P90X, Team Beachbody on Nightline

Last week ABC's Nightline featured a story about P90X and Team Beachbody. It was filmed in L.A. last summer during the annual convention for Team Beachbody Coaches. They interviewed Tony Horton and Beachbody's CEO, Carl Daikeler.

On first viewing, I was thrilled at the exposure for the company and for P90X. When Beachbody does well, I do well, since they give me customers through their lead program.

But on second (and third) viewing, it struck me how the report's tone is really quite condescending and cynical. The reporter clearly can't believe that people can get so excited about an exercise program, and is bewildered by a legion of P90X fans.


Now, I'll be the first to admit that Team Beachbody Coaches can be a bit fanatical, to put it politely. Get more than three coaches together in one place and you've got full-on fitness frenzy. That convention where the report was filmed? There were about 1,000 coaches there.

We already know that Team Beachbody Coaches (and everyone else who exercises regularly) are riding high on a natural dose of the same chemicals found in Prozac. Most of these people can't believe they were able to change their bodies, their health, and in many cases their minds with a simple workout program. Couple that with the profound experience of paying it forward by helping someone else change their lives for the better, and you've got a group full of people who seem to be drinking the Kool-aid. It's no wonder the guy thinks Team Beachbody is a cult.


I guess I wish the report could have highlighted the fact that there is a problem in this country, and that Beachbody's trying its best to solve it. Yes, enlisting the people who have succeeded using the programs is a brilliant marketing tactic, but it's also allowing humans to interact and encourage each other to make good choices about the way they live.

I like to refer to myself as the Avon Lady of Home Fitness, but only to provide a point of reference for how this business works. In my opinion, these programs and the clean-living lifestyle that go with them are far more important than lipstick and mascara. (The phrase "Putting Lipstick On a Pig" just jumped into my mind, but that would be a decidedly tacky and insensitive phrase to explore, so I will leave it alone.)

All in all, the only bad press is no press, so I'm happy that Nightline gave P90X some attention. Maybe next time the report will be about how a million Team Beachbody Coaches are turning the tide against obesity.

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Ya'll, I fixed Chickpea Filets again last night and they are delicious. If the second go-round gets as high marks as the first, you know it's a keeper.

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