The Austin Evolution

In a candid convo, mom and daughter Denise and Katie Austin unpack their separate-together career journeys and the everevolving fitness industry.

"Mom, you're not on the same leg as me. Come on, let's get this," Katie says.

It's a fall day in Littlerock, California, but it doesn't feel like it. The sun is beating down on the open-air set that somehow resembles Santorini with its curved architecture and rich blue pools.

The way the water reflects against the white shapes is blinding and plays tricks on the eyes, so you can't tell where the water begins and ends-stunning, yet tricky when you're jumping, deadlifting. "Okeydoke, honey bunny," Denise coos.

In the next take, the pair keep a covert eye on each other to make sure they're in sync as they do single-leg glute bridges. They nail it. The crew cheers as we wrap one of the six (!) workout videos we're shooting for our Strength Transformation Challenge. Katie and Denise laugh and "whew!" and bounce in place in satisfaction, arms wrapped around the other's waist.

There was something so charming about the faint hint of impatience directed at Mom that I sensed in Katie's voice, even if only for a split second. In that moment, I'm reminded that when the mic packs and the cameras are gone, the Austins are your typical mother-daughter duo. No, perhaps more intimate than typical. They exude comfort and companionship in the truest sense of the words.

I know they'll head home that evening together in the car, recapping another 10-hour (sweaty) day. They'll have a sleepover that night at Katie's house in L.A., where she resides with her fiancé, Lane, and Havanese puppy, Milly. They'll cook dinner together. It's the type of bond that makes you miss your own mom or kid.