Annie Lennox Into The West

Westerly native is big success at the home-fitness game

If you’re a late-night TV viewer, fan of the infomercial or just someone interested in a new way to get fit, chances are you’ve seen Tony Horton’s ads for the P90X home-fitness program. He’s got some of the most frequently aired infomercials on TV.

Horton, a Westerly native who, at age 52, is a huge success as actor-turned-celebrity trainer and TV pitchman, is quick to admit that it wasn’t easy getting there. Just 12 years ago he says he was living in a tough Los Angeles neighborhood’s rent-controlled apartment carrying $60,000 in debt.

That was when he met Carl Daikeler, CEO of Beach Body, “a small-time business guy” who at the time had a great idea, Horton says, “the great-body guarantee.” The plan offered those who want to lose weight a 30-day guarantee that they would do so if they followed the exercise DVD and eating plans offered by Beach Body.

That evolved into Horton’s “Power 90” plan, “my philosophy mixed with training,” he says, and eventually, P90X.

“P90X has been hugely successful with professional athletes, but it also sells out on QVC to grandmothers,” Horton says. “Who knew?”

Make no mistake, it’s a tough workout, but Horton says he thinks the secret of its success is that it “takes people out of the gym,” who are self-conscious about being there in the first place, and gives them a plan that, with a little discipline, can make them slim down in just three months.

“Someone called me the Dr. Jekyll of creating fitness routines,” he says, describing the way he combines yoga, strength training, jumping and martial arts in the program. As a nation, he says, “we have exercise bipolar disorder,” that requires we mix it up.

Efforts to do “spot training” are “myopic,” according to Horton. “Anything you’re going to show up for on a regular basis,” to exercise, “and I say, all the power to you.” But P90X is designed for those who don’t want to do the same set of workouts daily.

“It’s a 90-day transformation,” he says. “We tell you what to eat, what to do, any modifications, and you can hit the pause button if you need to.”

Horton, who moved around a lot as the child of an Army officer, grew up largely in Trumbull, Conn.

Christo's Second Live: “Into the West”

This year’s theme is “The Magic of Second Life.” No, we’re not just talking about wizards and sorceresses (though of course they’re included). The true magic of Second Life is something different for each of us. It’s all about that moment when we realized how amazing Second Life really is. It’s when we found our own personal connections to Second Life, realizing its potential in our own lives and the lives of other Residents. Whether it’s the social aspect, the content creation possibilities, or unique business and commerce opportunities, we’ve all got a tale of Second Life magic to share. “Lay down your sweet and weary head; night is falling, you have come to journey’s end”: the first words of this song, written in 2003 by Annie Lennox with Fran Walsh and Howard Shore for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings third chapter (The Return of the King), set a dreamy and wistful mood in which a woman comforts her loved one, promising him they will be together again after his parting: “Why do you weep? What are these tears upon your face? Soon you will see all of your fears will pass away; safe in my arms, you’re only sleeping”.

Into the West, From the Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King

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