Katie Austin knew since childhood she wanted to be in front of the camera.
The daughter of fitness pioneer Denise Austin and tennis-player-turned-sports-agent Jeff Austin, the 31-year-old multihyphenate — whose titles include certified fitness trainer, entrepreneur and host, to name a few — recalls fearlessly hopping into the frame of her mom’s shoots, laying the foundation for a burgeoning career in the spotlight that has since reached the heights of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.
“When she would film her show while we were on vacation, I would always jump right in,” Austin told The Post in a recent interview. “There’s really cute videos of me walking up to my mom while she is filming her show, and I just smile at the camera, I’m literally 3 years old.”
Growing up in an athletic household, the Virginia native fostered dreams of becoming an NBA host — “my dad’s a basketball agent so I grew up around a lot of NBA players” — with those aspirations taking her across the country to USC, where she played Divison I lacrosse.
“I think sports at a young age taught me determination, taught me teamwork, leadership, time management and how to work with other people, so I feel like I’m very grateful that I was involved in sports at a very, very young age,” Austin said.
Austin started in 16 of 18 games during her freshman season in 2013, scoring eight goals and tallying nine assists. Upon landing a sports hosting role in her sophomore year, the balancing act became difficult to manage and Austin quit lacrosse, choosing to focus on her future.
“I wanted to break out of my shell because I already knew what I wanted to do in life and it was hard to still play the sport,” she said.
Veering into uncharted territory in a post-student-athlete era, Austin — who had long worked out with teammates and coaches — had more time on her hands and found herself cultivating a new community in the fitness space.
Taking inspiration from YouTube videos, she went on to host intimate classes on campus and even shared her workouts online.
“I think it all started through community and connecting with other girls who kind of feel intimidated by the gym and don’t really know how to start,” said Austin, who received her training certification after graduation.
With 179,000 subscribers on her YouTube page and counting, Austin’s star has only continued to rise since college. While serving as a co-host at Fox Sports West from 2017-19, Austin also set up her self-titled platform in 2018 that houses on-demand workouts and recipes.
But even in her success, Austin grappled with career setbacks as she was rejected by Sports Illustrated Swimsuit several times after her first try in 2017.
“No one believes in you as much as you do and I’m so happy I kept persisting,” Austin said.
In 2021, Austin was named a co-winner of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s annual Swimseach casting call, along with her now-bestie, Christen Goff, the wife of Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
“Being able to audition for so many years and then the process of it all, I’m so grateful that I’m doing it all with my best friend,” she said. “I don’t think it would ever be the same if Christen was not in it with me because she’s truly my best friend.”
Both newlyweds, Austin and Goff were integral parts of one another’s big days last year. Goff served as a bridesmaid at Austin’s May nuptials to Lane Armstrong, while Austin was by her BFF’s side at the Goffs’ wedding in June.
Since being named co-Rookies of the Year in 2022, Austin and Goff continue to pay it forward to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s incoming rookie classes.
“We feel like we are in this position where we can make the rookies feel welcomed and feel like they belong. And so, I feel like it’s been great for me and Christen to show the rookies some love,” she said.
Austin also tipped her hat to fellow Sports Illustrated Swimsuit vet and 2019 cover star Camille Kostek, the longtime girlfriend of NFL great Rob Gronkowski, who did the same for her.
“Camille Kostek was a huge reason I auditioned in the first place,” she gushed. “… And she’s also someone who is so genuine and inspires me so much.”
Even as Austin embraces new and unique opportunities in the future, like her weekly online cooking show, “Come On In,” a lesson shared by her parents remains at the forefront.
“Something they’ve really taught me is longevity in a career,” Austin said. “… I still know my career is just getting started so make decisions not based on today or even this year, make decisions based on 20 years from now. Making sure you’re always thinking about the length of your career is really important, especially in an industry that can go so up and down.”
Looking at the year ahead, Austin wants to grow the audience of “Come On In” — “It’s my passion project, I’m obsessed with cooking!” — and perhaps dabble back into a venture from her past.
“I would love to get back into sports hosting since that was kind of my roots,” she said.
