Tammy Hembrow is arguably one of Australia’s most successful creators. Here’s how she made it.
Key Takeaways
- Tammy Hembrow has more than 16 million Instagram followers and two successful businesses
- Hembrow realised the power of harnessing your following almost immediately after joining Instagram
Tammy Hembrow always knew she would never work a regular 9 to 5. It just wasn’t for her – instead, she would end up becoming one of Australia’s most successful creators, with an Instagram following of 16.8 million and two businesses under her belt.
“I always had that entrepreneurial spirit,” Hembrow tells Forbes Australia. “From when I was young, I wanted to be my own boss. I could never see myself working underneath anyone else.”
Hembrow has found her niche in fitness, something she says she got into just after high school to help her out of a dark place.
“I was not in a good place – I was quite depressed,” she says. “I started getting into meditation and yoga, and that snowballed into weight training. Then I just found a love for the gym and all aspects of fitness.”
“Trust is a really hard thing for me. A lot of people will try to get close to you just because you’re successful – for the wrong reasons.”
– Tammy Hembrow, content creator and business owner.
She started posting fitness content on her Instagram in 2014, and shortly after, fell pregnant with her first son, Wolf. She would go on to document her journey as both a young mum and gym junkie on Instagram, too.
“I had a lot of people in my ear when I was pregnant with Wolf because I was quite young, I had people saying., ‘Oh, your life will be over. Your body will never be the same.’
“And it just sort of made me want to share it, even more, to prove everyone wrong. I’m still going to be successful, I’m still going to be fit in the gym, and I’m still going to have an amazing life. Just watch me.”
Hembrow quickly realised the power of having a following – even a small one. Almost immediately after the birth of Wolf, she launched her businesses: TammyFit, a downloadable fitness PDF program-turned-app. The TammyFit app has been downloaded more than 1.7 million times since its release.
When Hembrow fell pregnant with her first child Wolf at 20, she began sharing her journey on Instagram, and her following snowballed even more.
“I just loved sharing aspect of it,” she says.
“I had a lot of people in my ear when I was pregnant with Wolf because I was quite young, I had people saying., ‘Oh, your life will be over. Your body will never be the same.’ And it just sort of made me want to share it even more to prove everyone wrong. I’m still going to be successful, I’m still going to be fit in the gym, I’m still going to have an amazing life. Just watch me.”
After the birth of her second child, Saskia, Hembrow launched her second business, activewear brand Saski Collection, with the help of her sister Amy.
Both of Hembrow’s businesses have a combined near-1 million followers on Instagram, which is a testament to her marketing prowess. But Hembrow gives credit where credit is due, and Amy, who now works at TammyFit, was instrumental in the business’ success: “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her.”
Hembrow is one of four girls, and the sisters are extremely close – she’s even starting another business with another sister shortly (it’s in the early stages of development, she says).
“People say don’t work with family but I think, who can you trust more? Trust is a really hard thing for me. A lot of people will try to get close to you just because you’re successful – for the wrong reasons. So, for me, having good relationships and having my family around supporting me is so important,” she says.
Hembrow has plans to expand both her businesses and, but her real mission is to continue to motivate and inspire people.
“You can be a mum, you can be fit and healthy and go to the gym, you can love fashion and care about your looks and success. It’s not wrong to want it all.”
