How does a personal trainer from Adelaide end up on Australia’s Young Rich List? For Kayla Itsines, it started with a PDF workout guide and an Instagram account.
Fast forward a decade, and she has sold her fitness app for hundreds of millions, bought it back, and built a property portfolio most people only dream about. Time Magazine named her one of the most influential people on the internet, and Forbes ranked her as the top fitness influencer globally.
If you’ve ever wondered how she did it, this article will walk you through it. We’ll cover everything, including her net worth, business timeline, her personal life and the lessons you can learn from her success.
Let’s begin.
What Is Kayla Itsines’ Net Worth in 2026?
Kayla Itsines’ net worth sits at approximately $176 million, according to the 2025 AFR Young Rich List. That figure jumped by $5 million at the start of the financial year, which is a pretty wild number for a personal trainer who started in her parents’ backyard.
We’ll now break down her net worth and how she compares to other Aussie influencers.
Net Worth Estimates and Figures
You’ll find different numbers depending on where you look. Some outlets estimate her fortune at $115 million, while others push it closer to $200 million. The gap comes down to how each source values her assets. Property, app ownership, sponsorships, and investments all get calculated differently.
But what’s consistent across the board is that Kayla hit millionaire status at just 22, without being backed by investors or venture capital. Rather, the money came from selling PDF workout guides online with Tobi Pearce.
Comparison to Other Australian Influencers
Kayla’s wealth puts her in rare company. Her fortune rivals actress Margot Robbie’s, which says something about how far the fitness industry has come. She also ranks among Australia’s wealthiest self-made women under 40.
And not only is she ahead of other fitness influencers, but she’s also outpacing entrepreneurs across completely different industries as well (she didn’t rely on franchising like older fitness models).
Now, a lot of Aussie creators have built massive Instagram followings. But converting that into a $400 million app sale and a property portfolio? There are very few who have pulled that off.
Who Is Kayla Itsines? The Origin and Early Life
Kayla Itsines is an Australian personal trainer, entrepreneur, and co-founder of the Sweat fitness app. With over 16 million Instagram followers, she has built one of the largest online fitness communities in the world. And people consider her to be one of Australia’s most successful self-made businesswomen.
Let’s look at where she came from and how she got started.
Age, Greek Heritage, and Family Background
Kayla grew up in a tight-knit Greek-Australian household in Adelaide. Her birth date is May 21, 1991, which makes her 34 years old now (as of April 2026).
Her parents, Anna and Jim Itsines, are both school teachers. That background influenced her disciplined approach to work and her focus on education within her fitness programmes.
Fitness runs in the family, too. Kayla’s younger sister, Leah, works as a personal trainer and food stylist. She has also built her own following and contributes recipes to the Sweat app.
Early Career as an Adelaide Personal Trainer
Before building the global empire, Kayla was just a local trainer trying to help women feel stronger and build confidence. She graduated from the Australian Institute of Fitness at 18 and landed her first job at a women’s gym in Adelaide.
She started by training her sister’s friends who wanted to get fit for netball. Kayla would log their progress with before-and-after photos. Then her 12-year-old cousin made a suggestion that changed everything: Why not post these photos on Instagram to build your profile?
Not long after, thousands of people were following her posts in just a few months, with even more waiting for her next update featuring transformation photos and fitness advice.
Founder insight: Many scalable businesses begin with solving a small, specific problem for people you already know.
How Did Kayla Itsines Build Her Fitness Empire?
Kayla Itsines built her fitness empire by selling PDF workout guides online, then launching the Sweat app in 2015. There was no master plan at the start. She just kept solving problems and pushing through challenges while saying yes to opportunities as they came.
Let’s take a closer look at how each stage of her business unfolded.
The Bikini Body Guide PDF
The whole thing started with the creation of a simple e-book her partner, Tobi Pearce, suggested. Mr Pearce saw how many people were asking Kayla for her workouts online, and figured they could package it up and sell it.
In March 2013, they founded the Bikini Body Training company together. Kayla handled the training content, while Tobi took on the role of managing the business as CEO.
The PDF guides took off faster than either of them expected. By October 2014, they’d hit one million downloads (all from word of mouth and Instagram shares).
Launching the Sweat App
The app gave women access to Kayla’s workouts anywhere in the world. It launched in 2015 with her signature 28-minute programs already built in. And by 2016, Sweat had become the top fitness app for women globally. Besides being popular, it was generating more revenue than any other fitness app on the market.
