MaryBeth Monaco-Vavrik ’23: Fitness Content Creator
February 11, 2026
- Author
- Caroline Roy '20
What does pilates have to do with politics? This is just one of the questions MaryBeth Monaco-Vavrik ’23 explores on her social media pages, where she shares fitness advice with a side of cultural analysis.
After graduating from Davidson College with degrees in political science and communications, Monaco-Vavrik, a Glover and Frances Trent Scholar, moved to Washington, D.C., to work as a consultant at a knowledge management firm. She also joined VIDA gym, where she began to spend most of her time outside of work training, taking classes and getting to know the staff. Within six months, she was teaching barre classes.
“I started to partner with their social media team to promote the gym,” she said. “It became a part-time gig for me, and I learned a lot about posting fitness content online.”
Feeling burned out at work and taking on more responsibilities at VIDA, Monaco-Vavrik faced a choice. She was inspired by the success of other fitness influencers in the D.C. area and began sharing her own tips and health-education videos on social media. Often, her content merged her love of fitness and her political science knowledge.
I love thinking about the sociological creation of fitness as an industry. Structured exercise only happens because we all sit at a desk all day and need to create artificial ways to move our bodies.
When her Instagram reel about the political implications of pilates went viral, it sparked a discourse about shifting exercise trends that ended up getting her featured in The New York Times.
Following the huge influx of online attention, most of it negative, she considered putting down the camera for good. Then, her follower count skyrocketed. She’d found an internet niche with an audience who wanted to think critically about fitness and engage with its sociological implications.
Now, several months after her viral video, Monaco-Vavrik works full-time as an online coach and content creator. Right now, she’s taking a break from personal training to solo-travel throughout Southeast Asia, volunteering at various fitness retreats along the way.
“I didn’t need a degree to be a content creator, but I’m so grateful to be able to lean on my Davidson education, my passion for social sciences and my ability to think critically and communicate effectively,” she said. “I feel like the stars aligned for me at Davidson. I never thought I'd find clarity in content creation like this.”
