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Home / Lifestyle

Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw on how they launched their global fitness app

By Shireen Khalil
news.com.au·
7 Mar, 2020 12:51 AM7 mins to read

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Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw. Photo / Supplied

Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw. Photo / Supplied

When models Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw embarked on their global wellness app Keep It Cleaner, they had one important message to share with women — "your weight doesn't define you".

Steph, one of Australia's most prominent models and social media influencers, kicked off her career with Chadwick Models Agency just before her 18th birthday.

While she has achieved great success, the now 26-year-old said a lot of her focus as a teen was on the way she looked.

"Naturally you do if that is your fulltime job, but I was listening to all the messages out there on particular diets I should be on and exercise regimes I should be following," the Keep It Cleaner (KIC) co-founder said. "And you can really get lost in it."

In 2017, Steph released an emotional 24-minute video revealing her battle with body image as a young woman.

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View this post on Instagram

Last workout event of the year done! Thanks for everyone who came along and thank you for having us again @ausfitnessshow 💪🏼 @keepitcleaner

A post shared by Stephanie Miller (@stephclairesmith) on Oct 26, 2019 at 7:17pm PDT

In the clip, she spoke about the destructive forces of the modelling industry, such as being pressured to follow a "super-strict" diet, and also went into detail about how she no longer allows her weight to define her.

She said the main reason behind launching KIC was to let women know they have support and they're not alone.

"We have our 'why' of KIC because we have both seen that darker side where obsession can kick into an unhealthy state and we just want to be there for the girls," Steph said.

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"We want to make sure there are messages out there on social media and online that are sending the right message and not getting them too obsessed with certain fad things."

Steph and Laura launched KIC five years ago, not realising their "little" passion project of sharing healthy recipes and fitness tips would soon gain worldwide momentum.

View this post on Instagram

Start your week off strong 💪🏼 Remember to make time to move your body, it will love you for it. Today I took ari for a 4km stroll and got my morning coffee, now it’s time to head into the office and film new @keepitcleaner workouts! Feeling good, feeling fit 🤗 Happy Monday ✨ @adidasau

A post shared by Stephanie Miller (@stephclairesmith) on Nov 3, 2019 at 2:25pm PST

"We noticed people started reacting well to the relatable content of what we were producing. It was never a business idea," Steph said.

She began to gain fame online in 2013 when workout content she posted on Instagram started getting reported by "fitness inspo" Tumblrs and blogs around the world.

Her burgeoning fanbase which has now reached more than 1.5 million on Instagram, together with Laura's clever and simple at-home recipes, played a huge role in their KIC success.

But as they will tell you, it's the "relatable content" that keeps members coming back.

"It was crazy though, we had spelling mistakes (when we first started) but we learned so much from it," Laura said.

"The photos we were posting were nothing like what we would produce now, they were so basic but I think our audience loved it because it was relatable and didn't feel it was intimidating which is what a lot of the health space was."

Following the launch of their ebook, the girls wanted to create a space where they could connect with their community and shortly after created what was then called Keep it Clean, before adding the "er" to form "Cleaner".

"We wanted to create a place where we could produce more content for them and share overall wellness," Laura said.

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"Healthy eating is one part of wellness but not the whole thing so we started another blog and from then launched the app with exercise programs."

I was at my unhealthiest

Just like her best friend Steph, model Laura also went through a similar situation — with her experience also forming the foundation of their app.

Growing up, the 27-year-old was addicted to looking a certain way but for her, it was almost a "backward" transformation as she described it.

"We went from being really healthy and having no pressure on ourselves through high school because there was no social media, to finishing school and there being social media," Laura said.

"Obviously that comes with a lot of pressure and for me personally I went through a phase where I was so strict."

View this post on Instagram

My rock ❤️ I love you, I look up to you and I appreciate you so much ❤️ @laura.henshaw @keepitcleaner

A post shared by Stephanie Miller (@stephclairesmith) on Oct 16, 2019 at 1:10pm PDT

Laura would find herself exercising for a two hours a day, but mentally she felt her unhealthiest.

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"It took me a few years to get out of that and that's our message with KIC because we know the pressures a lot of women in our community are going through."

Laura said a lot of their clientele are young girls coming out of high school who feel the need to "look a certain way", from them thinking they need to exercise excessively and not eat "to be skinny".

"You can exercise so much and eat so healthy but if your mind isn't healthy then you are not healthy at all," Laura said.

Even when she hit her early 20s she said her confidence and "health" progress was defined by the definition in her stomach such as how "flat" it was.

"I was so mean to myself; and allowed my confidence to be heavily affected by something that is so trivial and doesn't matter at all.

"It's why we started KIC and why we are so passionate," she said, emphasising that exercising is for health and eating well is what gives you energy, a clearer mind and confidence.

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The girls understand there's no "one size fits all" formula when it comes to workouts which is why they have developed a mixture of boxing, high intensity training and strength.

One of the most common questions they're asked is simply "how do you stay motivated?"

Steph said it's "so normal" to not always feel motivated especially when you're sick or on holidays.

"As long as I have the time and can recognise a rest day or if I am just being lazy. You get better at recognising that and you always feel better after a workout so try to remind yourself of that."

View this post on Instagram

Loved shooting this new @teamjaggad range 🙏❤️ I love shooting with Jaggad and their team because they always make me feel so comfortable and I can be me (the only pose I know is smiling 😂❤️). I used to get so so nervous before any shoot worrying I wouldn’t be good enough or look the way I should and now I feel so lucky to only shoot with brands I love and make me feel comfortable being me ❤️

A post shared by Laura Henshaw (@laura.henshaw) on Jan 9, 2020 at 10:34pm PST

When it comes to their personal fitness regimes, Steph is a lover of yoga while Laura enjoys running. You won't find them doing much of each other's passions.

On International Women's Day tomorrow both will join the Keep It Cleaner community in a group workout with thousands of women from across the world.

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