What Is Gabi Butler From Cheer Doing Now
Before "Cheer" came out on Netflix, the average person probably had no idea what competitive cheer looked like — specifically the fact that the best teams in the country are often at small community colleges. In fact, Navarro College was also widely unknown, with only 1,556 students enrolled at their Corsicana location where the show was filmed (via Navarro College). But, while the school itself may not be very popular, the cheer program has been winning awards since 2000 (via Netflix). Before the show came out, Navarro had won a ton of titles, including Grand National Champions. Still, their reputation remained within the circles of cheer.
Today, that under-the-radar status has gone away and the school, specifically the members of its cheer team, have reached celebrity status. One of the most popular stars to come from "Cheer" is Gabi Butler, who actually had a bit of fame before appearing on the show (via Distractify).
Gabi Butler wasn't a stranger to fame
Gabi Butler began cheerleading at a very young age. The now national title winner was just 8-years-old when she first got into the sport in her hometown of Boca Raton, Florida (via Distractify), and quickly became a force to be reckoned with in the cheer world. She later moved to California to compete on a cheer team there, an all-star team called Cali SMOED. After winning championships, her fame began to rise.
Butler was on the show "Cheerleaders," which according to IMDb, was a series about the Cali SMOED team, in which Butler appeared in 15 episodes. She also appeared as herself in one episode of the "Secret Diary of an American Cheerleader," a drama series about the struggles of an all-star cheerleader.
Still, her worldwide fame came after "Cheer," where, during season one, she was a favorite among the team (via Bustle). But is Butler still with Navarro College?
She has officially left Navarro
Gabby Butler was a standout star in Season 1 of "Cheer." But as the first season came to a close, Butler revealed she would be leaving Navarro and their cheer team (per Bustle). In fact, Butler even told fans that she would be leaving Texas to join a competitive cheer team in her home state of Florida. But to everyone's delight, Butler actually did return to Season 2 and to the Navarro cheerleading team. Butler surprised fans by posting a photo of herself in Navarro gear on Instagram and captioning it "so ready for this season."
But while she did, in fact, return for another year, that was officially her last. According to The U.S. Sun, she moved on to attend Weber State University, a school in Utah, where she was on the cheer team. According to an interview with Hollywood Life, Butler loved her team and their kind spirits on and off the mat, but per Sltrib, Butler left the team in early 2022.
She has become a social media influencer
Gabi Butler has been a prominent figure on social media since she started her YouTube channel in 2009. Today, that channel has 119k subscribers and gives fans an inside look into her life as well as some of her favorite-and craziest–cheerleading stunts. According to Distractify, her influencer status started before the show. She began sharing tips to make it in the world of cheerleading and many potential cheerleaders followed her for advice.
Butler is also huge on other social media platforms. As of this writing, she has 2.1 million followers on Instagram, and with a feed full of videos of her doing insane stunts, it seems that she is sticking with her love of cheerleading. More recently, Butler has also taken to TikTok, where her audience has gotten even bigger. She currently has 2.5 million followers and 45 million likes on her videos, which show her flying into the air and doing flips with other top-tier cheerleaders.
She launched her own app
According to The Cinemaholic, Gabi Butler released her own app called The Gabi Butler Method. This leans into her passion for fitness, something she has focused on throughout her cheerleading career. The app features exercises designed by Gabi herself, helping cheerleaders and potential cheerleaders train as she does. All the workouts can be done at home or at the gym and there is even a special program called "Daytona Jumpstart" (via Trybe).
Her fitness has remained a top priority for her, as the app shows. She recently gave PopSugar some insight into her workout routine, saying that when she was able to choose her own ab routine during her time at Navarro College, she would often opt for v-ups, leg lifts, and seated-knee tucks. All of this dedication to her craft has led her to become one of the best-known cheerleaders out there or as Bustle refers to her, a "cheerlebrity."
Her future looks bright
Gabi Butler has competed with a ton of big teams and her career thus far has focused on competitive cheerleading. But cheer may not always be in her future. According to ScreenRant, Butler has mentioned that she doesn't see herself doing cheer in the long term, specifically due to the toll it takes on her body. She has her eyes set on possibly being a stunt double.
She is also rumored to have success in her love life and according to ScreenRant, is dating a fellow cheerleader named Kollin Mark Cockrell. The pair can be seen together on their social media platforms performing stunts and having fun, and according to Weber State University, they hosted cheer camps together over the summer of 2021.
For now, Butler is still cheering and whether she is cheering for an all-star team or just for her fans on TikTok, we are excited to see what the star athlete does next.