Born Milton Teagle Simmons on July 12, 1948, in New Orleans, Louisiana, the flamboyant Richard Simmons spent his life helping others feel better about themselves and lose weight by sweating to the oldies. What people may not know about Simmons is that he is Catholic and briefly studied to be a priest. Here are some classic quotes from Richard Simmons:
1. “Even though my work is whimsical. I have a very serious job. I cry more than I laugh.”
2. “Every morning I get up, I ask God what He wants me to do, ask Him to lead me to the right people to help them.”
3. “Everyone in this world is somehow connected. So why not just be nice to everybody?”
4. “For my workout, I’m up at 4 A.M. I say my prayers, count my blessings, and I work out right away. I just get it done.”
5. “I show them the funny part, the silly part, the laughing part, the crazy part, and then the really deep, deep part where I’m talking from my heart to these people because I’ve been through everything they’ve been through.”
6. “I’ve always practiced this: Love yourself. Move your body. Watch your portions.”
7. “No one is perfect…absolutely no one. Like precious stones, we have a few flaws, but why focus on that? Focus on what you like about yourself, and that will bring you happiness and peace.”
8. “Number one, like yourself. Number two, you have to eat healthy. And number three, you’ve got to squeeze your buns. That’s my formula.”
9. “When I go to bed at night, I ask God to give me another day; I ask Him to keep me strong and make me a good teacher and to keep spreading this right word.”
10. “I think it is very important that you like yourself for who you are and not want to look like anyone else. You also have to understand, many people have had cosmetic surgeries in order to look the way they look. So why look like them when you can just look like you? And there is nothing wrong with looking like you.”
11. “I’m a real paradox. Because I’m a very serious person, and I take my work very seriously. But I wrap it up in a court jester and a clown and make people laugh and make them feel good about themselves.”
12. “I get tired of negativity in our country. I get tired of people who only want to know dirt. I get tired of people who don’t believe in themselves.”
13. “I’ll tell you who makes me laugh, in a good way, and I’d love to have a date with her: if I could just have a salad with Lady Gaga? This would be my – I would almost probably faint.”
14. “When you gather up all the balls of life that you try to juggle, it is a very difficult thing to try to focus in on taking good care of yourself. But that’s why God invented me – so I can come and teach and preach and make people laugh and give them some education so they can start liking themselves better.”
15. “I start phone calls at 4 A.M. to cheer people up. The housebound, people in the hospital. People who, after decades, still can’t get over what happened 10 or 15 years ago.”
16. “My persona has always been what a man was never supposed to be. Outrageous, gregarious, crazy, silly, funny.”
17. “Stop trying to find something in food that will make you feel better. I used to have eating disorders; I’d binge and purge all the time: fried oysters, po’boys, muffulettas, beignets, coffee, and doughnuts. I tried to medicate myself with food when people made fun of me or hit me with a bat in school. I’d always turn to food.”
18. “When you’re feeling down, sad, lonely, negative, you don’t want to take care of yourself – and the weight problem and the diabetic problem and the heart attack and stroke problems and high cholesterol set in.”
19. “I have 40 pounds to lose. It is not the fault of the fast food people, and anyone who’s trying to sue the fast food places needs a therapist, not an attorney.”
20. “I started my own class for people like me who can’t find any place else to go.”
21. “There are sacrifices you have to make. I don’t have a lot to offer one person. I have a lot to offer to a lot of people.”
22. “I put a spell on people so they don’t know they’re working out… An enchanting spell, where they just don’t think about it or overthink it, and then at the end they go, ‘Wow, I feel good.'”
23. “People have been frying foods since Jesus was on this planet, and there is always going to be greasy, fried, salty, sugary food. It is up to the individual to walk in and say, ‘I don’t want those fries today.'”
24. “I used to think that if someone gained their weight back, it was my fault, but all I can do is be God’s motivator and try to instill the motivation in others so they do it themselves.”
25. “I hope in my lifetime we can all continue to laugh at ourselves and not put down anyone for what they weigh.”
26. “I get an abundance of e-mail every day, some say ‘dear Richard, can you call my husband, he weighs 400 pounds…’ or ‘my 14-year-old is 200 pounds…’ or ‘I just got divorced, no one wants me, I am 500 pounds.’ So I pick up the phone and I call people.”
27. “People treat me like family, ’cause I’ve always treated them like family.”
28. “[M]y mother told me…be who you are and do the good things that you do and what people think of you, let them think whatever they think.”
29. “How do you get motivated? By knowing your worth. Americans do not know how worthy they are. You deserve to be healthy…”
One has to admit he made a lot of people healthier and happier. He encouraged healthy living and a positive attitude, something this country needs. Pray for his soul.
