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Kalan Hooks, ESPN
Temple University gymnast Kyrstin Johnson posted her floor routine on social media before turning off her phone and closing her eyes to head to bed on Jan. 5. When daylight woke her the next morning, she checked her phone, which erupted with many notification banners.
When she scrolled on social media, the only thing that kept resurfacing on her timeline was herself. She wondered, “Who posted it?”
Planet of Gymnastics, a social media account that highlights the sport, reposted the video.
Johnson’s face lit up.
“I was like, ‘No way.’ I called my mom and I was like, ‘Mom, did you see what’s on the internet?’ She was like ‘no,’ but then I showed her and she flipped her lid. Then I told my grandmother … she went crazy as well,” Johnson told ESPN. “I was flabbergasted, perplexed; I’m just blessed.”
Johnson’s hip-hop-inspired floor routine at the Temple Cherry and White Invitational, choreographed by Temple junior Christina Elliot, a Diamond Gems dance team member, instantly went viral on social media with over 267,400 likes — and counting. She executed the same routine during her season debut against West Virginia and earned a 9.85.
During the summer, Johnson was riding in the car with her mom listening to the radio. As the beat dropped on Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” a hip-hop song that is part of a nine-song feud between the Compton, California-based rapper and Drake, the two faced each other, captivated. Johnson processed the song before registering it in her mind: She needed to include it in her floor routine during the winter.
“When I first heard the Kendrick Lamar song, I automatically knew I wanted that in my routine. And I knew I wanted it to be the first song in my routine,” Johnson said.
Working with Elliot on the routine, she emphasized that she wanted an up-tempo drill expressing her roots in Black culture.
“I’m never the type of gymnast to dance to slow music. I need hip-hop. I needed something that not only I can really groove to, but also that the crowd can groove to, and [Elliot] gave me exactly that,” Johnson said with a laugh.
Once she saw the routine, she was in awe.
“The day she showed me the routine, I literally dropped to the floor and I was like, ‘This is perfect.’ She was happy I loved it, and it didn’t really take me that long to learn,” Johnson said.
In the routine, she follows the West Coast diss record with 310babii’s “soak city [do it],” where she executes Lamar’s viral “squabble up” dance move he does in the GNX hit song’s music video, along with the Dougie. This popular dance move emerged in 2010 to pair with Cali Swag District’s hit record, “Teach Me How To Dougie.”
Johnson didn’t know what her third — and final song — would be in the routine but credits her mother for her discovery and vision that helped finalize the routine.
“I was like, ‘What is going to be the banger?’ Then GloRilla came on the radio and mom looked at me and asked ‘Why do we not think about this song? This should be the song,'” Johnson said.
Johnson concludes the routine with GloRilla’s “TGIF,” which includes a hint of a universal drill team move before placing her signature crown on her head in front of the judges.
“When I heard the song, I was thinking about my crown and it all just came together perfectly,” Johnson told ESPN.
Johnson says that each song and dance move incorporated into the viral routine is a tribute to her personality, HBCU culture and roots.
“This shows my personality really. I’ve always been outgoing and happy, but I just really wanted to bring that HBCU culture to Temple just to show it doesn’t matter where you go. You can still bring your culture with you [and] find a school that you’re comfortable with and still bring that with you,” Johnson said.
Johnson is beginning a new chapter after transferring from Talladega College, a historically Black college in Talladega, Alabama. At Talladega, she won a national vault title at the USA Gymnastics Championships with a 9.875. She made history at Talladega, where she became the first student gymnast to commit to the program, making her the first HBCU gymnast in Alabama.
The program shut down in July 2024 due to a lack of resources.
Since transferring, Johnson told ESPN that adjusting to Temple hasn’t been challenging.
“Yes, I did come from an HBCU but one of the things that I really like about Temple is that I’m still able to be myself here, too. I can still bring culture here, too, and that’s exactly what I’m doing,” Johnson said. “I like how this team has just really brought me in and accepted me for who I am.”
She hopes her routine inspires younger gymnasts who are trying to find their way in the sport to embrace their authentic selves.
“This is a new generation of gymnastics. It seems like everyone is starting to become more open when it comes to music choices and dance styles. But I’ve also realized people love the little things about me like my hair and I think those young gymnasts — especially the ones who look like me — should do the same. There is no pressure,” Johnson said.
“I knew who Kyrstin Johnson was at Talladega, and now I’m figuring out who Kyrstin Johnson is at Temple. … I was happy with my performance and everybody else was happy too. Like, just take it day by day.”
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