If lockdown’s inspired you to glow up then you won’t be a stranger to the wealth of health and fitness influencers out there. But who’s the richest of them all? Here’s what data collected from YouTube, Instagram and TikTok by Currys PC World shows.
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Who take pole position?
If we’re talking cold, hard cash then the overall number one for annual earnings across all three platforms is Londoner Simeon Panda. The self-styled fitness entrepreneur makes an estimated $17.5/£12.6 million per year through his various projects. As well as his videos, Panda judges bodybuilding contests and hosts numerous workshops and conferences worldwide.
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Panda also takes the top spot for earnings on Instagram, where he makes an eye-watering average of $19,600/£14,000 per post.
Panda’s focus is body building but also he also provides general workouts, nutrition advice and fitness tips. His fiancée Chanel Brown is a successful fitness and beauty blogger, and the couple (dubbed the ‘fittest couple in the world’) often post together on the ‘gram (#couplegoals).
What other fitness influencers are on the rich list?
In second place overall is American bodybuilder and fitness trainer Ulisses Williams Jr. whose total estimated earnings are just over $16.5/£11.9 million per year. Interestingly, Williams Jr. might make slightly less than Panda but he’s got nearly a million more followers across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
Taking bronze is Colombian Ingrid Macher, who earns an estimated $14.5/£10.5 million per year overall. Macher’s rise to fitness and nutrition expert is through battling her own health issues, which culminated in a double mastectomy. Now, Macher focuses on building her fitness and lifestyle empire through her books. She also has her own YouTube channel offering classes (en español).
Missing the top spots but coming a respectable fourth, is Joe Wicks, known to most parents thanks to his morning PE routines. Wicks pulls in lucrative annual earnings of $13.9/£10 million (he’s also the only male fitness influencer mentioned here who doesn’t look like he’s going to burst a blood vessel to me).
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Which others are ones to watch?
Commanding $38,723/£27,977 Pamela Reif is number one for average earnings per post across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Yep – that’s right, per post. Unlike the other influencers listed here, Reif stays silent throughout all her workouts. So, if you’re not into excitable chatter but do love exercising to Ibiza club classics, these could be workouts for you.
Earning an estimated $3.9/£2.8 million per year, Matt Morsia is YouTube’s biggest earner. Morsia used to be a PE teacher and was one of the UK’s top triple jumpers. His workouts and weightlifting challenges come off the back of an eating disorder and injury that ended his Olympic dreams.
TikTok might be a relative social media newbie but there’s still money to be made. And the biggest earner is Demi Bagby.
Bagby beat the odds when she regained her strength and mobility after a freak accident left her in a wheelchair. She is now TikTok’s most successful fitness influencer, with annual earnings of $1.8/£1.3 million.
Which fitness influencers are rich in followers?
Money’s all well and good but when it comes to social media, likes and followers are powerful currencies too. Taking the popularity top spot by far is Chloe Ting with almost 20 million followers across all three platforms. The Brunei-born Australian Ting also has the most likes per post (averaging 1.2 million). Some of her videos have in excess of 5 million views. As well as a range of fitness plans, she offers nutrition advice too.
Compared to many fitness influencers, she’s the kind of person who’d be your encouraging bestie — a position she also curates on her website and in her videos. Ting’s friendly quirkiness is definitely watchable and makes her a lot less intimidating (which I, desperately trying to reduce my mummy tummy, can testify to!). Her approachability is perhaps the secret to her popularity.
Despite her army of followers, Ting’s earnings are modest comparatively — just over $2/£1.4 million annually across all platforms. However, that could be down to the fact she doesn’t charge for any of the fitness or meal plans on her website.
If you don’t fancy following the crowd, and fitness influencers aren’t your thing, why not try these home gym ideas that don’t break the bank? Or, if you like fancy kit, see whether Peloton really is worth the cash…
