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Tackle these situations in stride.And you of course be annoyed when an unplanned expense comes up, but not let it be something that slows me down.Right.As I did with repairing my credit, you know, hiring somebody to do credit repair for me.
That was a gift that I gave myself that allowed me to then, you know, get my first apartment.
Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.State Farm, proud sponsor of My Cultura Podcast Network.
Susan Powder, Stop the Insanity.Do you remember that infomercial?What about Tybo?I know you have memories of seeing that infomercial.Do you remember Buns of Steel with Tammy Lee Webb?Did you have that?How about the Jane Fonda tapes?
Did your mom use those?Are you old enough to remember those?Do you remember Gilad and Denise Austin? Richard Simmons, there's Tony Horton for talking like the early 2000s.
Have you ever wondered what happened to some of these people or where are they today?Are they millionaires?Are they still doing fitness programs?Are they alive?
How did the way they had an impact on all of our lives and the way many of these people shaped what we believe to be true about health and fitness and how has it impacted their lives?And where are they today?What happened to them?
I've been wondering that, and I've been going on a little bit of a deep dive.So in this episode, I'm going to start off with a recap, heading home from the gym here in Miami, tell you what is going on.
Then I'm going to talk about this really strange belief, and it's a false belief, that if somebody is well known, if somebody is famous, if somebody
has a household name like they're referenced in songs they're part of pop culture certainly that person today must be set for life they've got lots of opportunities well the reality is actually very different and
There's a reason why some are not doing well today and others are thriving.And we're going to explore all of that.Yeah, we're going to go there and we're going to go for a walk.But first, we're going to start off in the car.
So please put your seatbelt on.We are going for a ride, but eventually we're going to walk.So put your seatbelt on, but make sure your shoes are on too.All right, here we go.So I'm leaving the gym right now, Anatomy, Miami Beach, the one off of
Alton, just in case you're wondering or maybe live in the area.
And I know I haven't talked much about the gyms here in Miami, the way that I did last year, because last year we were going to the same health club, fitness club, whatever you want to call it, but a different location.
And that different location was quite a different location.Like the people who work out at the one, I guess it's considered Midtown, completely different. It is a show.
That is where I saw, I mean, there's some crazy stuff at this one too, but the other one, I think they must have a strict age policy.
Like they must have a list somewhere that the front desk basically must discourage people from coming in if they are all natural.If you have the original butt that you were born with, I mean, nothing's been implanted into it or
injected into it like, eh, they're probably not going to let you in.If you don't have your breasts popping out of your top, they're, they're going to, listen, if you're over 32, they're going to be like, ma'am, this is not for you.
I swear to God, swear to God.Nonetheless, I still very much enjoyed working out there because it is such a freaking show.Like it is so funny to watch what a, like, I mean, this place needs its own reality TV show.
I swear to you, I've got videos on my phone.Why would I take videos of other people working out?Because that's what people do at that particular location.Now, granted, I am sharing my take on what it was like there a year ago.
It may be completely different now, but a year ago when I was there, like most, it was not uncommon to see like six and seven, maybe even 10 people who have a full on tripod set up filming or they come with their videographer.
And I don't mean like a friend and they're working out together and one videotapes the other while they're doing their set.No, I'm talking like their videographer.Like, this is not someone who's working out.This is a videographer.
And what they were videotaping did not look to me like an exercise routine.Well, you just know when you pull in the parking lot, like it is OnlyFans Central.And
I think there's got to be more OnlyFans stars in Miami than there are anywhere else in the world.It's got, it's a, I've got to look into it just to prove myself right.
But so you would see these in the way you would know their OnlyFans you might ask is because a lot of them, you know, they're dressed for attention and then like on the back of their shirt or on their hat it says their OnlyFans handle.
Or a couple of them, they have it on the back of their pink Ferrari, like their OnlyFans handle, which seems to me kind of unsafe, if you're asking me.But I don't know.And the guys are just as beefcake-y, like inseam on their shorts.
one to two inches, definitely sizing down by two sizes.It's interesting.It's, you know, I think it's the kind of place that if I, back in the day when I was their age, I probably wouldn't have liked it.
It probably would have made me feel like I had to compete or whatever.But when you're this age, which is 55 and alive and I'm thriving, You just, you find it all so funny.You're just like, who am I competing with?Like, what's there to compete with?
You know what I mean?Like, just observe.But anyways, that was the Midtown Anatomy, the one that I just am leaving right now.It's also, it's got its own vibe too.I don't even know how to describe it.And I also, I'm like, should I describe it?
Like, could I get in trouble from like the owners of Anatomy?Cause I love this place.So maybe it's free advertising.I don't know.I really do.This is like the nicest gym, like the best energy. like the best equipment.
So I'm telling you all the positives of it.Like they've got cold plunge and steam rooms and the locker room smells like an orchid.They've got like the tallest ceilings.
I mean, the ceilings have to be a hundred feet tall and they're with a skylight and the skylight is surrounded by like green grass.It's insane.It is absolutely beautiful.It's like from another planet.
