The School of Greatness - 59 Simone De La Rue: Bringing Joy to Business and Fitness to Work with Top Celebrities

Episode Date: April 4, 2014

This week on the School of Greatness podcast, Simone de la Rue joins to talk about her astonishing career as a dancer as well as how she built a thriving business with no previous knowledge of business. It's an amazing story.

This is episode number 59 with celebrity fitness trainer, Simone De La Rue. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. What is up, greats?

Thanks so much for hanging out with me today on this special little thing I do called the School of Greatness podcast. And it's been a great week. I'll tell you what, I've been doing kickboxing intensely for the last couple weeks and just feeling this transformation in my body and flexibility, core strength, and I've literally never sweat so much in my life. I've got this amazing trainer, this martial arts guy who's just incredible at the gym that I work out at who does these kickboxing, intense

kickboxing classes. And it's literally kicking my butt. And speaking of kicking my butt, I've got a new friend on for the episode today. Her name is Simone De La Rue. And she is a celebrity fitness trainer, former Broadway dancer, and just an all-around incredible human being with a huge heart. And she's got a new book out called Body by Simone, the eight-week total body makeover plan. And she's got a studio in New York City that has just taken over this fitness studio, dance cardio, and all sorts of fitness stuff that just makes women want to cry emotionally and physically because of how exhausting it is and how awesome it is at the same time and she's opening up a new studio here in los angeles and i actually ran into her on the street i tell the story in the

the episode so i won't spoil it for you but i ran into her on the street one day recently and just really got to connect with her and see what she's been creating for herself over the last four or five years with this fitness training that she's been doing for some of the biggest celebrities in the world and biggest personalities in the world. And she's getting phone calls from new celebrities pretty much every week that ask her to train them. And her system has just kind of been taking off. It's really connecting with people in such a unique and special way and getting extraordinary

results with their body that it's just been blowing up. So her new book is out. And I thought we'd bring her on to talk about what this whole strategy is about, her story, how she built up this extremely successful fitness studio in New York in basically a year or two, and how it just took off, and how she went from being a dancer to being a businesswoman to lifestyle to everything in between, and had a good time talking about it. Now, let's dive into this episode with the one and only Simone De La Rue. What is up, everyone?

Thanks again for checking out the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, and I've got a new friend on with me. Her name is Simone De La Rue. Oui. la rue what is up simone hi how are you i am fantastic and there's an interesting story about how we met yes we met in west hollywood on the side of a street correct off santa monica boulevard i was walking down the street to see a friend and i walked past a little blonde girl with carrying a big box a damsel in distress and i decided to stop and say hey do you need help hoping that you wouldn't need me but then you needed me and you said yes and i walked this box like a block and a half to your to a studio that you're opening up.

And the box was actually really heavy. I was like, I had to put it on my back because I couldn't carry it in my arms anymore. And you carried it all the way from the post office like six blocks away. And I was like, whoa, that's pretty impressive. So you actually really did need someone because I was about to drop it after that. Yeah, you're my hero.

Yes. And it was really interesting. It was lovely meeting you that day because I got to see your studio and then I got to learn all about your story, which has been incredibly inspiring for me to meet someone like yourself and what you've been able to create in your life. podcast as well. So we've got to hang out the last couple of weeks. I've got to learn a lot about your story and it's extremely interesting. And I think all of the listeners would be mesmerized by you. So I thought, why don't they bring you on? Your book is called Body by Simone, the eight week total body makeover plan. And it's an incredibly nice looking book. You have every celebrity under the sun who's endorsed it? Anne Hathaway, Naomi Watts. But you've basically been a celebrity trainer for a number of years.

I don't know if you can say all the names of people or not. But you've worked with some of the biggest actors, actresses. But that wasn't what you've always been doing. You used to be a dancer, right? Correct. On Broadway. Yes, I was a professional dancer for 18 years. Started off in Australia, then I headed to the West End in London,

and then finally had to tick the box and do Broadway. Check the box. That's every dancer's dream, right? Yeah. Yeah, I think especially growing up in Australia and watching the Broadway musicals. So that was definitely a huge dream of mine. So why did you get into dancing in the first place? I started when I was three. I don't know if it was like, I think it's every little girl wants to

do ballet. But often it's the mother pushing them. But I remember saying to my mom, I want to do that. She was like, are you sure? I don't think she wanted to, you know, drive me to dance every evening. I was like, no, I definitely knew from a young age what my passion was. And she was very supportive and took me five, six days a week. But I started young. From three? Yeah. Five, six days a week?

