Tony Little Gazelle Is a Thing Again
As function of a series called "My Big Pause," All Things Considered is collecting stories of triumph, large and modest. These are the moments when everything seems to click, and people leap forward into their careers .
Tony Footling calls himself America's Personal Trainer. He was outset inspired to produce workout videos after an injury left him largely homebound, and he saw Jane Fonda's exercise program on TV. Courtesy of Tony Little hibernate caption
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Courtesy of Tony Piffling
Tony Little calls himself America'southward Personal Trainer. He was first inspired to produce workout videos after an injury left him largely homebound, and he saw Jane Fonda's exercise program on TV.
Courtesy of Tony Little
Y'all probably recognize him equally the energized muscle man with the ponytail selling his do machine, The Gazelle, on late-night infomercials: Tony Little, also known equally America's Personal Trainer.
He's been into bodybuilding since his teenage years. After a knee injury playing football in high school, he was taken off the field and into the weight room.
"I wasn't immune to take gym class because my knee would pop out of joint," Petty says. "I sabbatum downward and talked to the principal and said to him, 'Hey, listen, I'yard really a concrete guy. This is driving me basics not to accept gym course. Is it possible that if I lifted weights, could I get credits for gym form if I was working out?' "
The schoolhouse fabricated an exception for him, and Little discovered a passion for bodybuilding.
"I entered my outset contest and won it and then entered my second contest and won it," he says. "Correct later my 2nd contest, I mean, I was offered sponsorships. And I did go Mr. Florida, so that was pretty cool."
Little was on track to the prestigious Mr. America contest back in the early '80s. He says he had a real shot at winning back then.
"Perchance three to five weeks out from beingness in it, I was driving," he says, "and a loaded school omnibus ran a red low-cal. It'due south like everything turned slow motility when y'all meet the yellowish."
The bus slammed into his car.
"I was more adrenaline-freaked-out that it was a schoolhouse motorcoach than anything," he says. "And so I hopped out of the machine and tried to help, and the bus driver locked the door."
He subsequently found out that the jitney driver was drunkard.
Lilliputian was lucky to exist alive, only his dreams of becoming Mr. America were shattered.
"I had iii herniated discs out of the five lower lumbar disks in my back," Little says. "And I had a vertebrae in my cervix that was protruding, was striking the fretfulness in my correct shoulder and arm."
He says he was in excruciating pain. For the adjacent 2 years, he was cooped upwards in a small condo without a chore and without any exercise.
"You starting time upping the painkillers and drinking alcohol," Petty says. "And all it was doing was merely putting me downward, downwards, down, downward. And just getting depressed upon depressed upon depressed."
Most of his fourth dimension was spent watching Goggle box. And that'due south exactly what got him back on his anxiety.
Little happened to flip on i of Jane Fonda's do programs.
"She was starting a revolution [to become people to] exercise group exercise, which I thought was pretty absurd," Lilliputian says. "Because she had a video, I wanted a video too, you know?"
He was motivated enough to leave his condo and go to the local cable company to inquire nearly his own televised exercise program.
"Fifteen shows for $5,500 and y'all can have your own show on Boob tube at 250,000 homes," he says. "I said, 'OK, I'll do it.' "
Information technology was his large break.
"And that's when I started, 'Y'all can do it!' " Piddling says. "You lot got to believe in yourself, human being. We only take one shot in life and you got to brand it a solid one. And sometimes it might take to exist a hundred shots."
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Source: https://www.npr.org/2014/11/23/366004173/after-injury-tony-little-told-himself-you-can-do-it