We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Krysta Huber a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Krysta, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I’ve taken two major risks in my life.

The first was choosing an untraditional path for my career. I graduated college in 2016 with a degree in journalism, and at the time, I thought I’d end up as a financial newscaster—maybe on CNBC or Bloomberg. That goal initially led me into finance. I spent less than two years working at big banks and asset management firms, and very quickly realized I was not built to sit behind a desk all day.

So at 23, I took a leap—one that went against the advice of my parents, family, and friends. But in my gut, I just knew I was meant for something more. At the time, I thought that “something” was fitness.

I was coaching group fitness classes in the early mornings, sprinting home to change out of leggings and into heels, then heading to my 9–5 in uptown Charlotte. I started to notice that I felt more excited and fulfilled between 4am and 8am than I ever did during my actual workday.

So I left. I convinced myself that I was young, unattached, and if it didn’t work out, I could always go back.

Within a year of making that decision, I was burning out. Fast. I was essentially running the gym I worked at, without a lot of on-the-ground support. But that experience ended up being one of the best things that ever happened to me—it gave me the skills that would later help me build The Fitness FYX.

More importantly, it gave me clarity. I started to realize that I didn’t just want a different job—I wanted a different relationship to my career and my life. That realization became the catalyst for the second biggest risk I’ve ever taken: calling off my wedding.

I was six months out from getting married when I realized it wasn’t the job… and it wasn’t the relationship. It was me, and the version of life I was trying to force myself into. I walked away from it all—and two months later, the world shut down for COVID.

I felt like a failure. I didn’t know where to live, what to do next, or how to even start over. I convinced myself that taking risks had led me nowhere. But the truth? I hadn’t taken the next risk. I was stuck in fear, telling myself I had to go backwards because the first leap hadn’t panned out the way I hoped.

Eventually, I realized I needed to keep following the passion. That realization led me to start a podcast. That podcast led me to explore coaching—specifically, nutrition coaching—and to try my hand at this “online business” thing that so many trainers were pivoting to between 2020 and 2021.

That’s when The Fitness FYX was born.

And what made that decision so life-changing wasn’t just the business. It was what I learned about myself during that time—my relationship with food, with stress, with sleep, with overthinking. I realized how much I had let the pressure to perform keep me in survival mode.

Today, The Fitness FYX isn’t just a coaching program that teaches women how to hit their macros.

It’s a lifestyle.

It’s a space where high-functioning, high-performing women finally learn to put themselves first.
Where skipping meals to stay in meetings isn’t worn as a badge of honor.
Where being “selfish” is actually seen as a requirement to access your highest self.

If I had stayed on the path of boutique fitness, running myself into the ground while still looking fit, I never would’ve had that realization. And I wouldn’t be here now, doing the work I know I’m meant to do.

Because tracking macros and training hard might work—until it doesn’t.
Until you realize your stress, sleep, digestion, and boundaries are part of your results, too.

That’s what The Fitness FYX is really about: helping women remember that their health gets to support their whole life—not take away from it.

Krysta, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For those who haven’t come across my work yet — I’m Krysta Huber, a certified nutrition coach, personal trainer, podcast host, and founder of two businesses: The Fitness FYX, my online nutrition and fitness coaching company that I started in 2020, and The Clarity Collective, my newly founded social media agency (launched in Jan 2025).

At a glance, you’ll see that I’m passionate about helping women lose weight, feel strong, and take care of their health. But at its core, my work is really about helping high-achieving women realize that putting themselves first isn’t selfish — it’s necessary.

I got into this industry the long way around. I started my career in finance, left to pursue fitness full-time, and then realized there was a much bigger mission waiting for me: helping women reconnect with their bodies, understand their stress, and finally stop relying on all-or-nothing dieting strategies that were never designed to work long term.

Through The Fitness FYX, I coach busy women — especially corporate professionals and moms — who have tried every diet under the sun and still feel stuck. We help them stop obsessing over macros and meal plans, and instead create sustainable routines around food, movement, and mindset. The result? Fat loss that actually lasts because it fits into their real life.

It’s not about perfection. It’s about consistency, boundaries, and learning to be the kind of woman who eats lunch before a meeting — not after.

What sets The Fitness FYX apart is that we look at the whole person. We go way beyond calories and macros to help women manage stress, sleep better, and build the confidence to show up for themselves daily — without guilt. We offer 1:1 coaching, group programs, free digital resources, and a community of women who are learning how to be okay taking up space again.