It's got an indoor area to work out an outdoor area to work out like If you're not into working out, if you walked into this gym, you're like, I'm on a health kick.That's it.I'm going all in.I'm going to get my body fat down.
I'm never leaving this gym.It's the kind of gym you want to stay there for hours.It's so nice, this location.And it's got a unique clientele.Tonight, so I went late in the, it's 8.30 at night right now.
And that's really weird for me to be going to the gym so late. It was just like one of those days, you know what I mean?And I don't, I don't mind.I don't care what time I work out.I really don't.
Although it's not good for your sleep to work out later in the evening.It just really isn't.But anyways, I went late tonight, so I got to see like a different clientele.You know, the time you work out, you're going to see completely different people.
A gym can have a completely different personality. And that was certainly the case tonight.Um, I got to see some of my favorite reality TV stars.So if you watch the Miami house, Miami housewives, which I love the Miami housewives.I love it.I love it.
I love it.And for those of you who are like, would you ever go on it?No.Are you kidding me?Hell no. I don't think now.You know why?Because I wouldn't want to be good TV in order to be good TV.You've got to have a storyline.You have to make up shit.
You got to start shit.People like to dig things up on you.You're like, it's like politics.Half the world hates you and the other half loves you.And I don't want to do that.I just want to be in my own little bubble.
I think a lot of people go on those shows. and then they get golden handcuffs, where it's like, it's not good for their mental health, it's not good for their relationships, but they can't get off.Tamara Judge, is that her last name?
From Orange County?Okay, hold on, let me come into the house.Yeah, Tamara Judge.So she's someone who's been on Orange County Housewives for probably more than, I don't know, like 10, 15 years?A long time.And y'all know, I love me some reality TV.
I love reality TV, it's such a nice escape It's a great way to watch other people's lives and be entertained by them.So Tamara Judge has been on Orange County Housewives for like 10, 15 years, a long time, since the beginning.
I don't know if she was there the first season, but she was definitely there shortly after the first season.I would think maybe like three years ago or four years ago, the public kind of turned against her.
Bravo decided they weren't going to renew her contract, so she was not on Orange County Housewives, and Orange County Housewives took a dive.They had horrible ratings.
They brought in new cast members, and we just didn't really relate to the new cast members because they got away from their original vibe.Originally, it was people who really kind of knew each other and they were actually housewives.
And then what they started doing, I think, in my personal opinion, is finding people who have money or would be interesting and would make for good TV.And then they bring them onto the show and they have these other characters.
They all have each other, get to know each other and basically form friendships just to be on the show.They're not really friends in real life, but they become friends because they all film together. And it just doesn't have the same depth.
It doesn't have the same appeal.So anyways, the show takes a dive.People aren't talking about it anymore.And then they bring back Heather Dubrow.You know, her husband is the famous surgeon.I won't go there.And they bring back Tamra.
Now Tamra has gone at this point several years, not several years, a couple of years anyways, without being on the show. And as I've mentioned, especially in my Beachbody Deep Dive, there are those who enjoy being famous, enjoy being known.
It's very comfortable for them and it can become quite addictive.It can, think about it, when everybody knows who you are, they treat you differently. And it feels good.
I'm going to tell you that part of having, I would definitely not call myself famous, but like a brush with being known, especially when the infomercial was on TV all the time.
You know, we're all known in our little circles, but I'm talking about the kind of known where you're on TV all the time and people know you.And it's really interesting because when you're on TV all the time, people assume you are wealthy.
We think that there's a correlation between being famous and being wealthy, being on TV and being wealthy.
I think it was such a shock for so many people who are listening to the Beachbody Deep Dive for me to say that there were many distributors in Beachbody who were
far more wealthy, far more successful than a lot of the trainers who were featured because you think, oh my gosh, if they're like on the website, if they're famous, if people are asking for a picture with this person, they must be wealthy.
But that is not true.So anyways, and I don't know the personal particulars of Tamra Judge and her wealth.I do.I think we can all agree that Heather Dubrow,
And Terry Dubrow, the surgeon, Dr. Terry Dubrow, they are very, very wealthy and they've done very well for themselves.But that's not from TV.
Although you can't deny the fact that those two leveraged their television appearances to build Terry's business for sure.And it seems to me just observationally and from people I know who know them that they've They're just really smart investors.
They've done a great job of investing with properties, et cetera.And in California, you can do that.I've mentioned a few times that there's quite a few products I use that I know they're toxic.I know they're not good for me.
And I am doing my best to replace those one at a time without driving myself crazy.And one of the most difficult things that was toxic to find a suitable replacement for was deodorant.
I mean, I went through so many different brands before I landed on Lumi.I know you've seen these adorable ads.They feature the CEO and the founder of Lumi.She is an OBGYN.She's the one who invented this.This stuff is a game changer.
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Again, it's Lume, L-U-M-E, deodorant.com, LumeDeodorant.com forward slash Shaleen. Anyways, back to Tamara.
