Influencer Ashy Bines shares honest message with fans

Ashy Bines told her 4.5 million fans she’s struggling to “keep up” with the demands of her social media job and is giving up certain aspects.

Fitness influencer Ashy Bines has opened up about the “really draining” reality of being an Instagram star, revealing it can take “hours and hours” just to reply to fans every day.

In a lengthy explanation posted to her Instagram stories on the weekend, Bines said she would no longer be interacting with fans in her Instagram DMs after receiving threats and abuse from trolls.

Bines is a Gold Coast-based fitness influencer famous for her Bikini Body Challenge exercise program and Ashy Bines Squad app.

She is also an activewear designer and has more than 4.5 million followers across Facebook and Instagram.

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Fitness Instagram star Ashy Bines. Picture: Instagram

On her Instagram story Bines said she had something she “wanted to get off my chest”, explaining how she had “tried my best to reply to every single person in social media” for years.

“Comments, dms, Facebook forums etc and trust me when I say it’s ALOT. Hundreds a day. It can take up hours of my time. This week I've just realised I can’t keep doing it all,” she wrote.

While the majority of messages were from “beautiful nice women, Bines said there was a “few fake profiles/abuse and threats”.

Bines said she had realised this week how it “effects my own mental health” and she wanted to prioritise her family instead, as well as “my passionate work projects and helping those who really value, need and appreciate my time and energy”.

“I always want to be able to show up for you all in a way that is energetic, authentic, real, loving, inspiring, motivating and sometimes educational,” she said.

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Bines said replying to fans could take ‘hours and hours’ and was ‘really draining’. Picture: Instagram

“I also love creating content and lots of it to give back, so I have decided to step away from my Instagram DMs as there is honestly just too many for me to keep up with and not feel drained more often than not,” Bines said.

“Especially when there is nasty things about myself, my friends or family and this week some threats, and I needed to make a choice to step away so it doesn't effect my energy especially for my gorgeous little man Taj, which two days this week it did and it feels awful and unfair that these horrible msgs really upset me enough for him to see and feel that.”

Bines said she will continue to respond to comments on her Instagram posts while her customer care team will look after her DMs.

She said that she doesn’t “share anything pretending to be perfect or to tell anyone how they should be” but hopes “everyone following knows my intentions are always from a place of love to help”.

But Bines said she made mistakes and encouraged anyone who wasn’t a fan of hers to unfollow her.

She said she would no longer be checking her DMs after realising the impact it was having on her mental health. Picture: Instagram

'NOT PASSIONATE ABOUT RUNNING A GYM'

Back in March, Bines announced she was closing her Gold Coast gym, the Ashy Bines Transformation Centre, as she was “not passionate about running a gym”.

Last year the Gold Coast Bulletin reported that Bines had slashed membership fees and reduced the number of classes at the gym, as well as shrinking the site of the gym.

In a YouTube video about the closure, Bines explained that while she did “love my gym” after some soul searching she had decided it was best to close it.

Bines closed her gym in March. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“The core reason is, honestly, I am not passionate about running a gym,” she said.

“I don’t enjoy any process of running or managing a gym.”

Bines said she had been feeling “pulled (away) in so many areas”, and finances were not the reason why the gym was being shut.

“The actual gym is going well, we have enough members, it is not a financial thing. It was not killing it but it wasn’t like, not doing well either,” she said.

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Bines has been the subject of controversy in the past. Photo: Instagram

While Bines’ health programs have been extremely popular she hasn’t been without controversy.

Back in 2018 customers accused Bines’ company of “unauthorised transactions” and censorship of complaints.

The complaints ranged from women who claimed they have been ripped off by paying for fitness programs they were later denied access to and others who said their criticisms or feedback posted online was censored by staff.

Others say they have encountered significant delays or problems when trying to return items from the company’s clothing line.

A Bines spokesman at the time said that “if there has been any wrongdoing or mistakes, we will own up to that”, however, they were “highly confident in our customer service and support teams ability”.