Richard Simmons Speaker & Booking Information

Milton Teagle Simmons better known as Richard Simmons, is an American fitness personality and actor. Simmons promotes weight-loss programs, prominently through his Sweatin' to the Oldies line of aerobics videos and is known for his eccentric, flamboyant, and energetic personality. Simmons began his weight-loss career by opening a gym called Slimmons in Beverly Hills, California, catering to the overweight, and he became widely known through exposure on television and through the popularity of his consumer products. He is often parodied and is a frequent guest of late night television talk shows, such as the Late Show with David Letterman. Simmons continues to promote health and has broadened his activities to include political activism, notably in support of a bill mandating non-competitive physical education in public schools as a part of the "No Child Left Behind" Act.

Simmons had an uncredited appearance in Fellini Satyricon which was released in 1969 showing him as obese. Upon moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s, Simmons worked as the Maître d'hotel at Derek's, a restaurant in Beverly Hills. He developed an interest in fitness, but was dissatisfied with the unhealthy fad diet methods and the established gyms and exercise studios of the day which favored the already fit customer.

It was his interest in fitness that helped him lose 123 lb. Simmons later opened his own exercise studio, originally called The Anatomy Asylum, where emphasis was placed on healthy eating in proper portions and enjoyable exercise in a supportive atmosphere. He opened the studio with the help and support of his business partner Edwin Colon Jr. The business originally included a salad bar restaurant called "Ruffage," the name a pun on the word roughage, though it was eventually removed as the focus of the Asylum shifted solely to exercise. Now called Slimmons, the establishment continues operations in Beverly Hills, and Simmons teaches motivational classes and aerobics throughout the week. Simmons stated in 2010 that he had kept off his own 100+ pound weight loss for 42 years, had been helping others lose weight for 35 years, and that in the course of his fitness career had helped humanity lose approximately 12,000,000 pounds. Simmons now uses the web as a method of outreach by running his own membership based website, and also indicates on his home page that he has established official pages on numerous social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and YouTube.