So Tamara's off the show for a couple of years and she lives in a community where I have lots of friends and she runs in the same circle with some of my friends and so there's certain things that I know.
And one thing in particular is that these, not all, but a lot of these housewives, if they're not a Bethany, if they're not someone who already had an idea of how they were going to leverage this to help their business,
they get on the show and the first year they're not paid much and they've got to be good TV.If they're not good TV, they're not going to be asked back.And what makes for good TV is us talking about something.
So we need controversy, we need drama, we need something that we can relate to or that we're just like, oh, this is a train wreck and I cannot look away.
We don't, we're not interested in people who are really nice and have their lives all put together and are the voice of reason.
But if you're going to audition for one of these shows, and if you tell the producers that, I know, because 100 years ago I did, I didn't really audition.I just talked to producers who were like, hey, your name's been passed around.
I'm not trying to make it sound like a thing bigger than what it was.It wasn't like I made it to the final rounds of interviews or anything like that.Not at all.I just did, I think, maybe two Zoom calls with producers.
I told them straight up, like, Oh, I'm not interested really in being in the show.I'm just, you know, but I'll hear you out.And they're like, how come you're not interested?
By the way, this was way back when, again, I had a show, the infomercials were, you know, on TV all the time.And so I was not interested in doing something.Oh, and my kids were really young.
Anyways, they, you know, they were like, how come you're not interested? I don't want to make school more difficult for my kids.I don't want to expose myself in a way that isn't favorable.I don't want to flip tables.I don't want to get drunk on TV.
I love, love, love, love, love watching other people do that, but I don't want to do that."
And they were like, well, we're looking for someone who could be the voice of reason, someone who could really be that person who others look up to and has their life all together.I've since learned.
from many people who've gone through that same process, that the producers kind of always say that.They make you believe like, oh, you could be the one.No, because that doesn't make for good TV.That's just not interesting.
My god, there's so many crazy stories about reality TV stars whose lives have just been destroyed from going on one of these shows.And it's just crazy to me that people still want to get on one of these shows.
And they want to get on one of these shows because everyone thinks Fame is the ultimate goal.
And I think sometimes, not everyone thinks that, but a lot of people believe that until they get there or until they really know, what does that say about you?What is it in someone where they need that kind of public validation from strangers?
What does that say?To me, it means this person didn't get that validation. early in their life.There's my Dr. Phil moment.So Tamara is off the show.And from what I had heard, it was financially a struggle.
Like when you're not on the show, you're not getting as many views on Instagram, which means your brand deals start to become smaller.People start asking you like, oh, how come they fired you?
You know, there's this like weird thing that happens where people will say things that can dig at your psyche.I mean, I remember people saying to me, like, oh, how come Beachbody fired you?I'm like, they didn't.But it kind of wears on you.
You start to get this little chip on your shoulder, you know?I'd heard that she and her husband had started a CBD business.And I think that definitely, definitely helped.
But other than that, for as many years that Tamara was on Real Housewives, I'm certain she was making probably a million dollars a year.Now, remember, when you hear a million dollars,
And it's someone who lives in California, then the take home pay is, you know, they're probably paying at least 40% taxes, right?So if she's paying 40% taxes, so she's taking home 600,000, maybe.
And to be on a show like that though, you've got to have hair and makeup and the bags and the clothing.And then you've got to, when I say hair and makeup, like that doesn't mean you doing your hair and makeup.
That means you're hiring professionals to do your hair and makeup and that ain't cheap.Although I have also heard from more than one person who's done my hair and makeup and I'm paying them full price.
that a lot of these housewives will literally say to someone, Hey, um, I'm on the show.You're going to get some exposure.Will you do my hair for free?Will you do my makeup for free?I'll tag you.That's a very, very common occurrence.
And then they teach each other to do that, right?When you have a new person on the show or a new cast member, the veteran cast members will let them know like, Hey, this is, you know, this is what we do. I think that is so bogus.I don't know.
Now listen, if someone, if I'm offering, if I'm a hairstylist or I think it's smart to offer that, if I were someone who was a stylist, a makeup artist, does hair and makeup, any of those things, I would reach out to these people and I lived in their area.
I would say, let me have the opportunity to do these services for you for free. And if you like my services, I'll do it on a regular basis.All you have to do is shout me out."I think that's brilliant.I think that's so smart.
It's very different, however, when one of these people expects someone to do these things, just expects it to do it for free because, oh, I can give them exposure.Well, maybe they don't need it.Maybe they don't see the value in that.
I recently had my hair extensions done by this gal and I shouted her out.It was an absolutely incredible service and I would never dream of And I did probably like three or four stories about her.
I would never say, oh, by the way, do I get a discount for this?Or like even suggest it because that's just, I don't know.It doesn't sit well with me.Does not sit well with me.
But it is interesting that when some of these reality TV stars, if they have like over 200,000 followers, et cetera, you know, a lot of them are like a million or close to a million, getting a shout out from them, even just one story,
you influencers can get paid easily two to $5,000 for one mention in a story.So yeah, you're pretty smart if you're offering these services and you say to them, Hey, you know, I'll do this for free.