Lessons? Yes. Was it like group lessons or private? Group lessons at that point. So I trained in classical ballet. And so the discipline you need for that is you know it's very intense and what are the girls called who do the crazy spins where they put their legs over their head like more than just splits but they're like splits and a half yeah what are they called is

that ballet or is that well it's a kind of a mix between ballet and modern dance or even jazz dance but when i back in my day uh we used to do like fouettés, which was like a version of that. But now it's kind of evolved. It's like serious. Serious. Now you're doing like a standing split as you're spinning. But they do like four or five spins with the split above their head.

Yeah, it's crazy. I don't know how. When you start young, your body's malleable, you know, so you're flexible, you can do. But I've seen this one girl on Instagram. She's like a choreographer of these little girls. Yeah. And she's got like 20 of them doing the same thing.

She's like, spin, spin. Yes. It's insane. So you did some of that stuff, but not as crazy. Not as crazy. I mean, I train in classical ballet, so that's very disciplined. It's very structured. So I kind of veered off into musical theater as I got older. Interesting.

So you grew up in Australia. And then when did you move? I moved to London. Actually, I traveled and did musicals in Europe. And, you know, Germany was there for two years. And a lot of musicals that start off in Australia go to Asia because the countries are so close. So I did a lot of shows in Australia and then we went to Asia. And then I finally moved to London, I think in my early 20s,

and chased the dream there of the West End and then came to the US. So how long were you in London for doing musicals? About five, six years. And you were on the same show or different shows different shows how many different shows I think I've done

about 12 or 13 shows 12 or 13 yeah in my career wow so and that was the dream that was the dream to get out of Australia

go be a professional dancer but it was always Broadway was in the back of your head yeah I never actually thought that Broadway was a possibility I think it's a rite of passage for every australian to go to london because we have

the the passport so we can be exactly yeah uh so i didn't i didn't know it was possible to get a green card and to actually you know to make it in the u.s and then once i'd done london i was like i need what now so i needed a new challenge and uh And yeah. So you moved to LA first, right? Yeah. And then your goal was to get to Broadway. Yes. And then you finally made it. After a couple of years of being in LA,

you got your green card. Yes. Made it to Broadway. So what was it like? Did you have, like someone was like, hey, we want you on the show. Did you have to audition or?

I was lucky that I worked with a choreographer. He's quite well known, Rob Ashford. And he did a lot of shows was lucky that I worked with a choreographer. He's quite well-known, Rob Ashford. And he did a lot of shows in London. I worked with him. So he was a big Broadway choreographer. So I really just got a call when he knew I was in town. So I was really lucky. He said, hey, we need someone.

Can you show up and do an audition? But you're already in. We just want to make sure you're the right fit or something. Correct. So that was exciting. That goes to show if you do a good job and you work hard, people will always ask you back. Wow.

Okay. So what was that play? That was, I was supposed to do Brigadoon, but we got canceled just because. You were the lead, right? You were supposed to be the lead? Well, one of those, yeah. But then I did Promises, Promises

with Kristen Chenoweth and sean hayes that was really fun kristen what do i know that name you know her she's a little blonde okay yeah oh wait is she on glee uh yeah she was she's like the broadway she's like the broadway singer that comes on glee right i can't believe you yes yes okay she's like really well known on broadway but i watch glee yes i'm not a closet glee and uh admitting that in public yeah glee in nashville any singing dancing shows i'm a freak of for some reason because i wish i could sing and dance um okay so she was on the show with you Yes The Broadway show Yes Okay, that was the Promises Promises thing? Correct

Got you So how long were you doing that show for? I only did that for like eight months And then I started training And kind of the rest is history So why did you start doing I guess fitness training stuff on the side? I think like every dancer

Has to It comes a point in their life Where they have to decide what to do after dance Because you have a shelf life of like 10 years maybe right mid-30s you're like body starts to wear down to break down a little um and so i think most most kind of segue into yoga or pilates or teaching right because it's still being creative it's still using your body as an art form and you know some way. And so I guess it was kind of a rite of passage to do fitness. But I didn't ever imagine myself being a personal trainer as such. You just thought maybe you'd do classes or like...

