Paige Hathaway, Star Fitness Innovator, Pride Of Minnesota

A Prince’s reign in any time period can be measured by how much he changed lives in a positive way while he ruled.

The late global impacting musician Prince changed the music industry in the 1980’s in a way that few could and virtually no one else did, not only with his emotionally penetrating singing abilities but his innovative sense of fashion style as well.

Purple Rain was the sound track to his well-received 1984 film debut.

It quickly became his most critically and commercially successful release, spending 24 consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 and selling over 20 million units worldwide.

In terms of expectations, he certainly set the bar high for singers, male or female who emanate from Minnesota.

So when you hear of a performer with the name Paige Hathaway and her bio says that she hails from Minnesota, its hard not to conjure up images of Prince and make comparisons.

That however would be futile since, despite the catchy musical name, Paige is actually an International Fitness Star.

Still, even in that world, comparisons to other great stars are inevitable.

At one of the world’s leading financial news and information sources, forbes.com, that speak to this. “Jen Selter’s booty has been stealing the show. The fitness model mostly known for her derriere has amassed more than 350,000 followers on Twitter and an even more substantial following on Instagram, with over 2.6 million loyal disciples. Yet, Selter does not own this vastly expanding fitness model sphere all to herself. In fact, many sexy, fit and energetic females are beginning to find a niche in the fitness world and are turning to trusted advisors to help exploit their chiseled cores and bubbling characters. One such individual is a small town girl born and raised in Minnesota named Paige Hathaway.”

We loved Jen like crazy and wrote about her.

Jen Selter, Global Fitness Belfie Princess, Butt of Attention

Paige receives even more adoration from the financial world. At businessinsider.com they praise, “At last count, social media star Paige Hathaway has 4.3 million Facebook likes, 3.2 million Instagram followers and 172,000 Twitter followers. At 28-years-old, she is one of the top fitness celebrities on social media and thousands of new people click the “follow” button on her accounts every day.”

It is easy to understand why we follow her around like a fitness puppy.

She’s young, gorgeous, a physical specimen, charismatic and innovative just for starters and yes she does have an amazing story and is gracious enough to share it with her.

At her dynamic website paigehathaway.com she is welcomes, “The last two years of my life have taken me on the most amazing journey full of opportunities I could have never imagined. I never anticipated my passion and dedication to fitness would turn into a career or gain me so much notoriety. You know the fit and tone Paige you see in my social media posts, but now I want you to get to know the real me. I want you to understand how I started my fitness journey, how I got to where I am today and why I want to use my success to help others achieve their fitness goals.

I’m 26 years old, a small town girl born and raised in Minnesota. After living several different places I am now living in the great southern state of Oklahoma. I always get asked how I got to where I am today. There was no strategically planned path I took to a career in fitness. It all started rather unexpectedly. In 2011 I was not the toned and fit woman I am today, as some of you know from my social media posts. I was very thin with hardly any muscle tone. It was then that I was approached by a trainer at the gym about proper health and nutrition. After speaking with the trainer I decided to step out of my comfort zone and enter my first bikini competition.

Being unhealthy comes in all forms, whether it is being too thin or overweight. I desired to be a strong fit woman. Although I had grown up playing soccer and being active I had never made my health or fitness a priority. I had never lifted weights! I had never been stronger than the guy next to me at the gym. I didn’t consider myself an athlete. But over the next 4 months I would train harder than I ever had and push my body to limits I never knew I could. Finally competition day came; little did I know my life would never be the same. I placed 2nd at Ronnie Coleman Classic, the biggest NPC statewide competition in the United States. The show resulted in exposure I never could have anticipated.

After the competition I felt accomplished and like I had truly changed myself. I had found a passion for fitness I never knew I had. From then on I was laser focused, continuing to educate myself on health and nutrition, as well as setting new fitness goals. I knew I wanted a career in the fitness industry. Unlike other industries, there was no manual or guide on how to do this, so all I could do was go off of what I knew. I knew that if you want something you have to do whatever it takes to make it happen. I attended every fitness show and expo I could and passed out flyers about myself to anyone in the industry who would take one. After much persistence I finally started to receive sponsorship from companies in the fitness industry.

As I was trying to build a name for myself in fitness, I also saw the power and reach that social media had. I knew that it was a way I could reach others and could be a powerful tool to inspire other people by simply sharing who I am and my own fitness journey. I have truly been touched and humbled by people’s reaction to my social media and the career I have in the fitness industry.

I am overwhelmed by people’s positive responses to my pictures and posts. In a matter of one year, I went from having a few hundred followers to over half a million on Instagram. I still can’t believe it! My experiences over the last few years have allowed me to find out what really matters to me. I love competing, modeling and working with companies like Shredz. However what I have I found most fulfilling is helping other people achieve their fitness goals. There is nothing more rewarding than sharing your own story and being told it helped empower someone else to achieve his or her goals.

I have found a purpose: To help others see having a fit lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to completely give up things you love, change your entire life or achieve one certain look. I want to motivate others to be healthy, fit and confident by being an example of someone who makes her health a priority while still living a fun balanced life!”

With a massive fan base, she’s in the midst of building a fitness empire all on her own.

Like any business, it is so important to expand.

She has a , creates personalized training programs for clients, carefully selects her endorsements and keeps her followers happy with daily photos and videos.

No wonder the financial world is impressed with her.

Recently she signed a 1-year deal with two additional one year options with Healthost for an equity stake worth around seven figures.

How does she do it? We wish that we knew her secret of success formula.

She’s even open enough to even speak to that.

A team of six employees help Hathaway manage her life, social media accounts and websites, all paid for through money earned through lucrative endorsement deals.

That is even more impressive since so many fitness stars are one woman marching bands having to do and generate their growth all by themselves.

Our Minnesota beauty has more than earned our attention. We want more.

Paige is a big advocate of plyometrics.

Plyometrics, also known as “jump training” or “plyos”, are exercises in which muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time, with the goal of increasing power (speed-strength).

This training focuses on learning to move from a muscle extension to a contraction in a rapid or “explosive” manner, such as in specialized repeated jumping.

Plyometrics are primarily used by athletes, especially martial artists, sprinters and high jumpers, to improve performance, and are used in the fitness field to a much lesser degree.

This training style includes explosive powerful training exercises that are trained to activate the quick response and elastic properties of the major muscles in the body.

Paige sure knows her stuff.

The success of a person with the right stuff is often measured by the distance from where they started against how far they have come.

At greatestphysiques.com they relate, “Born and raised in the north of the USA, Minnesota, Paige’s family was very unstable. She lived in a trailer with an alcoholic father, surviving off food stamps. Her parents eventually divorced.”

Her home life remained unstable throughout her childhood. She moved between a foster home and two other families in the span of 12 years.

What future would you have predicted for a young girl raised in the situation?

Paige always seems to defy the odds and not only does she excel, she inspires others to greater heights as well.

Shredz, a small bodybuilding company signed her to be a brand ambassador.

Shredz is a nutritional supplement and fitness information company that has built its loyal following via social media and association with fitness celebs like Hathaway. According to Forbes, in its first year in 2012 it grossed $90,000.

A year later with Paige on their roster of talent, they exploded to $5 million gross revenue, evidence of the power of social media and our Minnesota star’s magnetism.

Bethany Meilani Hamilton-Dirks is an American professional surfer who survived a 2003 shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off but who ultimately returned to and was victorious in professional surfing.

She was once quoted as expressing, “Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of.”

That quote seems to speak to the little girl that Paige Hathaway was and to her reign as the captivating health and fitness leader that she has become.