TikTok's "Hot Girl Walk" Trend Has Inspired Community Walking Clubs

Stand up, girls, we're going for a walk! A hot girl walk.

If you’ve been on TikTok in the past few months, you’ve probably seen videos of females walking and calling it their "hot girl walk." While yes, walking has always been a thing, going on long walks for the sole purpose of exercising and feeling better yourself hasn’t been. Walking is having a moment.

Mia Lind (@exactlyliketheothergirls), a 23-year-old creator on TikTok, birthed this trend. As she told HuffPost, she came up with the idea during the pandemic. “In lockdown, I was looking for a type of exercise that I didn’t dread to do and realized the meditative element that comes with going on a long walk," she said, adding, “I also felt that walking had a strong stigma as not being a valid form of exercise so I gave ‘walking’ some rebranding as a Hot Girl Walk."

And guess what? Women are loving it.

But Mia did more than just give walking a glitzy name. She used her special walking time to better herself both physically and mentally — and now other women are following in suit.

Don't believe us? Just look at the data below. The e-bike company Velotric asked some hot girl walkers to describe what their typical hot girl walk entails, as well as share how it's revamped their lives.

The folks at Velotric surveyed 1,030 women who reported going on “hot girl walks." The survey asked them questions like when, where, and with whom they're doing these hot girl walks, and the answers are pretty surprising. The ladies were able to choose more than one answer if it applied to them.

As it turns out, the most popular time and place for a hot girl walk is in the morning at the park. But if women aren't taking their hot girl walks in the AM (or are opting to take more than one hot girl walk later a day), the evening is also a popular time.

Besides the park, these ladies may choose their take a stroll in a city or a residential area. Almost half of women take their hot girl walks with a friend in tow. And many listen to music during their hot girl walk.

Furthermore, these walks aren't just a quick stretch around the block. The average walking distance of a hot girl walk is 3.5 miles. (Mia usually aims for at least four miles!)

Post–hot girl walks, women report feeling "happy," "confident" and "positive." They also reported feeling less stressed and more attentive. Plus, this new hobby has turned women on to a more healthier lifestyle as more than half of survey takers have been inspired to eat healthier or join a gym.

When Mia started taking her hot girl walks, lockdown had just started, so she practiced social distancing by walking solo. While walking alone is still a perfectly acceptable way to do your hot girl walk, many women have started inviting their friends to come with. In some places, there are even organized community walks that women can go to to socialize.

A myriad of hot girl walking clubs have popped up all over the country — with most communicating through social media. If you type hot girl walk into Instagram, you'll see that Grand Rapids, Mich., has a group, as does Dallas; St Pete, Fla., Boston; Knoxville, Tenn.; Oklahoma City; and other metro areas.

Per Velocity, almost three-fourths of women surveyed participated in one of these community hot girl walk. Better yet, 73 percent of hot girl walkers admitted they made a friend during their walk — thus proving hot girl walks benefits women all around.

So yes, while hot girl walking is essentially just walking, this clever relabeling has been a hit with women. What used to feel like a pointless exercise is now an activity that encourages women to get outside and make new friends while nourishing their physical and mental health.