Like, you know, it's basically just got $2,000 worth of advertising.If in fact their followers are real, because as you know, a lot of people have a bajillion spam followers, bought followers.I've talked about this.
And then of course the followers that they purchased. I absolutely, it drives me freaking nuts when I see people who are paying for their followers, paying for likes, paying for comments.It's so easy to spot.
I've gone on a tangent with that in the past.I think I need to do a deep dive and talk about the people who have built a business conning people with their fake followers because there's quite a few people that I'm getting off topic.
please if you're in the comment section under this audio and that's something you want me to do a deep dive on, like I'll expose them.
It is so gross to me, these people that like they literally build a huge business by lying about who they've had on their shows and how many followers and likes they have.It's really this new
kind of new, like in the last three or four years, common gross scam and people fall for it like crazy.I've had friends fall for it.Anyways, back to the housewives.
So once they're off the show, if they don't have a business, even if they do have a business, it's going to be impacted if they don't have some other plan by which to get attention, to get people's interest.
And the same is true of anything where you're like, okay, For example, Beachbody gave me this platform.I'm in front of their coaches, or I'm on TV.So you have to have a plan when you're not in that.
You have to understand how to market yourself, how to stay relevant.Because if you can't market yourself, if you can't stay relevant, it's hard.It's harder. to make an income using social media in some regard or any kind of a business.
You need attention.You need eyeballs.You need awareness in order to make a living.And so when these folks get off of these reality shows, their businesses start to suffer.Tamara did a really smart thing.
She got on a podcast with another former castmate and the podcast did great because she is willing to go there and spill the tea. that helped her to stay relevant.Anyway, she gets back on the show.
And she probably in her mind is like, I don't want to get off.I don't want to get voted off the island again.I've got I've got to bring good TV.This is all me speculating.This is just all hypothetical.
And so this season, I think last season may have been her first year back.I'm not sure.And but this season, it's just like she has really turned up that dial.And by that dial, I mean that I'm going to make good TV.I'm going to be outrageous.
I'm going to say things that are scene grabbers.I am going to make my mark.And I think partly these producers, they give these women so much alcohol and they know how to kind of feed them little bits of information.
to get them riled up and then you add alcohol and then you add, in the back of my mind, if I explode, if I scream, if I yell, if I say something that's just absolutely shocking, that's going to be the clip.
That's going to be the clip that ends up being the promo or the trailer and that's going to get me more awareness and they have to just be okay with being the villain. because that's the role it feels like she's taken on this season.
And I'm just like, this has got to be so hard on their mental health.And it's got to be really hard on the mental health of whoever is on the other end of the attack.It just, it's really become very vile and toxic.
Reality TV used to be like a fun thing to relax.I don't know.Just, it seemed harmless. You know, reality TV kind of taps into that drive that we all have.You can say you don't, but it's there, the drive to gossip, you know?
And that's just something we've done since the beginning of, like, historically, gossip has served as a survival tool.It helps people to figure out, okay, who's trustworthy?Who poses a threat?
And when we talk about other people, like I'm doing right now, it gives us a way to kind of bond and find shared values.Like for example, me saying like, oh, I would never, I would never ask someone for their services for free.
I just told you something about my values and you were, you either decided for yourself, I would, or you thought for yourself, no, neither would I. And so like, it gives you a sense of who I am.It's a way for us to vent frustrations.
And it, it psychologically, It's intriguing to talk about other people's scandals.It's like, oh, wow.So there's this curiosity.There's a social learning.And let's face it, it's entertaining.
And that's what reality TV tapped into in all of us, is that drive to have a front row seat to someone else's drama, someone else's relationship, someone else's downfall, without having to feel guilty
And I guess that's one of the reasons why I still like reality TV, is that it's a way to look at these things without feeling like, oh gosh, I'm talking about someone, this could really hurt them.
Because they've gone on TV specifically to be talked about.And it kind of taps into that, it's a psychological concept called downward social comparison.And that's when people, we,
I shouldn't say people, we all kind of feel better about ourselves in our lives when we hear or watch or talk about someone else's struggles or someone else's like poor choices, you know?
And so like when you're watching reality TV or when you're talking about celebrities and we're talking about like, I guess their struggles, it makes us feel a certain kind of way, you know, when we're dissecting other people's experiences.
Part of that is for entertainment purposes and part of it is like to inform us what we don't want to do.I would like to take a moment to thank Organifi.
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It helps you to remember it.Anyways, 20% off.Check it out.Okay, so I have been lately just
reminiscing and being very nostalgic about those early 2000s and the 90s and growing up in that fitness space and thinking about how fitness then on TV was like, wow, it was like so revolutionary.Do you remember Stop the Insanity with Susan Powder?
Okay.Well, apparently she's just released a memoir.I just purchased it.I haven't read the whole thing yet, but I've just started it. and Jamie Lee Curtis is producing a documentary on Susan Powder.
