How This Genius 'Gym Cleaner' Got 30M Followers: 5 Viral Secrets
In the age of AI, when SEO traffic is also dying… How did a humble “gym cleaner” (lolz) become a viral social media superstar—growing a following of 30M+ subscribers organically? If you’ve scrolled social media lately, you may have seen Anatoly.
On Facebook alone, he’s gathered millions of followers. His secret? It’s not just strength—it’s a formula anyone in marketing can learn from.
Within 3 seconds, you know the story: Anatoly, the quiet “gym cleaner”, is underestimated by gym-lift-bros—until he casually lifts more than even the strongest among them.
The twist?
Anatoly is actually a champion powerlifter in disguise.
Today’s video / article breaks down the five social media viral secrets behind Anatoly’s meteoric rise to 100’s of millions of views—and shows you how to use them to get your own content noticed.
What you’ll get:
- Unlock emotional hooks — Learn how to create content that grabs attention fast and keeps people watching.
- Find out why the simplest stories travel the furthest, no matter your audience.
- Seize the power of context — See how matching your message to the right platform can supercharge your reach.
- Win with visual simplicity — Discover why clear, visual ideas win in a distracted world.
- Repeat what works — Get the strategy for achieving continued results.
Ready to dive in? Let’s explore how Anatoly’s viral social media secrets can help you stand out—no matter where you start.
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SEO traffic is dying, or at least it's changed dramatically. Google has turned off the traffic spout for a majority of industries.
When people search, especially for informational queries, AI overviews now appear at the top. Even big-name brands have seen their traffic drop by 80% to 90%. The median or average is about 40% to 50% of overall search traffic.
It’s a clear reminder that even though SEO still matters, many are shifting focus—or falling behind.
The Shift to Social Media
The SEO traffic drop has created a lead generation problem for businesses.This creates a need for businesses to figure out how to generate the same volume of leads without that traffic. We need more impressions at the top of our funnel.
Most businesses are moving to social media or have already started. They're investing in pay-per-click ads at the top of Google, Meta Facebook ads, and ads across different networks like Reddit.
Beyond that, there's conversion optimization and being more aggressive with email marketing. But social media is the big one.
I showed you how optimizing your funnel—like the Hotel Institute Montreux case study—can drive a 50% increase in conversions with just one testimonial. That's critical for converting the traffic you do get.
But you still need traffic in the first place. And if Google isn't giving it to you anymore, you need to master social media content that actually gets attention and drives people to your optimized funnel.
That's why learning from Anatoly and his genius gym cleaner memeology will benefit you. He's built an international brand with over 30 million followers across social media by creating consistently viral content.
Here are Anatoly's 5 viral secrets that you can apply to your own top-of-funnel content marketing:
Viral Secret #1. Emotional Payoff Drives Views
The first viral lesson is that the content is satisfying. There is a payoff, an emotional catharsis for the viewer.
You get the concept quickly. The scene is set—most of us have seen gyms or been in gyms. There's immediate tension and dramatic irony. The other people in the video aren't in on the joke, but we are.
"You know, you get the concept very quickly. You know, the scene is set. You recognize it. Okay. Like most of us have seen gyms or been in gyms or go to gyms. So, you know, the scene is set. Um, you know, there's going you feel like there's something like you know kind of like just the fact that it's being filmed, right? There's some dramatic irony immediately there..."
Our brains release dopamine as the story develops. At the end, there's an emotional catharsis—it's incredibly satisfying.
The illustration below shows why emotion matters so much in social media and marketing: customers or viewers who feel emotionally connected to a brand or content are 52% more valuable than those who are merely satisfied.
It’s a powerful reminder that people don’t just view and buy products—they view and buy how those products make them feel.
We identify with Anatoly as the underdog. In our own lives, we are often underestimated. The video gives us a sense of justice. It's simple, and it happens quickly, making us want to keep watching more reels.
Reason #2. Platform Context Is Critical
The second reason this content is so effective is that it aligns with the context of the platform. Every social network is unique. You have to get into the mindset of the user.
On Facebook, people want to be entertained. There's a much bigger audience for entertaining content than for technical or informational fitness advice.
"To make it more specific, there is a much bigger audience of people on Facebook as they're scrolling through their newsfeed, as they're, you know, going through these different reels who want to be entertained versus the number of people who will come upon a personal trainer and want to actually hear and get informed about a workout, you know."
