Deja Riley
Deja Riley is a dancer turned fitness creator, podcast host, and mom who shares dance, boxing, and adaptable workouts through Modification Mama and her online channels.
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Latest
Deja’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus her backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
POPSUGAR Fitness
YouTube
PodcastOverview
- Roots
- Born in New York and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
- Work
- Fitness creator, former professional dancer, speaker, and podcast host.
- Early training
- Started dancing at three and moved to Los Angeles at 19 to pursue dance professionally.
- Fitness breakthrough
- Created Dance Out of the Box and became the host of POPSUGAR’s Dance FitSugar.
Mini bio
Music was always there.
Raised in Virginia Beach by Donna Roberts and musician Teddy Riley, Deja began dancing at three. She trained across styles including ballet, tap, jazz, flamenco, and hip-hop before moving to Los Angeles at 19. Her professional dance career included work with Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and Jennifer Lopez.
Finding her own rhythm.
A group fitness job at a Santa Monica boxing gym opened a new path. Deja loved boxing but missed expressing herself through dance, so she combined those interests in Dance Out of the Box. By 2019, she was hosting POPSUGAR’s Dance FitSugar and working as a PUMA Master Trainer.
Making room for more people.
Deja built a community she calls the Sweaty Smile Squad through MIRROR and became a face of lululemon’s Chargefeel footwear campaign. She also co-hosted and executive produced Dose of Duality with Alicia Ferguson, exploring wellness, culture, relationships, and the different sides of a person’s life.
Movement that meets you where you are.
Her experiences with fertility treatment, injury, pregnancy, and postpartum recovery shaped Modification Mama. The 12-part program offers adaptable movement, including boxing, chair workouts, stretching, and core work. In a 2026 interview, she described success in terms of presence and showing up with what she has.
Creditschronological, newest first
Fitness and campaigns
- 2026Brello RiseMovement expert
- 2022lululemon ChargefeelAmbassador and campaign face
- 2020Dance Out of the Box: Choreography SeriesCreator and instructor
- 2019Dance FitSugarHost and trainer
Podcasting
- 2023Dose of DualityCo-host and executive producer with Alicia Ferguson
Awards
Quotes
For me, success is showing up with what I’ve got.Deja Riley, The Coffee Chat (#113)
In June 2026, she discussed how motherhood changed her understanding of ambition and success.
Trivia
- She studied flamenco alongside ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, lyrical, and hip-hop dance.
- She returned to college for a bachelor’s degree in Media Communications while building her fitness career.
- Her MIRROR community is called the Sweaty Smile Squad.
- She and her husband carried their 2018 wedding hashtag, Getting Izy With It, into her writing about family life.
Find Deja
Move with Deja and follow her life beyond the workout.
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