Hearing that and based on what I'm doing right now with this Beachbody deep dive, you know that, and by the way, if you're not a Beachbody coach or whatever, it doesn't matter.
Because I think what this has ended up doing in large part for myself anyways, and I think a lot of the women who I'm reading their comments is, it's just kind of taking us back
and having us reflect on a season that wasn't too long ago, about 10 years ago, is when I think things started to shift.
But if you go back 10 or 15 years ago and you think about what your beliefs were around fitness and food and diet and what your body needed to look like and what it took to achieve that, it's kind of traumatic.
So I personally have been feeling very therapeutic to just
look back on what I was doing, and what I believed, and what I thought was healthy, and the terribly abusive way that I treated my body, and how I restricted food, and how I villainized certain things, and God, it was just how stressful that was, and how counterproductive it was.
And so as I'm doing this series,
I've been asking people and thinking back on my own, you know, people have been sharing with me the influence I had on them, like what it made them feel like when they watched, for example, my Turbo Fire, not the regular Turbo Fire, but the Turbo Fire low impact videos.
I've talked about what was happening behind the scenes. when I filmed those videos and then reading people's comments under those episodes saying like, I am so glad you're being honest and talking about what really was going on at that time.
And just so you know, me seeing you in that state, me seeing you look like that, here's what it did to my psyche.And it's not like people are blaming me, but they were watching me.
These are people who had been watching me for like five and 10 years at that point.Now it's been like 20 years.Like I'm so grateful that some of you have been with me for 20 plus years.That is community.
And that happens when you, when, when you, you really understand how important it is to be a part of a community.And so I just thank you for those of you who have like literally grown up with me, like we've been hanging out for like 15, 20 years.
One of the people in one of the comments I read online said, Shaleen, I have original emails from you from the year 2003.I'm like, what?That's crazy.That's 20 years.I'm like, first of all, you might want to clean out your inbox.
But that's such a compliment that someone has trusted and has been listening to me and has been kind of going on this journey with me for 20 plus years.That's insane.
And so it is really important to kind of like reminisce and say like, where are we today and where have we been?And I've been thinking back on my, my earliest TV influences with regard to fitness.
And I remember, and I bet you do too, if you're of a certain age, you remember the first time you were introduced to the Jane Fonda workouts.I was at Shelly Nichols house in Portland, Michigan. And her mom, I think, had bought the VHSs.
Were they VHSs back then?I don't even know.Were they VHS?Someone will have to tell me.Like, what else would we have been watching them on?Would it have been VHS, I guess?Beta?I don't know.
And I remember us, all of us, you know, we had to been like middle school girls in the living room doing this one exercise where you like sat on your butt
and you kind of like walked forward and back, just with your legs out in front of you, kind of like doing a butt walk.I don't know.That's my memory.But I remember all of the moms, sorry, excuse me.All the moms in the 80s did that workout.
And then jazzercise became a big thing.And so like, I have this memory of seeing very tall, long legs, skinny,
not looking, not seeing muscle at all, but long, long, straight legs, high-waisted leotards, blondes, you know, with these lanky, lanky bodies, moving their hips from side to side.Think Judy Shepard, miss it, miss it.
Think the striped leotard of Jane Fonda.And I, like my subliminal thought when watching those videos, I remember as a young girl thinking, I'll never have thighs like that.
I'm short and pudgy and my muscles are rounder and I'll just never have those long straight legs.But I want those long straight legs because these women are healthy.These women are beautiful.And then, you know, watching the Firm videos.
Denise Austin.I always remember watching Denise Austin's videos on TV.By the way, she's amazing and she's killing it because I'm going to talk to you about like the downfall of some of these people.
Denise Austin was someone who she's always, in my view, kind of maintained the same size.It always felt very healthy, regardless of how you feel about her.I mean, she's so bubbly and cheery.Like, how could you not love Denise Austin?
Like, how could you not love Richard Simmons?If you didn't love Richard Simmons, there's something wrong with you, and we are not friends.Right now, that's the line in the sand.If you didn't love her, Richard Simmons, God rest his soul.
I don't know if there is a place for you in heaven because that man was just beautiful.And I can tell you this, I met a ton of people who've worked with him, including people who were in the service space.
Like when I went to QVC, one of the drivers who picked me up, back then there wasn't Uber when I was going to QVC. And so they would send a driver to pick you up.And one of the drivers was just telling me the story.
I was asking him about the different hosts or the different personalities that he picked up to bring to QVC and tell me about Joan Rivers and tell me about, you know, tell, tell me about all these people.
And he, he told me without being prompting that the kindest, sweetest person he ever spent time with was Richard Simmons.And that Richard Simmons asked him like so many stories and that after one trip, he stayed in touch with him.
all these years and would send him happy birthday messages.And I was like, oh, this is so nice to hear.And I was once on an airplane in first class behind Richard Simmons.
And just the way he treated the staff and the people around him, he was just a sweet, sweet, sweet soul.Anyways, where was I?Where was I?Oh, yeah.So that's my first memory or thought of what health was. Then there was those girls on ESPN.
