The Rybka Twins hail from Perth, Australia. Photo / Supplied
The Rybka Twins hail from Perth, Australia. Photo / Supplied
If you haven't heard of the Rybka twins then ask your kids because they're probably one of 15 million people who have.
Known as Sam and Teagan, the passionate Youtubers, who hail from Perth, Australia, have managed to amass a social media following of more than 15 million people in just a few years.
That's millions more than our very own pop icon Kylie Minogue and Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe, reports News.com.au.
How? Simply by sharing images and video content to their mainly teenage demographic on what they do best — acrobatics.
Described by their fans as being "awesome", "super talented", "stunning" and "freaky", the popular sisters turned their passion for dance, gymnastics, travel and fashion, into a very successful business, with their Youtube channel alone attracting 6.12 million subscribers.
"It's crazy. We absolutely had no idea or ever thought we'd be in this position. We just thought we had a really good opportunity and we kinda fell into it," Sam told news.com.au.
Perth twins Sam and Teagan Rybka, 24, are famous for their impressive stunts with a social media following of more than 15 million. Photo / Supplied
The charismatic and very energetic sisters first burst onto the scene back in 2013 when they appeared on Australia's Got Talent with a mind-blowing contortion act.
From then, they were told by producers to create their own Instagram page to help promote their time on the show.
But little did they know it was the beginning of something very big.
"We just started posting pictures of us doing acrobatics, warm-ups and photos of wherever we travelled," Teagan said. "We were getting about 11 likes at one stage but then it got in the thousands and that's when we were like 'Oh my god what the heck is going on?'"
The girls quickly worked out the best way to attract more followers was to post regularly.
"From there it just started to blow up," Teagan said.
And it has continued to do so with the girls garnering hundreds of followers each week.
"The numbers just grew and grew and they continue to grow and it's crazy to think that so many people follow us and enjoy our videos," Sam said.
"We love that people tell us were the reason they started dancing or even smiling that day after going through something tough — it's actually so crazy the amount of messages we get where people are telling us they feel so much better and so much happier after watching our videos."
The girls made it to the semi-finals of AGT with their act being viewed more than 19 million times on Youtube and have since gone on to travel the world to perform.
MOMENT THAT NEARLY ENDED THEIR CAREER
The girls have had their fair share of challengers from broken bones, to migraines and even gastro during competitions. But there was one moment that nearly ended Teagan's dance career.
When she was 15 years old, she was told to give up dancing after an x-ray revealed she had a tumour/ lesion on her leg.
"Sam and I had been mucking around on the grass doing a whole heap of acro, especially one trick we were trying again and again — a no-handed somersault in the air to land on your feet," Teagan revealed in their new book Twining It!
"While we were going this trick, I started noticing a pain in my leg."
She ignored for a couple of weeks but when the pain escalated she went to get it checked out.
They made it to the semi finals on Australia's Got Talent in 2013. It was the start of their explosive success. Photo / Supplied
"It turned out to be a lesion and the doctor said for it to break down and heal, I was going to have to stop dancing completely because dancing would put too much pressure on the lesion.
"I was devastated," Teagan said.
However, after getting a second opinion from a sports injury specliast Teagan was told she didn't need to give up dancing completely and just needed to take it easy.
But another x-ray revealed her lesion doubled in size and she was diagnosed with a aneurysmal bone cyst.
She had a successful surgery to remove it and was on crutches for two months, followed by a moon boot for three months. "It took a while for my strength to get back to normal," she said,
"This was a scary time in my life. I got upset and frustrated, but I also worked hard to catch up and be an even better dancer than I was before.
"It taught me not to give up, even when things seem impossible."
BEHIND THE SCENES
While the girls make it look easy, they say a lot goes on behind the scenes — including training six hours a day and teaching dance classes.
"We train and dance a lot ourselves too so that's what takes up a lot of our time," Teagan said.
"We now go to the gym every morning — it's cool to see what other people do and how they train because we have never been to the gym," Sam said.
"One day we do cardio, the next day is resistance or circuit training — we just mix it up and it really helps with our dancing, keeping our bodies nice and toned and strong."
Among all of that, Sam and Teagan have also managed to find the time to release their first ever book — Twinning It!
It gives fans insight into their life from juggling family, friends, dance and how they get along with one another.
INSEPARABLE
They girls share everything, revealing in their book they had shared the same bedroom up until just a few years ago.
"We shared a bedroom for 21 years, but when our older brother moved out, we each got our space," Sam said.
"This change was so exciting for both of us, but so weird at the same time. Sleeping on our own for that many years in the one room to a lot of getting used too … now we love having out own rooms."
Admittedly the girls said they experienced separation anxiety for the first time while doing their Bachelor of Education.
Apart from their Insta famous lives, the girls are dance teachers by day. Photo / Supplied
"As part of our degree requirement, we had to complete a practical teaching element (ie prac) … this was the first time we had ever been forced to separate from each other and focus on ourselves."
Still to this day, the girls who live at home with their mum, who is also an acrobat, share the same car.
"Still to this day, those pracs were the only ties in our lives we've spent completely on our own."
One glance through their social media feed and you also will notice the twins dress exactly the same, describing their fashion sense as "trendy", "cute" and "girly".
"Teagan is more of a girl, so shell go for the pinks and rose gold."
Where as Sam opts for bright colours and is "more out there".
"We have a r rule that whoever sees something first, or picks it up first, gets to wear it first," Sam said.
When it comes to make up, they also never leave the house without wearing mascara.
"It makes us look half decent in the morning," Teagan said laughing.
Despite their growing empire, the girls choose to live at home with their mum, who is also an acrobat. But they have hopes to live in LA one day. Photo / Supplied
Given their strong social media following, the girls said they get inundated with emails from people wanting them to promote their products.
"We have to believe in the product to then share it that's why we always get them to send the product to test it out and see what we think. We really have to be all for the product — it's never 'yeah that's paying good money let's just do that'.
"It is really important we share stuff we believe in and love doing which we have done since day dot," Sam said.
"We love being good role models as well — when you post online there comes a responsibility so it's really important for us to be authentic."
The girls hope to have a stint overseas, with their eyes set on Los Angeles
"Everything is happening in LA and we kinda miss out over here in small Perth," Teagan said.
"But no matter how much we travel we are always so grateful to come home.
"Sam and I just cant believe we get to do what we do everyday — we are just so thankful we have these platforms to share our talent and passion that we have been working on our entire lives, with the whole world."
