The metal-loving former Knicks dancer behind the moves with Molly

Molly Day went from dancing in front of thousands of people at Madison Square Garden to helping thousands of online viewers learn how to move their own bodies to metal music from the comfort of their apartment.

The former Knicks City dancer is the personality behind Moves with Mollyan online fitness program that incorporates music from popular artists of all genres. But metal is where Day’s true passion lies.

I had a feeling others would feel the same.

“To me it sounds as danceable as a Sabrina Carpenter song. Whether dying fetus or Sabrina Carpenter, I want to dance exactly the same way. And I knew there had to be people who felt the same way.”

Become a metal-loving Knicks City dancer

Day, who describes herself as an “alternative kid,” found herself listening primarily Slipknot, linkin park and my chemical romance and at the same time be interested in dance.

Her passion for dance took her from Connecticut to New York University, where she continued her performance at a higher level. It’s also where he began to hide that “alternative kid” personality from his youth.

“I put that on the back burner because I just wanted to fit in.”

Day was also focused at the time, auditioning to become an NBA dancer. After several tryouts, he landed a spot on the Boston Celtics dance team.

But as in any industry, there are higher levels to reach. And that includes moving up among NBA teams.

Day’s goal once she joined an NBA dance team was to eventually land a job with the New York Knicks, whom she calls “the best of the best.”

“They have the best choreographers. They have the best costumes, the best dancing.”

Day spent two years performing as a dancer for Knicks City at Madison Square Garden before having to step away. Dancing in front of large crowds in one area was no longer an option after an eye procedure left her unable to see clearly in bright light.

With over 10 years of experience as a trainer and professional dancer, Day attempted to work with several companies that offered personal training. He quickly discovered that not everyone agreed with his musical choices and slowly began to include metal songs in his routines.

It was time to do her own thing and Moves With Molly was born.

‘She doesn’t belong here’

Moves With Molly is a fitness program that Day created on YouTube as a way to combine her background in psychology, fitness, and dance. She sees her routines, which include various types of music in addition to rock and metal, as a way for people to move their bodies and let go of any repressed emotions they’ve been holding on to.

The experience should be familiar to anyone who has spent time at the front of the crowd at a metal show.

“Being able to find a different way to have that outlet other than just going to a concert and being in a mosh pit; it can be at home and it can be fun. Just turn it on and let those feelings out.”

Day quickly amassed a large following on social media, leading some metal fans to let out their “feelings” in the comments of his posts.

“I think it’s more fans who see me in my smiling, happy environment and say, ‘She doesn’t belong here.'”

To date, Day has created routines for everything from Bring me The Horizon and Slipknot to Sanguisugabogg and PeelMeat. She even launched Metal Moves With Molly, a month-long program available on her youtube channel which combines dance, sculpture and strength classes with rock and metal music.

Despite a handful of negative comments, the response has been favorable from both people who took advantage of Day’s show and the bands whose music is part of Metal Moves With Molly.

Day has already heard from the Sanguisugabogg boys and Deryck Whibley of sum 41who wanted to show their gratitude. She was also associated with Matt Heafy of Triviumwho had seen his fitness videos.

“The day after I got my braces off, so I don’t remember what age, like 13 or 14, I got a black eye in a hole at a Trivium concert. So I could go and tell him that story, he said, ‘I’m so sorry.’ And I said, ‘no, it was like a rite of passage.'”

The importance of inclusion in metal and fitness

Inclusivity is important to Day both in his daily life and in scenes related to the music he loves. Much of that was determined by his childhood.

“I’m super dyslexic, super ADHD. I had to go to a special education high school because I couldn’t read. So I feel like in a lot of ways, when it comes to music, culture, alternative, having special needs, I felt ‘other’ very often in life.”

She rolls her eyes when someone accuses her of clinging to metal for “influence.” Instead, she sees creating metal-inspired dance and fitness routines as a way to reach an audience that previously wouldn’t have had an outlet, something she felt herself as a teenager.

“I think the most important thing is to create classes that help people feel included and then fall in love with moving again. There was a time in all of our lives when, as kids, we were just running. We weren’t even thinking, ‘This is exercise.’ We would just be moving our bodies and enjoying it. And I like to make people feel that again.”

For someone who may be hesitant to start their own fitness journey, Day recommends simply doing something to move for 30 minutes a day, no matter how strenuous the activity.

She warns against turning it into a “daily routine” that requires a set schedule.

“Unless you’re a professional athlete, that’s enough. And if I can get you to do it by wearing your favorite band or using a song you like or doing a seated exercise to make it accessible on a day when you might not have the ability or the energy to do more, that’s my biggest goal. To create a safe space and make fitness accessible, because a lot of it isn’t.”

Hey, maybe you should keep scrolling to check out your favorite rock and metal bands’ favorite NBA teams while you’re here. We have what you want below.