Digital fitness has been on a raging uptrend in the past decade, and has only been heightened by the COVID pandemic. During the international lockdowns, many individuals found it quite taxing to maintain a good workout regime, causing them to turn towards the internet for their fitness needs. This was where many fitness influencers found their calling, as people such as Austin Dotson– a fitness/lifestyle influencer, model, and Gymshark partner– rose to prominence by helping people through their screens, yet on a personal level. With a wide sphere of influence, Dotson is well-known across Instagram and YouTube for his crazy stunts, dashing sense of style, and advocacy for better lifestyles in all aspects.
Austin Dotson’s past served as the catalyst for what he does now. Growing up, Dotson loved football with his whole heart and mind. It was his passion, and he wanted to live a life pursuing it. Dotson trained constantly, which gained him a priceless respect for the value of hard work. Using this lesson, he powered through the years of practices, games, and hardships that life threw at him. After working tirelessly throughout middle and high school, Dotson earned a generous scholarship to Sacramento State University, which he gratefully accepted. Now playing football at the collegiate level, Dotson felt atop the world. His childhood dream was made; he had a great education going, fans, life-long friends, and more. The next step was to get drafted into the NFL, run with the big-shots, then happily retire into the Hall of Fame. However, whenever Dotson’s senior year of college neared, the NFL draft simply passed him by.
image courtesy of Austin Dotson
With his future now completely uncertain, Austin Dotson felt the weight of the world as it seemed to turn its back on him. Without the NFL, he didn’t know where to go; the plan had always been to make it to the big league and play like the idols he had grown up watching on Sunday night football. Now, though, this wasn’t going to happen. Much to his dismay, he graduated college without a clear path ahead, and took up a job at a mortgage firm to make his ends meet. Dotson recalls these years as the most intense of his life, as the daily, depressing grind melted his once exuberant vigor down to nothing. He was frustrated, but most of all sad with himself. In order to deal with his depression, he took to substance abuse to numb it all. After getting fired from the mortgage firm, Austin Dotson was just about ready to give up on this world and on his life ever being more than a sad story of what could have been great. With a daughter depending on him for support, bills flooding the doorstep, and no sign of help from anyone, Dotson was accepting that he was a failure. This all changed though, after the final straw was revealed– on Christmas day, Austin Dotson spent the night in jail for a DUI charge.
January 3rd, 2017 was Dotson’s day of judgment for himself. He took a long, hard stare into his own soul and realized his imbalances, imperfections, and vices. From that point forward, Austin Dotson pledged to himself that he would not let his past and failures define him, for he knew he had so much more to offer to the world. After filing for unemployment, Dotson put together what little savings he had to purchase a membership at a small, local gym. It was a first step– a first step towards his future. Consistency in the gym rebuilt his confidence and discipline, which lent a large hand in him scoring a therapist position. With this career, Doston was helping those who found themselves in a situation similar to that which he himself was in not too long ago. He recommended his clients to improve themselves holistically, and, after watching firsthand how impactful such an improvement can be, Dotson decided to share this with the rest of the world. Now, with over 500,000 Instagram followers, Austin Dotson is changing lives, one post at a time.
image courtesy of Austin Dotson
At only 30 years young, Austin Dotson is making waves on the internet as he shows the power of treating yourself right. He emphasizes lifelong lessons such as eating healthy food, maintaining productive habits, taking time to address your mental health, and being confident in who you are. His travels, fashion, and workout instructions are all delivered in fun, trendy ways that catch the eye of those needing an idol to look up to.
To see for yourself how Austin Dotson is changing the world, digitally, check out his official Instagram page for more!
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