Who Walks takes place every Sunday at 12 pm in cities across the country.