FITVINE MAG - ISSUE 1 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Twerk Your Way
to Fitness with
BamBam Boogie
Meet Bami, the founder of
BamBam Boogie, who
turned her frustration with
the lack of diversity in her
local gym into a global dance fitness
powerhouse. Her mission is to form
fearless females around the world by
sharing her story of hard work,
resilience and huge amounts of
good vibes.
In September 2015, aged 22, Bami
moved from Toronto to Dublin to
work at The Google EMEA Headquarters.
Although thrilled at the chance
to work for Google, something just
didn’t feel right. She felt out of place
in the corporate world. This is where
she first noticed the lack of diversity
and inclusion in the fitness industry.
That’s when it clicked:
Be the change
you want to see
in the world
In May 2016, BamBam Boogie Dance
Fitness was born. Starting off with
the humble aim of getting diverse
faces, shapes and sizes into her
workplace gym, the word spread like
wildfire when she rapidly became a
social media sensation with her
vibrant energy and fun class videos.
Before she knew it, Bami had
demand in countries all over the
world, from Brazil and Canada to the
Netherlands and the US.
In February 2018, Bami made the
plunge to leave her full-time job at
Google. She moved to her city of
birth, London, England, to dedicate
her time to BamBam Boogie.
Over 2,000 people (and counting)
around the world have been inspired
by Bami’s contagious love for life
and her story of persistence. Now a
certified personal trainer, Bami
hopes to continue spreading her
story to inspire others to be fearless
in pursuit of their dreams.
We bring you an exclusive interview
with Bami herself ahead of her
taking part in FitFest Oxford on 15th
June.
Why did you choose
twerking?
I chose twerking because it’s
something that has been in my
culture for years. I’m Nigerian so I
remember being very young
watching my grandma “twerk” (it, of
course, was not called twerking back
then!).
How long have you been
twerking?
I’ve been dancing since I was very
young but I started twerking when I
was a teenager (pre-Miley Cyrus).
This is because, when I moved to
Toronto at the age of 14, my friends
taught me about Caribbean culture
and the art of whining, daggering
and twerking. I loved it so much!
What would you say to
people who want to twerk
but are not confident
enough?
I would say watch some videos
online. I have a super simple twerk
tutorial on my YouTube channel and I
always recommend first-timers to
check it out. Try it at home and, once
you feel like you’ve gained the
confidence to try it in a group
setting, book in a group class.
What muscles do you
work out when you twerk?
Twerking is a full body workout out
but the main muscles are the glutes
(booty) and legs. You can burn up to
600 calories in a session.
Don’t miss the chance to twerk your
way to a toned, sculpted and bigger
badonkadonk with the one and only
@bambam_boogie! You can catch
BamBam Boogie at FitFest in June.
FitVine - 20