Alongside that, I also run a social media content agency called The Clarity Collective. We support coaches, creatives, and online business owners who are tired of being the best-kept secret in their industry. We help them clarify their message, show up with confidence, and turn scroll-stopping content into paying clients — without selling their soul to the algorithm.

Whether it’s done-for-you content, high-converting messaging, or teaching you to create it all on your own through our done-with-you group coaching program, The Clarity Collective exists to make sure business owners’ brilliance doesn’t get lost in their notes app (what I like to call the idea graveyard), or at the bottom of their to-do list so often that social media feels like a pain… when it’s really meant to be a place of connection.

I’m incredibly proud of the transformations we create in both businesses — the physical, the emotional, the strategic, and the financial. But even more than that, I’m proud that my work gives people permission— to take care of themselves, to take up space, and to take action even when it feels scary.

If there’s one thing I want people to know about me and my brand?

You don’t need more willpower. You need better support. And probably more protein.

And if there’s one thing I want you to know about The Clarity Collective?

You’re not “bad at content.” You’re just not supposed to build your dream business using someone else’s voice, and it shouldn’t take you an hour to make one post. You’re a business owner, not a content creator. That means it’s my job to help you make reels, so you can focus on making deals.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I actually built my audience through in-person interactions — and that’s what most people overlook about social media.

What I’ve realized is that social media success is twofold.

First, you need to treat your online presence the same way you’d approach a real-life conversation. This is something I see a lot in the fitness coaching space: coaches jump straight into online coaching without ever learning how to connect with people face-to-face. They skip the part where you build trust, drop your guard, and actually help people before trying to sell them anything.

On the flip side, there are also amazing coaches who did start in-person — teaching group classes, training clients in gyms — but the second they get behind a keyboard, they lose that human element. The screen creates a barrier, and they forget how to simply be a person.

So what does it mean to translate those in-person skills online?

It means showing up like a normal human being.
Someone who’s willing to share the hard stuff.
Be vulnerable.
Tell your story.

For me, my social media really started to grow when I stopped only sharing tips and strategies — and started sharing the behind-the-scenes: what it looked like to leave what I thought was my dream job in fitness. At the time, I was helping launch and grow a boutique fitness studio. We were thriving — nearly 500 members in under a year, on track to hit 7 figures in revenue. I thought I’d eventually become a co-owner. But behind the scenes, I was burning out. I was losing my love for fitness, and losing touch with myself.

What that experience gave me, though, was clarity: I loved building something from the ground up — being part of a founding team, shaping the brand, and delivering a standout customer experience. That’s where I really came alive.

I also realized: I wasn’t meant to work for someone else.

Back then, I didn’t know what that next step would be. I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to stay in fitness. But fast forward to today — as the owner of both The Fitness FYX and my content agency, The Clarity Collective — I can now see how all those experiences in brick-and-mortar gyms laid the foundation for what I’m doing now.

So, circling back to the original question… building online isn’t about chasing numbers.

It’s about building connection. It’s about depth.

I have clients at The Clarity Collective who have fewer than 5,000 Instagram followers — and they’re generating $250k to $500k a year. Why? Because they’re crystal clear on who they serve, what problems they solve, and how to speak to that person directly.

They’re not trying to speak to everyone. They’re focused. And that’s why they convert.

So here’s the simple 3-part framework I teach inside The Clarity Collective:

1. Treat social media like a conversation. Show up like you would in person. Be helpful. Be human.
2. Lead with vulnerability. People want to know the whole version of you — not just the highlight reel.
3. Get super clear on your audience. Specificity creates trust. And trust creates sales.

That’s how you grow a brand online that actually moves people — not just your follower count.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Yes — my side hustle absolutely turned into my full-time business, though I didn’t know that’s what I was building at first.

I started coaching fitness classes on the side while working full-time in finance. I had just graduated with a journalism degree, taken a job at a big asset management firm, and was on a track that looked great on paper — but felt totally misaligned. I was waking up at 4am to coach or take classes, sprinting home to change into a blazer and heels, and heading to my corporate job… only to turn around and go back to the gym after work.

Eventually, I realized I looked forward to those early morning hours way more than anything that happened from 9 to 5. That clarity led me to take my first big leap: leaving my job in finance and going all in on fitness.

