Richard Simmons

He is known for personally interacting with the people who attend his studio or use his products. He connects with his fans through letters, emails, and phone calls.

He lives alone with his pet Dalmatians. His sexual orientation has often been speculated upon, but he personally prefers not to discuss his sexuality.

He was born as Milton Teagle Simmons to Shirley May and Leonard Douglas Simmons. Both his parents were in the show business.

He attended Cor Jesu High School. He had always been a fat child who grew up to be an obese adolescent who weighed 268 pounds by the time he graduated out of high school.

He started college at the University of Southwestern Louisiana before shifting to the Florida State University. During this time, he changed his name to “Richard” after an uncle who helped fund his college tuitions. He earned a B.A. in Art.

The obese youngster in his frenzy to lose weight adopted several methods like diet pills, laxatives, and other unhealthy fads in order to shed the extra weight. He did lose some weight, but also lost much of his hair in the process. This inspired him to adopt a healthier means of losing weight.

After college he moved to New York where he worked in a number of jobs during his initial years. He spent some months working in advertising and for the cosmetics companies Revlon and Coty Cosmetics.

Richard had been battling his bulge for several years unsuccessfully. The pills and crash diets did not seem to be working and he was determined to find a natural and healthy way of losing weight. He developed a routine that consisted of eating healthy food in moderate proportions combined with a regular exercise regime. This seemed to work for him.

He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s. His first job there was as the Maitre d’hotel at a restaurant in Beverly Hills. He grew very much interested in fitness but unfortunately could not find any gyms or facilities to help him lose weight; most of the gyms were for already fit people.

He was determined to create a gym that would cater to the needs of people of all ages and weights, and help them achieve weight loss through healthy methods.

In 1974, he opened his own exercise studio called The Anatomy Asylum. After consultation with doctors and nutritionists, he developed a program that emphasized on healthy eating in moderate proportions and regular exercise.

He is a much respected fitness expert who established the Slimmons Studio. The studio adopts a program of fun-filled exercise regime that encourages over-weight people of all age groups to come together and fight the battle against bulge.