For Northeastern graduate Laura Green, running has been a big part of life since childhood.
Green, 37, grew up in a running family in upstate New York. She ran track in high school and was a member of the cross-country and track teams at Northeastern until her graduation in 2010.
She made friends across the country through running while a traveling physical therapist and met her future husband through a fitness movement, the November Project, that started in Boston.
Running has also been Green's “me time” since she became a mother of two, and a time to see her friends and socialize in the wee hours of the morning. It also gave her an unexpected creative outlet and a new occupation.
About a year ago, Green, encouraged by a friend, tried to create funny running sketches for social media.
“I made a couple [videos], and they did very well. I realized that this is something that is not fully capitalized on in the operating space,” he says. “I think most people take themselves too seriously and most of the ads that come out are too serious. So I continued.”
Green quickly found her audience, began working with running gear brands and was able to quit her physical therapy job at a hospital.
On her Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts, Green jokes about anything and everything running, from the language of the sport to sports commentators, brands, types of runners, road vs. trail running, snacks and obsession of runners with Strava, a physical activity tracking app. In just over a year she has amassed more than 153,000 followers, who easily engage with her content, calling it “brilliant”, “too real” and “PURE GOLD”.
Among her latest achievements is a partnership with Asics that took her to the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary in September, where she interviewed athletes, showed her followers the facilities and “created hype around athletics”. , as he said.
Northeastern Global News caught up with Green to ask about her life as a social media influencer and get some tips on how to get into running.
How did attending Northeastern and Bouvé College of Health Sciences prepare you for a career in physical therapy?
It is one of the best physical therapy schools in the country.
When I was young, I thought I wanted to work with athletes because I was one. I was supposed to be on the sidelines of the NFL training these athletes.
Then because of the co-op program, I got to work in these different settings that I probably wouldn't have chosen. I went to San Diego and worked at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and then went to Hawaii. I really enjoyed the nursing environment. I enjoyed working with the geriatric population so I switched gears. I said, “Oh, I really like cardio. I really like neuro.” The sports portion and outpatient orthopedic I thought was painful and boring.
When I graduated, a friend of mine and a Northeastern graduate became traveling physical therapists. We really wanted to travel. I think cooperatives and clinic [practice] It just really prepared us for travel physical therapy. They really throw you into the fire, there is very little direction and you have to be prepared for anything.
How often do you run?
Most of the days. When I'm training for something, there's usually a plan (I did two marathons last year — New York and then Paris). Mostly, I get up and go to the gym. But I run at the gym and at home, at a minimum. On the days I leave the lift, I run farther.
How do you describe yourself when people ask what you do?
I call myself a comic content creator and say I'm in the running world. Sometimes, there's a little parental note or more about lifting or biking, but for the most part, it's running.
Have you always been funny?
My friends are not surprised by this. But I will say that I am not the funniest of my friends. The Northeastern track team, I can't even tell you how many of them are supposed to be stand-up comedians. They were all so funny.
How do you come up with ideas for your content?
It's mostly a lived experience that I either exaggerate or make fun of. I mean, all my videos make fun of myself, that's the goal.
I have friends that I bounce ideas off of, and friends come up to me out of the blue, or they'll just text me, “Have you thought about doing this?”
Should you post a lot?
I try to put two [posts] one week. My posts are mostly scripted. There's storyboarding, there's changing clothes. So they take a little longer to make. I never want to feel so stressed, like “I need to post more.” So I try to do two a week. If it doesn't happen, all is well.
I never really post on the weekend. It's family time. I post stories most days.
I do my best to only be on social media during work hours. I pick up my kids at 4:30 p.m. and I do my best to turn it off like it's my work email because if not, it could be on all day, all night, consuming your life.
My husband occasionally makes me put my phone in a box and I'm not allowed to touch it. This is really very effective.
Does your spouse help you create content?
I showed him maybe the third video I made. I edited it and then showed it to him. And he didn't laugh enough for me. So I said, “No, I'll never show you again.”
How comfortable are you with putting yourself out there in front of thousands of viewers?
It takes some comfort in who you are, and at this stage in my life, I'm there. I'm much more concerned with the jokes being funny and accurate than how I look on camera.
I certainly wouldn't have been there a decade ago. So, I'm definitely a lot more comfortable. I don't watch anything back and think, “Oh, I look awful.”
Can you tell us more about monetizing your content?
I have been surrounded by very knowledgeable people since the beginning and that has helped me tremendously. At first, of course, I didn't know what to charge. It's also kind of the Wild West out there, where creators make their name.
I mean, you base it on what you think your value is based on—your followers, but also your loyalty, your viewers, and your views. There is no fixed calculator and that is the problem. Then content creators will work for much less money and we say, “No, ask for more.” You basically write, direct and shoot commercials, you have to get paid for it.
I'd say I've made twice as much this year [in seven months] as I would as a physical therapist. It's incredibly lucrative if you know what to ask for, and you also know how to sell it.
What about physical therapy, do you see yourself going back to it?
I'm sure I'll be back. I have taken breaks in the past to travel and have children.
I see this new career as very temporary. I'm very realistic about it and how it can change overnight, and the pressure to stay relevant. I don't care that much. So if I become irrelevant tomorrow, that's okay. I can go back to work as a PT. We'll see, we'll just get rid of it as much as we can.
What would be your advice for someone hesitant to take up running?
Honestly, starting with running a block. It doesn't have to be how far you run. For me, it's just about being outside and it's also a great way to meet people or connect with people who are already running that you're friends with.
Go to a specialty store, have someone who knows what they're doing take a look at your foot and really fit you into a great pair of shoes. You always want to start with walking-running. You don't want to just go for a run. You have to build slowly or you will get injured. So these walking routes, like walk one block, run one block, walk one block, run one block, are a great way to get into space.
Alëna Kuzub is a reporter for Northeastern Global News. Email her at a.kuzub@northeastern.edu. Follow her on X/Twitter @AlenaKuzub.