Do you remember that ESPN workout show in the morning?And they just had like, they were super tan and they had like these big round bulbs for boobs.And, and I knew it was being like filmed in California and I'm like, Oh my God.
So that's what health looks like.Like really super thin lean.Oh, but muscles, little bit of muscle and breast implants, you know, and that was kind of like the look and the,
2000s, I moved to Southern California out of college and I was teaching fitness classes, which I had been doing in Michigan, but now I was doing it in California and obviously running all my different businesses.
I wasn't thinking fitness was going to be a full-time thing for me.I certainly didn't think it was going to be a business, but I wanted to fit in in the fitness space and I wanted to have that look.So I got breast implants.
I got breast implants between the birth of Brock and Sierra.So that was like 20 plus years ago.And I remember thinking, this is what you have to do.
Like every single, and I'm not joking, at one of the clubs I taught at, every single woman except one had breast implants.I'm like, oh, so that's just, it's just like what you do.
And they all talked about how, yeah, when you get lean and you're teaching a lot of classes, you know, you lose your breast tissue.So we're all, everyone gets breast implants.And like literally everyone did.And I just think about like what I
thought was health and how much I did that has zero relevance to health whatsoever.But remember Tybo and remember Susan Powders.Now this is in the late 90s moving into the early 2000s.Susan Powder was Stop the Insanity.Tybo was a big infomercial.
Kathy Smith, remember Kathy Smith and Step Aerobics and she did some things a little bit with Beachbody.Anyways, where are they now? Where are they now?And I'm sure people are asking, I know people ask that about me.
I know you're probably thinking like, wait, what?People don't know where you are?No, I run into people all the time.
In fact, on my YouTube channel, every single week, when I post a video, there's no less than, you know, five or six people who will be like, Oh my God, blast from the past.I wondered what happened to you.It's so good to see you back at it.
You know, the assumption is They haven't seen me, so they think I've taken a break.It's also interesting that so few people realize I am still creating workout videos.It's just different.The workout videos are all me.I'm the producer.
I'm the director.I am the stylist.I'm the person who's deciding what I get to wear, how I get to talk to the camera.And they're all strength training workouts.And yes, they are in phases.
So if for some reason you did not know that, that's where my workouts are. They are in phase it and their strength training workouts and they're heavy.And people always say, is it like Chalene Extreme?
Yeah, except I'm not wearing the cheesy boots, which I take full responsibility for every outfit worn in Chalene Extreme because it was all my horrible idea.
And I want to apologize publicly right now to Heather Church and to Lyra Ross and to Andrean Bandos because they were like, mm, this isn't going to age well.And I'm like, it doesn't matter.It's cutting edge.
People will have never seen a rhinestone embellished t-shirt before and a girl wearing thigh high or knee high Nike boots that are patent leather.Like what was I thinking?Anywho.Yeah.So it is interesting when people are like, Oh, I haven't seen you.
So therefore they think you've been missing in action or you, you know, went into hiding or you just wonder.So Billy Blanks.So Billy Blanks, I need to do, I need to do some investigating.If y'all know, let me know.Okay.
So tell me in the comments, either comment in the pod squad or on Patreon.And let me know if you have had a brush with Billy Blanks in recent years, because I know in like 2020 ish, I know he had moved back to Southern California.
I know he has an older son whose name is Billy Blanks Jr., and he does fitness.And his fitness is kind of, if I'm not mistaken, his niche is people with disabilities, like making exercise accessible to everybody.That makes sense.
Like, I think Billy Blanks is one of those people who's, from what I know of people who've worked with him, that he's a truly genuine, sweet, kind person.
And it looks to me like, okay, so first of all, I don't know if you know this, he was embezzled.His first contract, I do know this, his first contract, he was completely taken advantage of.Not uncommon.
So many people who I'm friends with, or who I've worked with in this industry, for companies that shall remain nameless, were 1000% taken advantage of.
They were up against attorneys and negotiators who knew exactly what type of contract to put together so that that person had no rights, no access, no recourse, and they would lure them in with the promise of fame.We're going to make you famous.
But what they often did was give them these absolutely horrific contracts, and a lot of these people didn't understand the value of exceptional legal representation, which is very, very expensive.
Brett and I, when we hired our first attorney, it was an attorney who had negotiated, had been the attorney for Tony Robbins, and his hourly rate made me fall on the floor.I'm like, what?Is this that guy doing neonatal brain surgery?
What is his hourly rate?But it was worth every penny.You have to have someone who can be the bad guy for you and has done the work and has the chops and has the experience.And so a lot of these fitness folks, including Billy Blanks, were lured in.
Listen, when you're teaching fitness, you all know this, I assume, you don't make any money.
If you're just teaching fitness classes and even with a rare exception, personal trainers, you barely can make ends meet because you're trading time for money and because People see it as a hobby.They see it as something that's fun.
People don't take it seriously.So any fitness professional who's like, I want to make it in the fitness industry, like I want to be able to pay for a house, they're willing to accept just about anything.
