Exploring Life & Business with Mila Johnson of STFU & LIFT

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mila Johnson.

Hi Mila, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Fitness started as something personal for me before it ever became a business. I was your typical gym-goer back in 2012, training at my university gym. I’d get really into fitness, fall off, start again — the whole cycle. But in 2018, something finally clicked into place. Training became more than just physical for me. It became the place where I learned discipline, confidence, and how to stop shrinking myself. By 2019, I realized I wasn’t just passionate about working out, but I was also passionate about helping other women feel strong, capable, and powerful in environments that can sometimes feel intimidating or overwhelming.

That passion led me into coaching, where I started my career at Orangetheory Fitness. Coaching group classes completely changed the trajectory of my life. I fell in love with the energy of leading a room, the music, the community, and the feeling of helping people push past limits they didn’t think they were capable of. It showed me that fitness could impact people far beyond aesthetics and it could change the way they carried themselves in everyday life. The seed was planted to eventually step out and put my own spice in the group fitness world.

In 2020, I became pregnant with my daughter, and motherhood became another major turning point for me. Navigating pregnancy, becoming a mom, and continuing to build my career at the same time forced me to grow quickly and become much more intentional about the life I wanted to create. A lot of what I’ve built since then has come from figuring things out in real time — balancing motherhood, work, entrepreneurship, financial challenges, and rebuilding different parts of my life while still showing up consistently.

That experience ultimately inspired me to launch STFU + LIFT, a strength and conditioning community built around discipline, athleticism, confidence, and taking up space unapologetically. What started as workouts and bootcamps has grown into something much bigger than fitness for me. It’s become a movement centered around helping people stop playing small, both inside and outside the gym.

Today, I coach small groups, run STFU + LIFT events throughout Atlanta, create fitness and lifestyle content, and continue building the brand with the vision of eventually expanding into digital programs, larger events, and a flagship training space of my own.

At the core of everything I do is the belief that strength physically translates to strength mentally and emotionally. I want women especially to understand that confidence is something you build through action, consistency, and showing up for yourself, even before you fully feel ready.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Lol! Absolutely not a smooth road. However, I am able to look at the challenges I have and do face as character building. You need to be able to withstand the fire in an entrepreneurial field.
Motherhood while an absolute strength and super power, has also been one of my biggest challenges. Balancing life as a single mom, with no other plan but A is not easy by far.
I have had less than ideal situations where I have needed to rely on certain owners that werent necessarily equipped for my vision and then some

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
STFU + LIFT is a strength and conditioning community based in Atlanta built around athleticism, confidence, and helping people stop playing small. What started as bootcamp-style workouts has evolved into a brand universe and community focused on creating an experience that pushes people mentally and physically.
I specialize in strength and conditioning training with an athletic approach. Think, combining strength work, conditioning, plyometrics, and high-energy group training in a way that yes feels challenging but nothing short of empowering, While my audience is largely women, the mission behind the brand is bigger than fitness alone. It’s about helping people take up space confidently in every area of their lives.

What sets STFU + LIFT apart is the energy and intentionality behind it. I’ve always wanted the brand to feel like more than “just another workout class.” Every event is designed to feel immersive, and done together whether you came solo or not..of course while still prioritizing proper coaching, movement quality, and progression.
One thing I’m especially proud of is building the brand organically while navigating motherhood and entrepreneurship at the same time. A lot of the community has been built through sharing my life and always showing up as authentically as the season calls for.

Right now, STFU + LIFT exists through events, small group training, and content creation, but long-term I’m building a culture toward a much larger vision.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Ha! Overall I think I’m a person of good fortune. Not because everything is always smooth sailings, because trust me…it’s quite far from that. But, no matter how rainy a day can get I am someone who is simply programmed to find the sun. I wholeheartedly believe that “bad” things don’t last forever, and there’s always a learning lesson.
That reason alone is why I consider myself as someone that everything always works out for.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: makingmila and stfuandliftatl