How RXBAR built an online fitness community in 48 hours.
When gyms closed overnight during COVID, we turned RXBAR’s Instagram into a live workout studio — a daily, equipment-free fitness program built with our own influencer network, on air before our competitors had a plan.
Role
Led execution —
concept to live in 48 hours
Brand
Scope
Influencer · Live Video · Community Social · Email
The Why
Overnight, our homes became offices, schools — and gyms.
On March 21, 2020, Illinois’ stay-at-home order took effect and most states followed within days. As gyms closed, home fitness equipment sold out and resale prices climbed out of reach. People wanted to keep moving and couldn’t.
The behavior shift showed up clearly in the data — consumers weren’t just stuck at home, they were actively searching for a way to work out in it.
104% rise in Pinterest searches for “fitness challenges” | 42% rise in searches for “fitness journal ideas”
RXBAR is a health-and-fitness brand built on a “servant mindset.” The opening was obvious: our community needed help holding their routine together. So we built something to help them — not to sell to them.
The How
The fastest asset in a crisis is the network you’ve already built.
RXBAR maintained an in-house influencer network across foodies, parenting, lifestyle, beauty, DIY, design — and health & fitness. We treat those partners as an extension of the team: sampling product, co-developing content, and trading feedback long before any single campaign.
So when RXercise needed instructors, we didn’t cast — we called. That existing trust let us lock a full live schedule in under 24 hours and go on air within two days, while larger fitness brands were still drafting their response.
The Program
A daily rhythm people could plan their day around.
What
A live workout series on @RXBAR’s Instagram — three classes a day, morning, noon, and evening.
Who
Seven fitness influencers and two local gyms, each leading their own format and voice.
Reach
Cross-posted to RXBAR’s owned channels, partners’ feeds, and the brand email list to compound awareness.
Engine
The program also kick-started RXBAR’s IGTV & YouTube strategy, giving the classes a permanent home.
We let the instructors lead. The most effective influencer programs hand creative control to the people who know the audience best. Each partner brought their own signature — inspirational quotes, custom playlists, AMAs and shout-outs, themed classes, even split-screen buddy workouts. The result was authentic 1:1 connection at scale, and partners who kept their own communities asking for more.
Then we listened. Based on what the community asked for in comments and polls, we added stretching, meditation, shadowboxing, and parent-and-kid sessions — optimizing the lineup on the fly.
The Results
60k+
live video views
2.5k+
Instagram follower growth
13k+
engagements
What The Comments Said
"You just brought 150 people together in movement and love thank you"
— @techmommi
"I look forward to these workouts every day. I never want them to end"
— @emily_kick
"This felt like so much more special than the workout app I've been doing this week alone"
— @garetcamella
"Seeing 150 people workout together was heart warming"
— @ppatel1105
What It Taught Me
Build the network before you need it
An in-house influencer community isn’t built in a day. Tracking the right partners over time is what let us move in hours, not weeks, when it mattered.
Help first, sell never
Watching consumer behavior closely told us to make a resource, not an ad. The brand affinity followed because the help came first.
Let the experts lead
Creators know their audiences better than any brief. Giving them room to shape the work is what made it feel human — and what kept it growing.
