Fitness YouTuber Emi Wong Reflects on Six Years as a Content Creator

Fitness YouTuber and healthy-living content creator Emi Wong is internationally known for spreading knowledge, and viral workout videos for building a better body and eating healthier.

Creating her YouTube channel StayFitAndTravel in 2017 to capture her life touring the world and keeping fit, Emi Wong transitioned into a full-time content creator when her global virality allowed her to quit her full-time corporate job.

The Beat Asia spoke with the content creator to reflect on her six-year-long journey online and a new path she is creating this year.

Who is fitness loving Emi Wong, and why did you decide to dedicate your online persona and career to teaching people how to get fit?

I love working out! To me, fitness and wellness are something I can control in life when everything else is out of our control. No matter what you're going through in life, it's the one constant that you can do for yourself and its empowering to know that you are stronger than you think.

It is powerful, and I wanted to share it. However, when I started my YouTube channel, I didn’t decide to become a fitness influencer. It so happened that my workout videos performed better, and the audience was asking for more so I stumbled onto this path.

Since your first YouTube upload in 2017 under ‘StayFitAndTravel’, what role has content creation played in your fitness and health journey online?

I was very passionate about fitness and travel when I started my YouTube channel, which was why I named my channel: StayFitAndTravel. 

Throughout the years I shared my journey from going through eating disorder to finding a sustainable healthy lifestyle, I have to say its a constant growth for both my content and my personal journey.

When you began to mature a big following with your YouTube channel, what were your emotions and reaction towards this explosive growth online?

To see my content reaching so many people around the world was absolutely beyond my wildest dreams. Being a YouTuber as my career has completely changed my life and I am truly grateful for all the opportunities that came my way.

What do you consider yourself Emi, an influencer, educator, or fitness instructor online?

I don’t want to limit myself to just one role. I believe that we can be anything and everything we want to be. I am also constantly changing and growing myself, so who knows what I will do in the next 10 years?

Born in Canada and raised in Hong Kong, you’ve been based in the city throughout your adult life. What is your connection to Hong Kong and Cantonese culture? Is this important in your content creation?

I grew up in Hong Kong speaking Cantonese as my first language, and I learned English much later on, mainly from watching American TV shows. 

However when I filmed my first video on YouTube, I was shy and awkward and I didn’t want to do it alone, so I asked my boyfriend at the time to be in the video with me - his English is much better than his Cantonese and hence my channel began in English. I do love speaking in Cantonese though, so I filmed quite a few vlogs in Cantonese.

Tracing back to 2021 with your inclusion in the Forbes 30 under 30 list, when you were awarded the title as a leading media representative in Asia. How significant was this milestone in who you are as a content creator?

It means so much to me, especially because content creation is still a rather new career path and when I first started, my parents did have doubts whether I could make it my full time job. 

This title is definitely an achievement that I feel very lucky and honoured to have, and it motivates me to keep reaching more goals and dreams.

With creating content, are there any hardships that you have experienced, or the other side of this job that you wanted to portray?

Every job has its positives and negatives. I am aware that I'm already so lucky to have this as my job, but there was a period when I used to let negative comments get to me. But after 6 years on this job, I can honestly say that most of the time when I read a negative comment, I forget about it within two seconds. There will always be people who have something to say but it should not dictate how I live my life. 

Sometimes it’s also a struggle with how much do you share about your personal life to be authentic and engaging with your audience vs keeping certain aspects of your life private and protecting your mental health - I think its still a learning process for me.

After your six-month break in 2022 and feeling refreshed for the new year, what is your next chapter for 2023?

I think I was going through an identity crisis last year and was unsure how I wanted to keep going in my work. But after the break I am slowly finding my way back, there are certain changes I want to make to my content moving forward and I am also exploring new ideas and new paths. Stay tuned!

Thank you so much for sitting down with me and chatting, Emi!

Speak soon Rubin!