But here’s the part people don’t see — within a year, I was already burning out. I helped launch a boutique studio that grew quickly and hit nearly 500 members within its first year. I was pouring myself into the business, living off protein bars and caffeine, running myself into the ground while still being praised for how “fit” I looked.

That’s when I started to ask better questions: What if I’m not supposed to work for someone else? What if hustle culture isn’t the badge of honor I thought it was? What if fitness isn’t the final destination — but just the starting point?

After stepping away from that job and calling off my engagement, I found myself back at square one — emotionally, financially, and professionally. For a while, I pieced together an income by personal training at five different gyms, freelancing, picking up brand deals, doing podcast interviews, and selling offers that weren’t fully built yet — all while figuring it out as I went.

Then came another defining chapter between 2021 and 2023.

I had connected with a new, local gym near the Jersey Shore that was still under construction and hadn’t yet opened its doors. They found me through social media and said, “Hey, we’ve been working with a social media agency, but we want to bring this role in-house as we market our gym to the local community. Can you do for our brand what we see you’ve done for your own personal content?”

I said yes — on the condition that I could also serve as their lead nutrition coach. That agreement quickly evolved into more: I became the manager of one of their five studios, oversaw social media strategy, coached nutrition clients, taught group fitness, and had a handful of personal training clients.

By 2022, I found myself right back in the same position I had been years earlier — doing too much, burning out, and giving 100% to everyone but myself.

Then came the curveball.

The company wanted to bring in one of its investor from the healthcare world with a marketing background — someone I’d now be reporting to. I was told I’d have to reapply for my role because of the leadership change.

At that point, I took a hard look at everything I was handling: managing a studio, teaching classes, coaching clients, running nutrition challenges, producing content, and building the gym’s social presence from scratch. I immediately confirmed what I’d already known from the first year in the role: if this job were valued properly, it would be a base salary of at least six figures. But the company didn’t see it that way. What they were offering was half that — and I knew I was worth more.

So I asked a different question: If I believe this role should be worth six figures… why don’t I just go create my own?

I proposed going part-time, continuing to run the gym’s nutrition challenges, and focusing on growing my own business, The Fitness FYX. As part of our agreement, I was allowed to pitch my coaching program to gym members at the end of each 8-week challenge — and many of them signed on.

That’s when the CEO told me — as a friend — that he didn’t think my business was scalable.

And that was all the fuel I needed.

Within 12 months, The Fitness FYX had scaled to the point that I was asked to leave the gym entirely. Getting fired became the plot twist I didn’t know I needed — and the push that finally made me go all-in.

And here’s what’s wild — that was the moment that actually unlocked my next big idea.

Because The Fitness FYX had grown the way it had, I realized just how much my brand, content, and voice had played a role. That’s what inspired me to create The Clarity Collective — a content and creative strategy agency for coaches, creators, and service providers who are amazing at what they do… but struggling to say it in a way that connects and converts.

And unlike before, this time I didn’t wait.

As soon as I made the decision in late 2023 that 2024 was going to be the year, I laid the foundation over the next few months — and launched within 60 days. That clarity came because I had already proven to myself I could take a risk, back myself, and build from the ground up.

Some of the biggest milestones in this journey have been:
– Walking away from the “dream job” that no longer felt aligned
– Launching my podcast, The FYX, which helped me grow my voice and visibility before I had a real offer
– Personal training across five gyms while building the foundation for my first digital product
– Hiring a team to support clients inside The Fitness FYX
– Creating scalable lead magnets, Ai tools, and systems that convert without burnout
– Watching The Clarity Collective clients generate multi-6-figure revenue with small-but-mighty followings
– Getting fired from the job that no longer fit — and choosing to see it as freedom, not failure

So yes — this all started as a side hustle. But scaling it happened because I stopped waiting for someone else to validate me, and started betting on myself.

What I’ve learned? You don’t need a perfect plan. You need self-trust, clarity, and the willingness to take the risk before the result is guaranteed.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrystahuber
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/krystahuber/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystahuberthefitnessfyx/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thefitnessfyx
• Other: Podcast: THE FYX with Krysta Huber

  Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fyx-with-krysta-huber/id1583135094
  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5TB0Od0E91YreTA1HnZvk6?si=55559b13af434c5e

  Business Instagram for The Fitness FYX: www.instagram.com/thefitnessfyx

Image Credits

Lauren Anzevino