I am saddened to hear Richard Simmons has just passed away.
For those of you living on mars.
Richard Simmons was a fitness instructor or icon to me during the 80s he opened his own fitness studio The Anatomy Asylum before it was rebranded to Slimmons, in Los Angeles.
He made exercising fun which isn’t a easy forte.
And he was kind to a fault he had the approach if you want to get people to lose weight they have to be smothered with encouragement because if their not on the right mindset it’s pointless.
Richard was one of those people that genuinely liked helping people despite being an outsider himself.
Sad fact he too was obese in his youth, and it was something that dented his confidence and I think that’s what contributed to his reclusiveness in later years till his death.
He was a chameleon, but at the end of the day was still that shy kid who got to live the dream.
What moved me is his relationship with fans and reportedly he always replied to his fan mail even when there was stacks of it. He came to my attention from one episode in 80’s show ”Fame’,since then I always watched his old fitness tutorials that truly felt retro but ideal.
I will remember him for being one of those rare individuals that money never motivated him in helping and being kind to others.