His Instagram, on the other hand, shows a couple of collaborations / brand deals:
The following chart gives a clear picture of where audiences actually spend their time online. Facebook still leads with nearly 3 billion monthly active users, followed by YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
TikTok trails slightly behind but dominates in engagement. The takeaway? If you want reach, tailor your message to fit the dominant platform culture—don’t copy-paste content across channels.
Part of what Anatoly is selling is the idea that this underdog is incredibly strong because he's a personal trainer. It's subtle, aspirational selling.
The content flows with the context and the mindset people are in when scrolling. It's entertaining because of the humorous dramatic irony. He's not pitching himself; he's offering value relevant to both his business and the mass market.
Reason #3. Underdog Stories Are Universal
The third takeaway is that it's a universal underdog story. There's zero explanation needed. You see Anatoly, and he seems weak.
Only if you look closely do you realize he's not. As a first-time viewer, you're like the people prejudging him—"Oh, this guy is kind of weird, what's going on?"
Then, he surprises everyone.
"It's an underdog framing and the underdog story works across all languages and cultures. There's really no context required. It's just instant understanding. As a viewer, you pick a side almost immediately. We all can relate, as I said earlier, to being underestimated. It subverts social hierarchy regardless of age or appearance."
The underdog framing works across all languages and cultures. It's instant understanding.
As viewers, we pick sides immediately. We've all been underestimated at some point.
The story subverts social hierarchy—age or appearance versus actual ability. It's got that primal David and Goliath appeal hardwired into our psychology.
Reason #4. Simplicity Wins Every Time
The fourth reason for virality is that there is zero barrier to understanding. It passes the "TikTok test"—three seconds to comprehend.
In one example, Anatoly hands a guy a mop that's actually 35 kg (about 68 pounds), and the big buff guy can't carry it. Immediate interest.
What's going to happen next?
"If a 13-year-old and a 65-year-old just can get it instantly, it's potential viral gold. There is no niche knowledge required. You don't need to know about fitness or memes or internet culture or anything. There's really no outside dependencies. It's we're talking about weight. We're talking about physical strength. And moreover, it is pure visual storytelling."
No niche knowledge required. It's pure visual storytelling. You could mute the clip and still get it.
This next visual really drives home how powerful storytelling is in marketing. About 74% of marketers use stories to share sales information, and storytelling alone can boost conversions by 30%.
Even in B2B, 62% believe it’s one of the most effective content strategies. Add to that—67% say video storytelling has become essential, and 61% are already using it for branded content.
The takeaway?
Simplicity and story always win attention, no matter the platform.
Reason #5. Double Down On Success
The fifth and final lesson is that it's not just about having one piece of content that does well—it's about doubling and tripling down on what works.
Anatoly just keeps making these reels over and over because people can't get enough. Some have over 10 million views.
"It sounds simple and that's why a lot of people don't do it because we inherently we want to believe that the answer for how to be successful at social media for instance in terms of like how do we get more views it's well you know do a lot of reps in terms of volume of content and then double down on what worked and see what can I do to just continue exploring this format this concept..."
It sounds simple, but most people don't do it. We want to believe that success comes from always trying something new, but really, it's about doing more of what works.
This also trains the algorithm—Facebook, Instagram, TikTok—to know what your content is about and to keep promoting you.
Conclusion
Traditional SEO is no longer reliable for driving traffic and leads. Social media is where the attention is.
Learning from Anatoly's approach gives you a blueprint for creating content that stands out, spreads, and brings in new audiences.
If you got value from this article, leave a comment below. Let me know which of the five viral secrets resonated with you.
What do you think of Anatoly and his brand? The fact that he's built an audience of 30 million followers across social media is no accident.
If you're a business owner who needs to get marketing done—social media content, blogs, newsletters, landing pages, graphics, ads—you need a lot of skill sets. Hiring for that can be time-consuming and expensive. At Growbo, we give you an all-in-one marketing fulfillment team for less than the cost of one full-time virtual assistant.
You can learn more at Growbo. We also have 33 marketing projects you can delegate to us right now—just click the link in the yellowbox above.
Keep Growing, Stay Focused,
Image Credits:
1. https://www.impactmybiz.com/blog/is-seo-dead-search-engine-optimization/
2. https://blogginglift.com/emotional-marketing-statistics/
3. https://www.appeconomyinsights.com/p/threads-fastest-growing-app-in-history
4. https://passivesecrets.com/storytelling-statistics/
5. https://www.youtube.com/@vladimirfitness/videos
6. https://www.instagram.com/anatoly_fitness/reels/?hl=en
