Fitness model Hayden Greene talks to Close-Up Culture about his fitness journey, his passions away from the gym, launching an apparel line, and much more.
Hi Hayden, welcome to Close-Up Culture. What was your trigger to first get into fitness?
I first started my fitness journey in hopes to develop more self confidence. Growing up I was very skinny and got picked on by my classmates and teammates constantly for it. I started my fitness journey in 2017, my junior year of high school. The first month I worked out at home in hopes to gain a little muscle and some self confidence before stepping into a gym. My first year of working out I gained nearly 30 lbs!
Why did you fall in love with fitness?
I fell in love with fitness because it allowed me to finally feel comfortable in my own skin and still to this day gives me the mental clarity that I need. We all need dopamine and the gym is a great way to get that natural dopamine! There is no greater feeling than leaving the gym knowing you gave it your all and are becoming a better version of yourself because of it!
When did you first start creating content around fitness and what inspired you to do so?
When I started posting fitness content in 2019, I had no ambitions or thoughts about my social medias growing and being able to do it full time. I started posting my progress just in hope to inspire others to get on their fitness journey. I am so passionate about watching and supporting others on becoming the best version of themselves and I felt posting my fitness content allowed me to showcase my progress and watch others do the same!
What is the most rewarding part of what you do?
The most rewarding part for me is knowing that I have built a social media family. Everyone who follows me is and will forever be family. Going out for a walk and having someone stop me saying they love my content reminds me of why I make content. I make content to provide motivation to others but more importantly just be a positive social media presence to everyone who follows me.
What are some of your biggest passion away from the gym?
Some of my biggest passions are of course are spending time with my family and also playing guitar and rock climbing! I started to learn how to play guitar last year and it’s quickly becoming a huge passion of mine and I am planning on starting to post a lot more music on my social medias! I love the gym, but I have found that to be an all around athlete, you also have to do other exercise activities. Rock climbing this past month has been very fun yet very humbling and made me realize that lifting is weights everyday doesn’t make you strong in all aspects of fitness.
I hear you’ve recently moved from Ohio to Tampa. How have you found that transition?
I have found the transition to be very humbling and exciting. I have a few close people here, but living completely on my own in a city I have only been to a few times has been so much fun. In Ohio I felt I became stagnant and was just living the same day over and over. I realized that for me to keep growing into the person I want to be, I need to be out of my comfort zone every day.
You’re also working on launching an apparel line. Can you reveal anything about that yet?
Yes, I will be launching my own clothing very soon and sadly I cannot give too much information away, but all I’m going to say is be ready for some HGF Clothing!
What are your hopes and ambitions for 2024?
My hopes for this year is to simply keep chasing the best version of myself and to help/inspire as many people as I possibly can. I feel that kindness is starting to become more rare in this world, and I just want to remind people that everyone is going through something and sometimes a simple hello how are you doing, can change someone’s day. A few goals of mine this year is to start up my acting career. Social media, modeling and fitness coaching will always a focus of mine, but becoming a full time actor has always been my biggest dream and this year I am going to chase it!
Thank you so much for having me and everyone who follows and supports me thank you all so much! None of this would be possible without all of you!
Follow Hayden on Instagram – @haydengreenefit
Interview courtesy of Paul Escoll (@pcescoll)