
His 65 fitness videos, which have sold over 20 million copies, pair lively music with rockin’ routines and Simmons’ humorous banter and encouragement. Deal-A-Meal and the FoodMover were revolutionary in their ability to help people keep track of calories and portions.
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Knowing that exercise and weight loss regimes must go hand-in hand, Simmons created a series of best selling products that integrate the two components. The show ran for four years and received several Emmy Awards.

Simmons’ success as a fitness expert and advocate led to numerous local and national television and radio appearances including a four-year run on “General Hospital”, followed by his own nationally syndicated series, “The Richard Simmons Show”. He opened his studio SLIMMONS in Beverly Hills, where he continued to teach classes and host inspirational seminars until 2013. In 1974, after consulting with doctors and nutritionists to ensure the safety of a program tailored to the needs of everyone, from the overweight and obese, to seniors and the physically challenged, a determined Simmons established an innovative place where the overweight of the world were welcomed with open arms.

After traversing LA, and unable to find a facility welcoming people of all shapes and sizes, his only alternative was to create that safe haven. There was no significant fitness movement in the country at the time, and to no avail, Simmons attempted to find a health club that wasn’t for people who were already in shape. Simmons prevailed in his own weight battle before relocating to Los Angeles in 1973.
