Natalia, 29, had to borrow money from her friends – Now millions of people admire the Finn’s incredible performances

Natalia Barthold has enough strength, especially in the upper body. Archive of Natalia Barthold

24.8 million is a terrible amount.

Finn Natalia Bartholdi, 29, does push-ups on upright dumbbells and pulls chins with additional weights on her feet. The movements require strength, but are almost acrobatics. At the end of the year, a video compilation made of them collected almost 25 million views on Instagram.

– You are incredible, was the general comment.

Bartholdi is the European mixed cheerleading champion and World Cup bronze medalist, whose popularity on social media has grown exponentially. In the early fall of 2023, his Reels videos had at most a few tens of thousands of views on Instagram.

In November, one video was viewed a million times.

– The video that went to Lauka has received almost 25 million views. I can’t understand it, Bartholdi gushes to Iltalehti.

If the video does not appear, you can watch its here.

The number of Instagram followers has grown from 60,000 to almost 400,000 in 1.5 months. However, behind the popularity is a difficult decision.

Bartholdi owed a total of thousands of euros to the Finnish Cheerleading Association, his club Funky Team Gorillaz and his friends last year. The previous season cost 3,000 euros, but the competition trips and camps also meant income success for the entrepreneur.

Bartholdi had to think about how to pay his rent or buy food. The debt load was so heavy that the athlete had to leave the national team.

– Before that I had a severe period of anxiety. The anxiety eased as soon as I dared to make a decision. I didn’t sign the athlete contract, i.e. I promised to have more debt before I have paid the previous ones as well, says Bartholdi, who was the captain of the national team in 2022 and 2023.

Iron rises

The former national team captain used to shoot strength and body control videos for himself and his friends’ enjoyment, but started publishing them on social media a year ago.

Bartholdi hoped for 10,000 followers on Instagram so that he could perhaps get sponsors.

– Before I noticed, there were tens of thousands of followers. They are in the United States, Europe, India, China… All over the world.

Bartholdi, who works as a personal trainer and mental coach, often comes up with the strength exercises shown in the videos himself.

– Sometimes I clean the gym and realize that I could do something fun with these objects. I have strong back muscles. I do a lot of stunts where I hang from the pole.

– I’ve been thinking about how to make my own tricks even more difficult. If I’m bad at something, I want to train myself to be better. I want if I see something crazy, I can try to follow.

One hundred kilograms are lifted in the squat and 115 kilograms in the deadlift. Barthold has strength, especially in his upper body.

– In the additional weight chin-up, my number one maximum is 32.5 kilos.

With a minus

Barthold finds it nearly impossible financially to be a professional cheerleader. He was in the national team for ten years, but every trip meant loss of income for the entrepreneur. The expenses of the club team also came on top.

– For the last couple of years, I’ve been tickling on the minus side. The World Cup is over in April. I only got those payments paid after the turn of the year.

Right now, the future looks brighter than before. Influencers who make powerlifting videos have asked Finns to come to the United States to make joint videos.

Bartholdi wants to encourage people to move.

– Not everyone can do my challenges, but they have motivated people to go to the gym. I try to encourage that even if you are not up to the challenges yet, you can take steps towards it.

Exercise should start with the basics, such as bodyweight training.

– It is important to dare to try. You don’t have to be ready to try.