And again, there's this misnomer that if you are well known, you are well paid.And that is not the case.So Billy's first contract was apparently, from what I heard, just he got nothing. Then he got better representation.And this is after.
And I would love to get him on the show.Please help me reach out to him, because I want to hear his whole story.Don't you?Wouldn't that be fascinating?But what I've heard, and hopefully he can set the record straight.We can bring him on the show.
But what I've heard is that by the time he got new representation and a decent contract, The – that tie bow moment when it was like pop culture and everybody was doing it and everybody was talking about it, that moment was over.
So then he tried to get – he did other projects, et cetera, and he had better contracts in place.But the biggest hit was when he had a really shitty contract in place.
Then eventually this couple that he and his wife had hired to manage their finances and to help them with accounting, I have those people, and bookkeepers, Brett and I have those people.And they embezzled over a million dollars from the blanks.
Now, good news is that those individuals were prosecuted.I love hearing that.And they actually did some jail time.Nothing crazy.Like, I think they were sentenced to 22 months or something.
But they had stolen over a million dollars, and they were ordered to pay restitution, which is a joke, because these folks, when they get ordered to pay restitution, they don't have any money.So that's like an empty—that's pointless.
I had heard that he is still teaching fitness classes, and, you know, it's a struggle. Those millions are gone, but he's still in the fitness space and still doing programs.Like, I heard he did a virtual reality version of Taibo.
I think it was called, like, Taibo Reboot.But again, let's get him on the show.Susan Powder.Susan Powder's story is crazy.
And for me, it's shocking because I recall her, remember Susan Potter, she had this really super-duper short, almost shaved, platinum blonde hair.
And she wore like a sweatpants rolled down, that was so cool, with like a belt around it and low-waisted in her infomercial and then like a bra top with a... flash dance style cut sweatshirt off of one shoulder.
And she was known, like, you couldn't not watch her infomercials.Like, she was unbelievable.She was so bold and intense, and she had this, like, really unapologetic, opinionated way of delivering her message.
I mean, she was, like, very high energy, very outspoken, and she would, her delivery style was almost confrontational, like, that kind of directness.I loved that.
I remember when I first started speaking on stages, I had a coach who was coaching me on my public speaking style.And one of the things that he told me was like, you're too direct and you're too confrontational.
And I did dial that back a little bit because there is an element of that that can make people feel like you're pointing a finger in their face and you think you're perfect.So I did appreciate that feedback.But she was very eccentric.
Like she, again, like even her appearance was so crazy.And she had this infomercial called Stop the Insanity.And I've gone back this week and watched some old clips from it.And holy cow, she was so ahead of her time.So this is in the late 90s.
And her own personal journey was that she had lost over 130 pounds.And she, on this infomercial, just had this emphasis on like, It's not that hard.Stop taking shortcuts.You just need regular exercise.You need to eat unprocessed food.
She was one of the earliest people saying that.She was saying like, enough with this diet food.Enough with the diet pills and the quick fixes.This needs to be a lifestyle.And I mean, so far ahead of her time.
It was almost like the anti-diet message way back then.And the infomercial was so
popular like people freaking loved her like she was spoofed on SNL that's how you know you've like really made it she had a book she had a bunch of books at the time and I remember she had they gave her a TV show but it didn't last for very long and I think it didn't last for kind of the same reasons Bethany Frankel says her show didn't last like they tried to produce her they tried to make her they tried to make Susan be something she wasn't like they put her in
a pearl necklace and a jean blouse.And it just, the things that they were allowing her to say and the way that they produced her and the way that they wrote everything out, just, she hated it.
And you, if you've ever listened to her, which I have done a lot in the last week, I've been listening to relatively recent podcasts.When I say relatively recent, like podcasts that she's recorded in like the last, I'd say eight years.
I haven't found any that are like super duper recent, but I've read some recent articles that she's been interviewed in and of course this latest book, but this is an outspoken woman who will not be told what to do, will not be told what to do.
It's not going to work.So there's no way she could have survived in that television environment where you have to basically do whatever mainstream media is telling you you need to do.So the show ended.
And from what I understand, Susan, just like Billy, had somebody managing her money and going through it like crazy.Apparently she just like woke up.Oh, by the way, so her story with losing 130 pounds.So she's, she's a woman living in Texas.
This is her background story.She's a woman living in Texas.She's got a couple of kids.Her husband cheats on her.
She's gained, you know, like I said, 130 pounds and her husband cheats on her and you know, her revenge is to take care of herself physically, mentally, spiritually. all the things.
She loses the weight by learning how to feed herself the right way, take care of herself, love herself, move, breathe, exercise daily, lift weights.She was one of the first people I heard just saying, women, we've got to have muscle.
Anyways, that happens.She has the infomercial.She has all this fame.She's single apparently back then.She gets embezzled. That's a major blow, but now she's going to try to get back on her own two feet.And now we're talking like the late 2000s.
And that's when she came out as a lesbian, which is really interesting because I've listened to some interviews with her and she says the most offensive things about lesbians.It's like, wait, you're a lesbian, but it sounds like you hate them.
