An Inside Look at Katie Austin’s In-Person Workout Class in New York City

The California-based fitness instructor brought her charisma to the Big Apple for a class sponsored by Energi.

Katie Austin / Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images

The energy in the room overlooking Union Square Park was palpable. The moment I walked through the door, I was met with excited chatter. It was the sort of energy that seems to follow California-based fitness instructor Katie Austin wherever she goes.

If you’re an avid Austin fan—either a subscriber to her fitness platform or otherwise—then you know this to be true. The beauty of her fitness classes lies not only in expert planning and execution, but also in her attitude.

There’s something about Austin’s bubbly personality (the same one she brings to her SI Swimsuit photo shoots and runway appearances) that turns what could be just a simple fitness class into something more: an opportunity to let loose and laugh at the same time that you’re sweating.

And it’s the foundation of her community-building initiative, too. Austin appreciates digital fitness for the way that it connects people across states (and, perhaps, even countries). That’s exactly what she has cultivated in her namesake platform over the past decade: the opportunity to “connect with so many more people,” she tells SI Lifestyle in a recent sit-down. It builds a community, in which “my girls can talk to each other from across the country.”

SI Staff

But, for Austin, there is something special about the “energy” of an in-person class. “I love teaching and correcting form in person,” she explains. “I love to blast music and lead classes based on the vibes of my audience.”

All of that was apparent in the studio off of Union Square Park, in the workout sponsored by Energi on Thursday, June 6. Austin brought her characteristic energy, enhanced only by the group of girls that she gathered to move with her, all outfitted in warm yellow Beyond Yoga sets and white Easy Spirit sneakers. She demonstrated movements and wove through the mats correcting form and offering encouragement. She blasted music and expressed her gratitude for the chance to teach in-person in New York City.

After the workout, girls stuck around to chat, to mingle, to lean into that sense of community that Austin brings to bear in her digital instruction, as well as her in-person classes. They snagged water bottles from Beyond Yoga and compostable straws from Repurpose and waited in line for the braid bar courtesy of Glamsquad.

The walls of the space echoed the motivation that Austin spoke into her clip-on headset throughout the workout. One quote from the instructor read, “One Body. One Life. Make it Count.” Another, spoken by her mother and fellow fitness instructor, Denise Austin, said, “Get fit because you are worth it.”

SI Staff

SI Staff

The words were a testament to her ethos, passed down by her mother, who taught workout classes on VHS in the 1980s. Austin is dedicated to movement and to teaching others. And not simply through words of encouragement, but likewise through her persona—the bubbly charisma that makes getting up and following her lead on the mat enjoyable, rather than a chore.