Tony Horton (personal trainer)
{{Short description|American personal trainer, author, and former actor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Tony Horton
| image = Tony Horton and fans.jpg
| caption = Horton in 2010
| birth_name = Anthony Sawyer Horton Jr.
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|7|2}}
| birth_place = Westerly, Rhode Island, U.S.
| spouse = {{marriage|Shawna Brannon|2015}}
| occupation = Personal trainer, author
| years_active =
| known_for = Creating P90X
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=10}}
| website = {{URL|tonyhortonlife.com}}
}}
Anthony Sawyer Horton Jr. (born July 2, 1958),[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0395685/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm Profile], imdb.com; accessed July 7, 2015. 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 3 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.[http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thewesterlysun/obituary.aspx?n=jean-gencarelli-horton&pid=141159608 Jean (née Gencarelli) Horton obituary], legacy.com; accessed July 9, 2015.[http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thewesterlysun/obituary.aspx?pid=172067410 Anthony Sawyer Horton (Sr.) obituary], legacy.com; accessed July 7, 2015. He was a self-described "98-pound weakling" with a speech impediment.[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/business/29exercise.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Profile], nytimes.com; accessed July 7, 2015.
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 yachtsman. 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.
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.{{cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/health/la-xpm-2012-jan-01-la-fi-himi-horton-20120101-story.html | title=Tony Horton: Personal trainer to the masses | work=Los Angeles Times | date=1 January 2012 | access-date=13 January 2016 | author=Pfeifer, Stuart}}
He did some improv and worked as an actor.{{cite news|url=https://healthland.time.com/2012/08/30/qa-with-p90x-creator-and-fitness-guru-tony-horton/|title=Q&A with P90X Creator and Fitness Guru Tony Horton|work=Time|date=August 30, 2012}} He appeared in a ThighMaster infomercial{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_trMID2Pro|title=P90X The All-Star Workout Video - ABC News2.mp4|date=December 4, 2011|accessdate=July 7, 2015|publisher=YouTube}} and a Shakeology commercial and as a spokesperson for NordicTrack. He starred in a number of exercise videos including Power 90, which was marketed by BeachBody.{{cite web | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/12/tony-horton-p90x-yoga-breakfast_n_3902266.html | title=Tony Horton, P90X Creator, On What He Eats For Breakfast And How Yoga Saved His Life | work=HuffPost | date=12 September 2013 | accessdate=13 January 2016 | author=Haupt, Angela}} He later created several sequels: P90X (Power 90 Extreme), which was his breakout hit; P90X2, P90X3, and 22 Minute Hard Corps.
In 2017 Horton revealed that he was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome type 2.{{cite web|work=Self|url=https://www.self.com/story/tony-horton-diagnosed-with-ramsay-hunt-syndrome|author=Miller, Korin|date=October 26, 2017|title=P90X Founder Tony Horton Reveals He's Been Diagnosed With Ramsay Hunt Syndrome}}
References
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Category:People from Trumbull, Connecticut
Category:University of Rhode Island alumni
Category:American exercise instructors