Whitney Johns Talks About Her Journey From Chronic Illness to Fitness Champion

By Tina Mulqueen Tina Mulqueen has been verified by Muck Rack's editorial team
Published on March 29, 2023

Fitness entrepreneur and cover model Whitney Johns amassed nearly a million followers on Instagram. A channel that started as a means to support her modeling career began resonating with audiences when she took the opportunity to educate her followers about fitness and nutrition.

“I grew up with chronic pain and awful migraines,” says Johns. “I just had this poor quality of life even as a young kid. I always felt like an old woman in a young girl’s body. I dove into troubleshooting it myself [about] how to fuel my body properly so I wouldn’t have to be affected by all these ailments.”

Drawing from her own nutrition journey to overcome childhood illness, Johns became a model of self-determination.

“The way that it built confidence and the way that it empowered me…having that control to create the physique that you want and create the life that you want. I was hooked and so I decided to make it my career and teach others,” she says.

A year ago, she launched her own product line, Whitney Johns Nutrition. (Disclosure: this is how Whitney and I got to know each other – I do some consulting for her partner, Healthy Extracts, Inc.)

“I saw in the fitness industry there was a lot of gimmicky stuff and misinformation and things being sold that are actually harmful to your health,” says Whitney. “I made it my mission to bring a line to market that’s really going to help people with their gut health, their mental health, their brain health and their hormone health.”

Experiencing early success in customer subscriptions, her product line is featured alongside a collection of inspirational women-owned product businesses on Amazon’s Buy with Prime in celebration of Women’s History Month.

“It’s such an honor, because it’s in this elite group of women-owned businesses…it’s really a testament to the quality of the products and what they’re doing for people’s lives,” she says.

Whitney was quick to point to the confidence she gained during her journey as a pillar of her success.

“If you can focus on one thing that you can get better at…if that’s as simple as showing up to the gym and working out for 30 minutes. Not striving for perfection, but knowing that brick by brick the more that you keep these commitments that you’re making to yourself, it’s going to strengthen your confidence and who you are and what you deserve.”

As for Whitney, the next brick for her personal confidence journey is in the boxing ring. She has accepted a challenge to compete in a UK-based celebrity boxing tournament in April.

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By Tina Mulqueen Tina Mulqueen has been verified by Muck Rack's editorial team

Tina is a Staff Writer at Grit Daily. Based in Washington, she speaks and writes regularly on sustainable marketing and entrepreneurship practices. She’s carved out a niche in digital media and entertainment, working with brands as CBS, Vanity Fair, Digital Trends and Marie Claire; and at such events as The Academy Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, the Emmy's, and the BAFTAs. Her writing has been featured in a regular column on Forbes, Thrive Global, Huffington Post, Elite Daily and various other outlets. For her work, she’s been recognized in Entrepreneur, Adweek, and more. Tina also founded a non-profit, Cause Influence, to expand the reach of important social causes. Under her non-profit, she takes on pro bono clients with an emphasis on equality and representation. She also founded and manages a media company called Et al. Meaning “and others,” Et al.’s mission is telling the stories of underrepresented individuals and communities.

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