The platform now offers thousands of workouts in multiple languages, with women in over 140 countries using it at home or in the gym.
The $400 Million Sale to iFIT and 2023 Buyback
In 2021, Kayla and Tobi sold Sweat for a reported $400 million. The buyer was iFIT, a US fitness tech company that owns brands like NordicTrack. At the time of sale, the app was pulling in around $100 million in annual revenue. It had about half a million paying subscribers.
But the story didn’t end there. When iFIT shifted its focus back to hardware, Kayla and Tobi saw an opening, so they bought the company back in November 2023 for reportedly much less than the original sale price.
What Awards and Recognition Has Kayla Itsines Received?
Kayla Itsines has received recognition from Time Magazine, Forbes, Apple, and the Australian Financial Review (AFR). Each one marked a turning point in how the fitness industry viewed online creators.
Below are the key recognitions Ms Itsines has earned over the years:
- Time Magazine’s 30 Most Influential People on the Internet: In March 2016, Time named Kayla to this list for her ability to build a global community through social media. She was one of the few fitness figures included in the list.
- Forbes Top Fitness Influencer: Forbes ranked her as the number one fitness influencer in the world in 2017. The recognition put her ahead of trainers with far longer careers.
- Apple Watch Ad Campaign: Apple featured the fitness entrepreneur in an April 2015 ad showing the heart-rate monitor, and this global campaign helped boost her brand’s credibility.
- AFR Young Rich List: She first appeared on this list in 2016 and hasn’t dropped off since. Her current valuation ($176 million) makes her one of Australia’s wealthiest self-made women under 40.
These accolades helped legitimise fitness influencing as a viable career path. And when you think about it, Kayla wasn’t just posting workout videos. She was building a brand and business that major companies and publications couldn’t ignore.
What Are the BBG Workouts?
BBG workouts are 28-minute high-intensity circuit training sessions designed for women to do anywhere with minimal equipment. The program originally launched as a 12-week PDF guide, but it has evolved into a full library of programs inside the Sweat app.
We’ll walk through how the workouts are structured and why they gained popularity.
28-Minute High-Intensity Circuits
The short workout time means women can fit training into busy schedules. You don’t need a full hour at the gym, just 28 minutes and enough space to move.
Each session contains four 7-minute circuits with short breaks in between. The structure keeps your heart rate up while allowing brief recovery periods to push through the pain.
To be specific, the exercises include burpees, squats, lunges, and mountain climbers. They’re effective compound movements that target multiple muscle groups at once, and the goal is to complete as many reps as possible within each circuit.
The #BBG Community and Transformation Movement
The #BBG hashtag has hundreds of thousands of posts from women sharing their progress. It’s one of the largest fitness communities on Instagram. Women post before-and-after photos showing how their bodies changed over 12 weeks. Some use this platform to share their struggles, and others celebrate hitting new personal bests. The entire vibe is supportive rather than competitive.
As we mentioned earlier, the Adelaide-born trainer built her brand by reposting these real transformation stories. That means instead of putting focus on her own body or lifestyle, she put the spotlight on her community.
The approach made women feel seen and kept them coming back, which was a powerful strategy as an Australian female entrepreneur.
System principle: The programme works because it combines habit design, social proof, and low barriers in one loop.
How Does Kayla Itsines Make Money Outside of Fitness?
Kayla Itsines has developed income streams beyond the Sweat app, including commercial real estate, brand partnerships, and published content. She has also spoken about the importance of diversifying her wealth rather than relying on a single internet-based business.
Here’s where her money goes beyond the Sweat app:
- Commercial Real Estate: Kayla owns petrol stations and medical centres that generate steady rental income. These assets provide passive cash flow that doesn’t depend on app subscriptions or social media trends.
- Residential Property Portfolio: Ms Itsines has invested in residential property as part of her overall portfolio. Public reporting confirms that she has bought and sold high-value homes, although specific financial outcomes aren’t always consistently documented across sources.
- Instagram Sponsorships: She has a social media following in the tens of millions, and brand partnerships form a key part of her business model. Exact earnings from sponsorships are not publicly disclosed, but her audience size and engagement suggest that this channel contributes great revenue.
- Published Books: Pan Macmillan released two of her books in 2016 and 2017 on fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle. These publications extend her brand beyond digital platforms and provide an additional source of income tied to her expertise.
