It\u2019s hard to spend more than a few minutes on social media before bumping into something that originated from TikTok. Created in 2018, the short-form video-sharing app has accelerated during the past year \u2014 typical creators can include comedians, musicians, Fortune 500 companies, media publications, celebrities and, to whom the platform owes its popularity, millions of Gen-Z users \u2014 and has quickly disrupted the social media landscape with around a billion total users.<\/p>\n
Take a scroll through TikTok\u2019s algorithm-based \u2018For You\u2019 page and you\u2019ll notice that there\u2019s no one-size-fits-all approach to creating content that excels on the platform. In a few downward swipes, you can go from a Kenyan furniture store to pro cyclists in Colombia, a calisthenics expert in Oregon to Gordon Ramsay\u2019s latest, expletive-ridden critique of a follower\u2019s steak tartare.<\/p>\n
One such community interacting with this new audience are fitness, health and wellness enthusiasts, known collectively as \u2018#FitTok\u2019, who are using the platform to create engaging content and actionable advice for younger people looking to make positive change.<\/p>\n
Popular #FitTok content can take many forms across the TikTok landscape, including beginner-friendly yoga<\/a>, protein recipe hacks, no-BS bodybuilding advice and even insights into high-performance athletes or celebrities.<\/p>\n Through educational initiatives like #LearnOnTikTok<\/a> \u2014 which positions the app as a \u201cplatform not only for entertainment but creative, bite-sized and joyful learning\u201d \u2014 TikTok promotes itself as a safe space for anyone looking to absorb or share advice from others in a similar mindset and, for those creating the content, a way of making measurable change and disrupting questionable fitness advice on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cMy whole business is built around simplifying the complex ideas that surround health and fitness and TikTok gives the perfect platform serving bite-sized 15-60 second pieces of content…if I can simplify a complex idea enough to communicate it in a 60-second video, I think I’ve done my job well,\u201d explains Tony Coffey<\/a>, who currently shares his knowledge to 241,000 active followers. \u201c[TikTok] has given me a tremendous feeling of love being able to reach so many people and help give them the confidence and understanding in their own health.\u201d<\/p>\n