What is TikTok’s ‘Hot Girl Walk’?

(NEXSTAR) – It’s essentially walking, but somehow hotter.

The “Hot Girl Walk,” a fitness and lifestyle trend which unsurprisingly originated on TikTok, might appear almost identical to traditional walking at first glance. Hot-Girl Walkers are simply encouraged to get up, get out, and go for a long walk alone or with workout buddies, for the purposes of mental and physical health.

It’s the mindset of a Hot-Girl Walker, however, that apparently sets it apart from other types of strolls.

The term was originally coined by 23-year-old TikTok user Mia Lind, who reportedly began walking as part of her daily routine during the pandemic, the Washington Post reported in September.

In January of 2021, Lind posted her first TikTok video touting the benefits of what she dubbed the “Hot Girl Walk,” as well as the non-negotiable rules of the walk.

“You’re only allowed to think about three things on the Hot Girl Walk: 1) Things you’re grateful for; 2) Your goals and how you’re going to achieve them; and 3) How hot you are,” Lind said.

Lind also forbade participants from dwelling on relationship drama, instead telling them to crank up their headphones to drown out thoughts about “boys or any boy drama.”

Lind concluded the video by urging Hot-Girl Walkers to maintain that confident mindset even when the walk is over.

“You take that energy, and you carry it with you throughout the whole day,” Lind said.

TikTok videos featuring the hashtag #HotGirlWalk have been popping up on the platform ever since, amassing a combined half a billion views and counting. Many users have credited the trend with helping to achieve their fitness goals or building confidence.

Hot-Girl Walking clubs have also popped up across the country, with TikTok users documenting group-walking events from Texas to Florida to California and beyond. It’s no wonder, then, that some claim the hobby has helped grow their social circles.

Kylie Harris, a Hot-Girl-Walking (HGW) enthusiast who relocated from Austin to Dallas for college, recently told Texas Monthly that she initiated a HGW club after an especially lonely time at school. After the club’s first meeting, many of the participants went out for drinks, she said.

Now, Harris hosts the Dallas HGWC (Hot Girl Walking Club), which most recently partnered with Tito’s vodka for a “Mean Girls”-themed hike, with participants encouraged to wear something pink.

The popularity of Hot Girl Walks has since inspired the self-explanatory “Hot Girl Running” trend, as Refinery 29 noted. But it has also spawned the “Fugly Hag Stroll,” a term coined by TikTok influencer Kate Glavin to describe similar walks, albeit without the consumerism or “’sporty and rich’ ethos” that she associates with the trend, she told Bustle. (Some HGW enthusiasts often post pre- or post-walk videos detailing their outfits or routines.)

Hot Girl Walk creator Mia Lind, however, explained in a recent video that she simply wants followers to remember the three rules of the Hot Girl Walk, and to banish any negative thoughts by repeating a simple mantra:

“[Say] to yourself, ‘I’m too hot, independent, strong, powerful, to be stressed out by ‘XYZ’ thing,’” Lind says.