Tony Horton (personal trainer)

Tony Horton
Horton in 2010
Born Anthony Sawyer Horton Jr.
(1958-07-02) July 2, 1958
Westerly, Rhode Island, U.S.
Occupation Personal trainer, author
Known for Creating P90X
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Spouse(s) Shawna Brannon

Anthony Sawyer Horton Jr. (born July 2, 1958),[1] known professionally as Tony Horton, is an American personal trainer, author, and former actor. He is best known as the creator of the commercial home exercise regimen P90X.

Early life

Tony Horton was one of three children born in Westerly, Rhode Island to Anthony Sawyer Horton (Sr.) and Jean (née Gencarelli) Horton, and was raised in Trumbull, Connecticut. He has two sisters. His family is Roman Catholic.[2][3] He was a self-described "98-pound weakling" with a speech impediment.[4]

By the time he was 10 years old, his family had moved more than five times. His father served three years in the Army as a 1st Lieutenant, and the family was stationed at various bases around the U.S. His father was a minor league baseball player, golfer and yachter. Tony Horton became interested in fitness when he took a weightlifting class while attending the University of Rhode Island and was a member of Phi Kappa Psi. After graduation, he moved to Southern California and worked various jobs, including as a stand-up comedian and gofer for 20th Century Fox.[4]

Career

After moving to California in 1980, Horton became a personal trainer to an executive at 20th Century Fox, working out of his garage and charging $20 per lesson. His clientele grew, eventually including Bruce Springsteen, Usher, Tom Petty, Billy Idol and Annie Lennox.[4][5]

He did some improv and worked as an actor.[6] He appeared in the Thighmaster infomercial[7] and a Shakeology commercial and as a spokesperson for NordicTrack.[6] He starred in a number of exercise videos including Power 90. He later created a sequel, P90X—or Power 90 Extreme—which was his breakout hit. He went on to create variations of P90X, such as P90X2 and P90X3.[8]

Filmography

  • Rebecca's Secret (TV movie) – Howard Martin (as Tony Sawyer Horton) – 1998
  • Power 90 - Himself – 2001
  • Power Half Hour – Himself – 2002
  • P90X (Power 90 Extreme) – Himself (as Tony Sawyer Horton) – 2004
  • The Gymnast – Chad – 2006
  • 10 Minute Trainer – Himself – 2006
  • P90X Plus – Himself – 2007
  • Tony and The Folks/Kids – Himself – 2008
  • P90X2 (Power 90 Extreme 2) – Himself – 2011
  • P90X3 (Power 90 Extreme 3) – Himself – 2013
  • Finding Thin – Himself – 2014
  • P90 – Himself – 2014
  • 22 Minute Hard Corps – Himself – 2016
  • Double Time – Himself – 2017

Bibliography

  • Bring It! The Revolutionary Fitness Plan for All Levels That Burns Fat, Builds Muscle, and Shreds Inches (Rodale Books, 2011)
  • CRUSH IT!: Burn Fat, Build Muscle and Shred Inches with the Ultra-Extreme Warrior's Workout plans! (Rodale Books, 2012)
  • The Big Picture: 11 Laws That Will Change Your Life (HarperWave, 2014)[9][10]

References

  1. ↑ Profile, imdb.com; accessed July 7, 2015.
  2. ↑ Jean (née Gencarelli) Horton obituary, legacy.com; accessed July 9, 2015.
  3. ↑ Anthony Sawyer Horton (Sr.) obituary, legacy.com; accessed July 7, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Profile, nytimes.com; accessed July 7, 2015.
  5. ↑ Pfeifer, Stuart (1 January 2012). "Tony Horton: Personal trainer to the masses". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Q&A with P90X Creator and Fitness Guru Tony Horton". TIME.com. August 30, 2012.
  7. ↑ "P90X The All-Star Workout Video - ABC News2.mp4". YouTube. December 4, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  8. ↑ Haupt, Angela (12 September 2013). "Tony Horton, P90X Creator, On What He Eats For Breakfast And How Yoga Saved His Life". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  9. ↑ Profile, latimes.com; accessed July 7, 2015.
  10. ↑ Profile, huffingtonpost.com, January 31, 2014; accessed July 7, 2015.
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