Tony Little – Fitness Entrepreneur, Author of There’s Always a Way, Building an empire on a risk; Making a name for yourself; Dealing w/Adversities; Always moving forward.

Segment 1: (Length :05:00) – General Updates; Introduction to Tony Little and his journey as a fitness entrepreneur thus far, as well as his background into creating his empire; Confronting adversities; Starting his own TV show

Tony’s finer points:

“I grew up with a lot of adversities and everyone has challenges and I learned how to handle the adversities. I realized that most of my successes came after an adversity and that really helped me continue to move on.“

“The first major adversity I had really was the one that had caused me to understand because I curled up on that one. That was when I had worked all my life to be a professional bodybuilder and I went out to California and I was hit by a school bus.”

“I spent two years in and out of hospitals going, ‘why me, why me, why me,’ and I was just able to break through it after the two years. One day I saw Jane Fonda on TV doing this high impact aerobics and I thought, ‘Man, if she’s out there doing it, I can do it because I’m sure she has her training group life,’ so I went down to the local television station to do my own television show.”

“I didn’t even know how to do television. They said, ‘Who are you?’ Nobody knew me and . . . ‘Why are you fat?’ . . . It’s because I’m motivated. I didn’t have a job. I went in and told them I wanted to do my own fitness show. I think there’s a show out there that needs to show people how to exercise first before they actually start in a video program.”

“He said, ‘That’s great, but you know you have to pay for it?’ I understood and he said it was $5,500 (I think it was) for 13 or 14 shows. I said I’ll do it and I signed the paperwork to do my own television show with Westinghouse Cable. It was only like 250,000 homes.”

“I didn’t know how to produce it. I didn’t know anything. I went home and now I’ve got to figure out how I’m going to get the money. So, when you put your back against the wall a lot of times, immediately when you have a problem and you imediately feel that there’s a wall there, you’ve gotta move forward. It forces you to move forward.”

“If you don’t move forward, you’re not going to go anywhere. You’re either going to stay where you are or go backwards.”

Segment 2: (Length :07:00) – Talking with Tony Little; Building a company on a risk; Making a name for himself; Differentiating in a saturated market; Building a $1.5B business

Tony’s finer points:

“Nobody can underplay the value of a brand name. The name says it all in the brand.”

“When I developed my videos and three of the top 10 videos were Billboard’s best selling videos of all time at one time, and I look at it and wonder how I got to that level. I mean, I think it had to do with me saying I had to move forward.”

“I went out to a convention in Vegas with a video in my hand. Nobody knew me. I even had to arm wrestle one president to sit down and talk to me. I did whatever it took and I left that place with 6 offers on my first video I ever pitched.”

“I think people have to go forward. The whole question is, if you never ask a question, you never know the answer. And so many people are afraid to go outside the box. If you step out, you stand out. If you don’t step out, then you’re stuck. I’m a move forward guy.”

“I think people always go for the underdog. People want to see that person succeed.”

“This was an opportunity for my first infomercial in this particular area for me to come out on stage and tell a positive.”

“I went out on stage with a live audience for my first Gazelle infomercial and said, ‘Listen, it’s not what happens to you that matters in life. It’s how you respond to what happens to you. The key for you is to never stay where you’re at. You’ve got to go forward.'”

“I then showed them (the audience) a clip of me getting a ton of makeup over the scars on my face and my back. Two weeks ago I was in a bad car accident. I’m not supposed to be here. I’m here because I believe that you always  have to move forward and I did $66M (in sales).”

Segment 3: (Length :07:00) – Diversification in the market; Wellness; Choosing the right things to endorse and go into.

Tony’s finer points:

“The wellness aspect of it all. I got into all these other brands. Fitness is not my only brand.“

“You’ve got to stand by your product, right? I can’t believe people just endorse a product out there whether they like it or not.”

“For me, I made a decision many years ago – if it’s not something that I love, then it’s not going to be something that can sell very easily. It’s not going to be something that my customers are going to grow with and say, ‘I trust what Tony Little picks.’ I understand that very early on.”

Segment 4: (Length :03:00) – Hustler Thought of the Day:

“Struggles and criticism are prerequisites for greatness. That is the law of the universe and no one escape it.”

– Prince Ea

Tony’s finer points:

“If you realized that an adversity or what seems to be some unsurmountable path that’s in your way, there’s always a way around it.“

“It’s the way you think. You’ve got to change your mindset to change your life.”

“There’s always a way. That’s just the way I think. I don’t give up on things. So many people give up too quickly.”

GENERAL NOTES:

Tony Little – Fitness Entrepreneur, Author & America’s Personal Trainer

• Renowned throughout the world for his trademark ponytail and shouts of “You can do it!

• Tony Little has been a television fitness icon for more than 20 years. He first burst onto the fitness scene in 1983 by becoming an acclaimed Junior National Bodybuilding Champion, turning into a household name after he introduced the Gazelle Exercise Machine into the home fitness market.

• More than 40 million people own goods bearing the Tony Little name. Moreover, his success crosses international boundaries, with his infomercials currently airing in 81 countries. Today, through his company, Health International Corporation, Tony’s influence can be felt throughout the more than $100 billion a year industry.

• The man popularly known as “America’s Personal Trainer” is one of the most financially successful figures ever to appear on television, selling over $3 billion worth of products worldwide, but his journey is something else.

• Tony recently created There’s Always a Way which contains practical advice culled from Tony’s often wild and improbable experiences. It will definitely help readers navigate the tough business world, as well as live a quality life.

• In the book, Tony reveals his very own ups and downs of his hustle and journey to become where he’s at — and of how he has used the hard knocks of his own life to develop unique selling strategies, become a successful businessman and a better human being.

• Tony was inducted into the Fitness Hall of Fame in 2006.

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