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by Nikki M. MascaliStaff Writer
It’s hard not to know who Richard Simmons is. The flamboyant fitness guru has been making his rounds on talk shows, television shopping channels and exercise tapes for more than three decades.
Some of those appearances have made Simmons the butt of jokes, like his infamous guest spots on “The Late Show with David Letterman” and Howard Stern, but through it all, one constant has always remained and it’s not just Simmons’ Dolfin short-shorts or sparkly tank tops. It’s his tireless and all-consuming pursuit of motivating people to get healthier.
“I’m not your average aerobic person,” Simmons said with a laugh recently from his home in Los Angeles. “I’ve always felt like I never fit in. Even as a kid, I was the only obese kid in my class. I know what people are going through, and I try to do God’s work and try to make people turn around.”
Simmons’ turnaround tools include workout videos, his exercise studio in L.A., daily phone calls and e-mails to fans and countless live appearances each year, like the one he has coming up Friday and Saturday, Jan. 8-9 at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono. Friday consists of a heart-healthy dinner, and Saturday features a 45-minute workout. Both days also feature an inspirational speech with a meet-and-greet session.
“I do these (events) all over the country,” Simmons, 61, said. “I still don’t think that people enjoy to work out. For it to have longevity, you have to like what you’re doing. And most people can’t find that, and that’s why the universal language is music.”
His songs range from classics like “Soul Man” to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” both of which he sang during his interview with the Weekender.
One of Simmons’ most popular workouts is his “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” series, which is full of stimulating tunes and shows people of all shapes and sizes exercising together. He unveiled “Sweatin’ to the Oldies 5,” his 58th video, on New Year’s Day along with his 59th, “Toning to the Oldies.”
“I gotta keep doing them because if I give new music and people and weight loss success stories, maybe it’ll jar someone to go ‘OK, it’s my turn,’” he said.
ONE PERSON AT A TIME
Simmons lives by the same philosophy he founded his exercise studio with:
“No. 1, you have to love yourself, you have to respect yourself; No. 2, you have to watch your portions, and No. 3, you have to move,” he explained.
It’s common sense advice, but advice that is hard for many people to abide by, especially in times like these with a bad economy and people unable to join gyms or buy exercise equipment as much.
“Most people are doing nothing. When there’s emotions, there’s food,” Simmons began. “All of a sudden, you put on weight, and you don’t really feel comfortable in your body and throw in the towel. And that’s why I have to go from city to city and go, ‘Wait! Don’t throw in the towel, let’s start over.’”
Every day, Simmons calls and e-mails people across the country to offer support, motivation or just to sing “Happy Birthday.”
“It’s my job as a Johnny Appleseed of motivation to say that whatever it is — work, husband, kids — don’t put yourself on the backburner, no matter what’s happening in your life,” Simmons said. “You will be able to deal with things and straighten out better if you’re healthier, I truly believe that.”
For the past three years, Simmons has been an advocate for the FIT Kids Act, which hopes to end childhood obesity by bringing back physical education in schools.
“I’m trying to get these overweight, sluggish, Web site kids to start moving and be more active. When you think of how many obese kids are in United States of America … I mean, we’re like the best of the best here, and look at our kids!”
EARLY DAYS
FIT Kids Act is a cause close to his heart, especially since he was once an overweight kid. Simmons — who grew up in New Orleans as the son of a strict father and a mother who “told me it was baby fat” — was 200 pounds by eighth grade. By senior year, he was more than 250 pounds. To him, exercise was “opening up a tough jar of mayonnaise to put on a fried shrimp po’ boy.”
“I’m from a place where everything was fried — everything was fried,” he emphasized. “That’s how I was raised, with desserts at every meal, with two, three glasses of milk, a big ol’ Louisiana breakfast with sausage and bacon, waffles, scrambled eggs.”
Simmons worked as a waiter, in advertising and for cosmetic companies Revlon and Coty in New York City before making his way to L.A. in the 1970s.
“I went to all these studios — Pilates, dance — and said, ‘Where’s the overweight people, No. 1, and No. 2, Where’s the fun? This is not fun!’” he exclaimed.
Simmons eventually lost more than 120 pounds and went on to open his first studio. Now, 36 years later, when he’s not traveling, he can still be found teaching aerobics and motivational classes.
“And that’s how it started. Now, 59 of these workouts later, it’s shocking to me!” he said. “I thank God that at 61, He allows me to do His work and try to get people to take better care of themselves.”
KEEPING HIS HEAD UP
Simmons is a self-professed “shy person” who doesn’t flounce around every day in his infamous shorts and tanks. When not teaching, he wears white — and only white.
“When I was obese, I wore black so much, and I felt inferior, and I felt sad when I looked at myself in the mirror,” he explained. “There’s something wonderful about wearing white. It’s just a clean color, it shines and it sparkles. It’s very easy for me to get dressed. It’s like I’m in the Navy.”
Simmons lives with his housekeeper of 21 years and his 13-year-old Dalmatian Hattie and is reclusive, working until he can’t keep his eyes open.
“This lifestyle is a challenging lifestyle,” he confessed. “But I know that this is what I’m supposed to do until God takes me to that little aerobic studio in the sky.”
Simmons’ feuds with Stern and Letterman have become legendary. For Simmons, though, the appearances led to insults, injury and falling-outs that lasted six years.
“I cry too hard when I leave Howard and David! It’s very emotional for me,” he shared. “I can take it, I can laugh, and I have a hard time. Once the show’s over, I feel dreadful.”
When asked how he stays positive when people speak meanly about him or ponder his sexuality, Simmons laughed.
“Isn’t it strange? I was picked on as a kid because I am a little different, I am picked on now, but it’s just water on the duck’s back after all these years. There’s so much more good people say about me than negative.”
“How can you not make fun of a 61-year-old guy with the cutest doggone legs and those teeny shorts?” he asked. “You have to be who you have to be.”
In his little downtime, Simmons is an avid reader of James Patterson books and likes to tend to his hummingbird feeders and spend time with his aging dog, Hattie. Speaking of the “love of my life,” Simmons becomes emotional.
“When she looks at me, it’s everything to me,” he said brokenly. “Oh, here I am crying with a reporter. Come on, Richard, pull it together!”
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