Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyrstin “KJ” Johnson.
Kyrstin “KJ”, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was what is considered to be a late starter in gymnastics journey at the age of 10. In the beginning, I skipped through some competitive levels because I taught myself prior to training and I was ahead of the game. My notoriety really begin when I became the first commit to the second HBCU team in the country and the 1st HBCU Gymnast in the state of Alabama on March 31,2023. That day was special for me to sign because it was the last day of Women’s History Month. During my time with Talladega Gymnastics, I was the first HBCU Gymnast to compete the Yurchenko one and a half vault on January 12, 2024 at the University of Florida. . On February 9, 2024, I led my team to victory. We became the first HBCU Gymnastics team to win a NCAA competition against centenary College Gymnastics, and Alaska Anchorage Gymnastics teams which are D1 nad D2 schools. During this competition, It was my first collegiate All-Around win. I was just warming up. I qualified for USAG’s National Championships. I competed All Around and missed the win by a hair. I finally stuck my vault. Pure perfection. One Judge gave me a 10 and everyone went wild. My coaches and I waited for the other 10 to go up but that judge saw otherwise. I missed the AA title by less than 2 tenths of a point. I knew that I still had a chance to win more medals at the finals. After finals were all said and done, I became the first HBCU Gymnast to become the National Vault Champion, win an individual event title, win Gold (Vault), Silver (floor) , and bronze (All Around). No other HBCU Gymnast had achieved that and it was a big deal because I achieved it in my freshman year all during our inaugural season. We were on our way and ready for next season. By July 12, 2024, we were fighting to keep our team. We received the awful news, 3 weeks before we were suppose to report to campus, that Talladega was dismantling our team. We were devastated. Although we put up a good fight with the help of others to try and save it, our attempts failed. My scholarship was gone just like that. What I had become accustomed to was gone. Fortunately for me, I was being recruited immediately by a few top D1’s but my dream of following in the footsteps of family members who attended HBCU’s was shattered. My dad is a graduate of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC and my grandfather is an HBCU graduate from right here in Baltimore from Morgan State. I even have family that are graduates of Talladega College including some notable ones. I cried but i didn’t have time to cry for long. With no scholarship, financial aide because it was too late to apply, I weighed my options and narrowed it down to two schools. Temple University just felt like home. On my official visit, I met the coaches who showed me around, answered all of my questions while I also paid attention to the environment. This was the closest that I was going to get to the feel of the culture. The community embraces Temple University and Temple University embraces them. I also loved what Coach Britt and Coach Hill was going to build. I wanted to be a part of it. Though Temple already had a great team of gymnast, I still felt that I still could bring something. Great Coaches and great team. Hoootie Hoooo! I will have to admit, as excited as I was, I still needed to adapt after the sudden program cancellation and relocating. I did receive a lot of support from my coaches and my team during this shift but that was all new to me as well. Im sad that I only got a year with the seniors but I do look forward to teaming up with the incoming freshman. Shout out to my accountability buddy, Brooklyn Thomas (incoming freshman). Since becoming an OWL, I had the opportunity to , use my platform and routines to share my identity from my love of Hip Hop music, my dancing abilities, my natural hair and uplift my community at the same time.
Ive been told that Im an Inspiring figure, showing that staying true to yourself and your roots can lead to success both on the mat and beyond. For that, Im proud and also thankful to Temple for allowing me to be me unapologetically.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would say that it was smooth until it wasn’t. I basically had a crash course on New coaches, new team, new school, so many resources that I didnt previously have access to, new city, a city (LOL), off campus living with roommates that I didnt know at all that’s was apart of or affiliated with the Temple Gymnastics team. I moved into this apartment that had a room that was available at the last minute considering how fast all of this was happening. I was smiling, I was hanging out with my team, and I was enjoying some of what Philly had to offer which was a faster pace and busy. I realized that I was now getting the true college experience (If you have been to Talladega, then you understand). I was going so fast that I was trying to keep up and then one day it hit me. It was like a switch. To this very day, I still can’t explain it. I was happy with my choice. I was thrilled with this team and the coaches. Though a HBCU was my dream, that ship had sailed and God had other plans. I was ok with that and was not missing it to where I wanted to go back. My coaches checked in on me all of the time. It was genuine and foreign at the same time. They were the ones that made me realize that I had not dealt with what had just happened to me. It was traumatic. It started affecting my performance once I had to sit in it. Temple has a great Mental Heath department and my coaches knew I needed to go. It was a great help and will continue to be. My season picked up, slower than I wanted but it did. Im used to competing all four events but I was still unexplainably struggling and trusted my coaches on having me to focus on the two events that were my strongest…Vault and Floor. I trusted their decisions. I managed to pull off some wins, a career high, and other accolades. I even went viral. I was not expecting that. I also got to cheer on my other teammates that was contributing to a great season and especially when and where I couldn’t. So excited about the upcoming season. God’s got me and this team! #2026
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Im a Temple University student athlete. Im apart of the talented Temple Women’s Gymnastics team. I was known as an HBCU Gymnast that set multiple records, made history with a fro that is just as popular. Im most known for my Viral floor routine which has been deemed the Kendrick Lamar Routine though I sampled other artist such as opening up to OutKasts “Hoootie Hoo”, 310 Babii, and Glorilla. Im most proud of being an inspiration to other little girls but even more to the little brown girls in this sport that need to see more of us gymnast of color. We are still the minority Im proud to not appear perfect so that they dont feel the need to be perfect but be the best that can be at what they do. Im not a fan of division so I cant say that anything sets me apart. We all contribute to this sport in some significant way no matter the level, conference, division of school, classification, or even popularity. Training to be a gymnast is no easy task. Training never stops for us. Our sport requires you to be judged by others, They determine if you win or not. It’s a mental sport and that sometimes is a lot. My only wish is that more get highlighted because thats gymnast is and can be an inspiration to someone else thats not looking for a 10, to never fall, or to even cry.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I have a great team that supports me and my brand. Those that have a rep, work with an agency, or agent and may say that those work for them. Not mine. We are a team but I do let them lead with my brand. I am very blessed to be a client of InDemandCreative Agency. You can visit my website at KyrstinJohnson.com and click on “Let’s Connect” or you can send a direct email to Redell Spinks at redell@indemandcreative.com who oversees all brand opportunities etc.
You can always support by following me, sharing and commenting positivity on my social media platforms.
Instagram: @Kyrstin_Johnson
Tik Tok: Kjflips05
Twitter: kjflips05
Facebook: Kyrstinflips
Contact Info:
- Website: https://KyrstinJohnson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kyrstin_johnson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EyUboS4jC/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyrstin-johnson-99066a303
- Twitter: https://x.com/kjflips05?s=21