Like, what are you saying?Anyways, that's her personality.She's very brash. She did another series of exercise videos.Of course, again, it was after the craze, so they weren't very popular.And remember, times were changing.
In the mid-2000s, that's when I realized, like around 2009 is when I realized, like, wait a second, fitness is changing because of YouTube.
And that's about when she, I think, if I'm not mistaken, when she started releasing this new exercise series that was strength training, low impact, Zone 2 Cardio.She wasn't calling it Zone 2 Cardio, but it was.She was so far ahead of her times.
She looks amazing.I think she was in her 50s then.Yeah, yeah.Maybe late 40s.But those videos, they just weren't as popular.Infomercial, it wasn't working in an infomercial.It did okay.You're just not going to make a lot of money, right?
Because that's when fitness really, really started to change. She's trying to build herself back up financially.But I mean, once you've been at the top of the mountain, you have millions, and now you're scrambling again.
And she talks about how she wasn't spending any money.She basically went down to bare tax.I mean, thumb tax, that kind of tax, not taxes you pay the IRS.Just not spending any money, not going out to eat, not buying fancy cars.
really trying to live a minimalist life, learning to garden, all these things, but she just wasn't making any money.And she talks about how she could not get a job.Eventually she realized like, okay, I've got to get a job.
And I think she has in total now five kids.They're all grown now, but she, in these interviews talks about how it was just impossible to keep food on the table and people wouldn't hire her. once they knew she was Susan Powder.Isn't that weird?
Like they would, they thought, well wait, you're famous, you're rich.We're not gonna hire, like she tried to work at, I think she said a restaurant as a server.
And once they figured out like, oh wait, you are the Susan Powder, they fired her because they thought that she was doing some like undercover documentary.They just couldn't believe that Susan Powder would need a regular blue collar job.
You know, now she's, I believe, in her early 60s and living the very harsh reality of having been someone with millions who it was mismanaged.She's got all this talent.
But in addition to having her money mismanaged, she also was involved in, I guess, countless lawsuits.And that'll eat up your money.And so basically,
She is like many other people who they make a ton of money, they don't manage it well, this can happen.It happens all the time.It's like a story that's been told over and over and over again.
Not learning how to manage your money, not understanding how to see what changes are coming, like to be able to predict trends, to be able to predict what's coming next is so important because then you're not caught off guard because she's got incredible talent and passion.
It just has to be transferred into what works today.And if you are still trying to do the same thing you once did to reach the same amount of people and it doesn't work, you've got to evolve.You can't keep doing the same thing in the same way.
You have to know how are consumer trends, like I have an impact I want to make on the world.I want to use my gift.And if you're not looking at like, how are things changing?
then you get left behind and it's sad because then people just kind of like double down on what they're doing.And it just keeps dwindling, dwindling, dwindling, and they just keep holding on.
And then you hear stories like this where Susan Powder is living in a senior community, a low, a low income senior community in Las Vegas and driving for Uber Eats and being greeted at the door by people who are like, wait a second, didn't you used to be Susan Powder?
Can you imagine what that would feel like?No, I still am.I, I still am.I just ended up here and she's really still very outspoken.I'm really looking forward to the, the documentary.
I'm also, I'm going to reach out to her and I'm going to reach out to Billy and see if we can't get them on the show.Is that only interesting to me or are you interested in that?Let me know.
But then there's someone like a Denise Austin and she is the perfect example of someone who's figured out how to keep doing what she's doing, but to evolve and to understand, like, how does this need to be done?And where do I need to do this?
And how do I stay relevant?And how do I How do I predict the trends?And she's done a remarkable job of that.She's got like a huge community and she's figured out how to go digital and stay relevant.She's, I think, 67, maybe 68 years old.
Looks just like she did when you think of her in her like 20s.I mean, she literally looks the same.She has the same hairstyle, same face, same body. almost, right?I mean, our skin changes.
But in terms of like, her weight, and her muscle tone, she looks phenomenal.So it is possible.Who are you thinking of right now that you're wondering, like, where did they go?
in terms of a fitness icon or someone you saw on TV or someone whose videos you watch that you, because maybe I'll just do a whole deep dive into like all of their backgrounds and figure out like what happened to them and where they are today.
So tell me, who is it you're most curious to know where they are today and how they're doing and how things evolve? Remember Gilad?Remember those morning shows where you'd watch people doing fitness on the beach in Hawaii?
What about Judy Shepard, Miss It, from Jazzercise?I don't know if she's still alive today.I hope so.But she has to be in her late 70s, maybe, or even early 80s.Who else can you think of that you would be curious to know?
And what would you want to know? obviously would love to go down this rabbit hole.There's so many interesting memories I have about fitness icons who are on TV in the 90s, maybe even the 80s, but like the 90s and the 2000s.So let me know.
Dying to hear your feedback on this.And again, if you have insider information in recent years, share that with me too.Hey, I love you.I mean it.And I'll talk to you soon.
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