As you can see, Kayla’s financial decisions point towards independence from platform-driven income cycles.
What Is Kayla Itsines’ Personal Life Like?
Kayla Itsines is married to Jae Woodroffe and has two children from two different relationships. She has spoken publicly about balancing motherhood with running a global fitness business. Her personal life has undergone significant changes in recent years.
Let’s find out what her family situation looks like today.
Marriage to Jae Woodroffe
Kayla and Jae got engaged after just one year of dating. They announced the news in July 2022, shortly after revealing they were expecting their first child together.
The couple tied the knot in December 2023 at an Adelaide ceremony. Itsines described it as the most perfect day ever on Instagram.
Not only is Jae her husband, but he’s also involved in the business side of things. He works in disability services as a board member of SA Living Solutions, plus helps manage aspects of the Sweat app.
Two Children and Co-Parenting With Tobi Pearce
Ms Itsines co-parents her daughter, Arna, with former partner Tobi Pearce. Arna was born in April 2019. Her second child, a son named Jax, was born in January 2023 with her husband Jae Woodroffe. She has expressed on her personal Facebook page that her two pregnancy experiences were very different (she mixes lifestyle updates with her fitness content now).
Kayla and Tobi separated in August 2020 after eight years together. Despite the separation, both of them have maintained a strong co-parenting relationship.
2024 Relocation and $13M Gold Coast Mansion
The family’s new Gold Coast home cost $13 million. It’s a waterfront property in Mermaid Waters with over 80 metres of waterfrontage.
The Australian fitness entrepreneur sold her Adelaide home in March 2024 before relocating to Queensland. The move brought her geographically closer to former partner Tobi Pearce, who lives on the Gold Coast with his wife, Rachel Dillon.
What Business Lessons Can You Learn From Kayla Itsines?
You can learn lessons about income diversification, community building, authenticity, and business ownership from Kayla Itsines. While we think that she didn’t follow a traditional business playbook, the principles behind her success can apply across many industries.
These are the key takeaways from how she built her empire:
- Diversify Your Income Streams: Kayla has said publicly that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. As mentioned earlier, she has invested in petrol stations, medical centres, and residential property. It suggests an effort to diversify her income outside the Sweat app.
- Build Community Before Products: The BBG community existed before the app did. Women were already sharing transformation photos and tagging Kayla on Instagram. That organic growth made launching products much easier.
- Stay Authentic to Your Audience: Kayla’s partnerships and content have remained closely aligned with her fitness and lifestyle brand. She has avoided collaborations that fall outside that positioning, which has helped maintain audience trust over time.
- Know When to Buy Back Control: Selling Sweat to iFIT made her millions. But after the company refocused on its core hardware business and Sweat’s performance declined, she bought it back. Regaining ownership gave her control over the brand’s future and protected what she had built.
What’s the takeaway, then? At its core, her strategy moved from exposure to control without losing momentum.
Capital strategy: Liquidity events are most important when you know what to do after the exit.
Final Thoughts on Kayla Itsines
Kayla Itsines went from training clients in her parents’ backyard to building a $176 million fitness empire. She sold her app for $400 million, bought it back, and diversified into real estate along the way. Not bad for someone who started with PDF guides and an Instagram account.
Her story shows what’s possible when you build community first and keep continuing over time. And the business lessons apply far beyond fitness: diversify your income, stay authentic, and know when to take back control.
If you want more inspiration from people who’ve built successful businesses in Australia, don’t forget to check out our other profiles of Australian entrepreneurs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You might still have a few questions about Kayla Itsines’ business, lifestyle, and long-term success. The answers below cover additional details.
What Business Model Does Kayla Itsines Use?
Kayla Itsines uses a digital subscription model through her fitness app. The model generates recurring revenue instead of one-time sales, which supports long-term growth and more predictable income.
How Does Kayla Itsines Manage Work And Family Life?
Kayla Itsines has discussed balancing business responsibilities with motherhood. Her routine reflects a flexible structure where personal commitments and professional work operate alongside each other.
Why Is The Sweat App So Popular With Users?
The Sweat app remains popular because it provides guided programs, trainer variety, and consistent updates. The platform supports long-term use by offering progression rather than one-off workout plans.
How Did Having A Second Child Affect Kayla Itsines’ Life?
Kayla Itsines has said her second pregnancy experience differed from her first. Her public updates now include more lifestyle content, which reflects a closer connection between her daily life and brand.