Yeah, I thought maybe I'd be a dance teacher. Really? Yeah. Okay. So how did it start then? You were just like... How did you get your first client what happened what you know it was all i guess luck but i started working with an actress uh emily blunt

who had to look like a dancer for a movie um gosh it's missing uh uh adjustment bureau with with matt damon and she would look like a dancer yeah and she'd never danced before so i worked with her for like two hours a day, six days a week. So not only did we train, you know, do ballet bar and train like a dancer, but we also did, you know, personal training and fitness. And pretty much in about four months, her body completely changed. Really? It was crazy to see the transformation.

She looked like a dancer. Wow, because she was doing the form with you. You were like teaching her technique form yeah positioning yeah and she's one of those actresses that actually had two left feet like she'd never moved before so i shouldn't say that she's very coordinated but um but yeah we we uh there's a big huge transformation with her so um you know it was just really word of mouth after that people were like well what do you know said to her what have you been doing how did you become so you know yeah it was just really word of mouth after that. People were like, well, what do you know? I said to her, what have you been doing? How did you become so, you know, coordinated?

But it kind of a light bulb went off in my head because I thought, you know, if you can combine dance and fitness together, it's like, how do you get a dancer's body? It's like you dance, you know, so. And that's what a lot of actors or actresses were like. Yeah. And I think most women too now, we're kind of coming to a stage where we want long, lean, feminine muscle. We don't want bulk. So we're sort of moving away from traditional workouts. Yeah, and on your page, bodybysimone.com,

it says that your initial desire to create a revolutionary exercise technique was a safeguard against injuries. Yeah. So I'm a big CrossFit guy. I've been doing CrossFit for three years now. And the biggest thing with that is a lot of injuries with men and women. Yeah. And I think the body type looks amazing, incredibly, like, athletic.

But at what cost? And I think, you know, a lot of women probably don't want to be injured. No, and I think it's definitely geared more towards men. I think it gives, you know, it's a great physique for men, not so much for women because it can bulk you up a little. But, yeah, the injury thing, if you're lifting such large amounts of weight. So, I mean, my claim to fame is that I've actually never been injured.

So, in my 18 years of a professional dancer, I never, yeah, touch wood, touching my head, I never was injured. So, that's part of, you part of my method is doing the movement with correct form, correct technique, making sure that you're really supporting the body while still changing the form and structure. Yeah, you say here by providing a solid foundation based on dance, you avoided habitual wear and tear. Gosh, you wrote that. Yeah, right. And clients not only avoid injury,

but avoid boredom. Boredom, yeah. And I think that's the biggest thing. That's the reason I like CrossFit is because it's always different every day and there's something new. So what is the system that you've kind of created or you've taken from all the different lessons

you've learned in your whole life with dance, with other fitness stuff, with yoga, everything else? What is kind of embodied by Simone? Because I've seen your studio, but I'm actually intimidated to do a workout. I will do it sometime, but it's like 95% women mostly, right? Or it's like 80%? Mostly women. Oh, just a few brave men.

A few brave men. Yeah. Maybe in West Hollywood, there'll be more men yes um but i've i have friends who've done it and were like it kicked their asses they were like i'm dying this is like the hardest thing ever and they feel great as well so when i get the courage to do it i will but i've seen it and it looks cool yeah it's just i think you know as women especially as we're getting older we're not doing enough cardio. So, there's so many bar methods and yogas and Pilates and things around, which is great for strengthening and it's great for, you know, developing correct form.

Flexibility. Flexibility and correcting injuries. But you're not getting your cardio fixed. You've really got to get the heart rate up. And so, for me, I wouldn't run. I wouldn't cycle. Just. Because you get bored i get bored yeah so so uh we do the cardio through dance routines um through dance routines yeah and so

it's i guess it's like cheerleader meets zumba kind of mashed into there together but like high impact jumping on sprung dance floor and 45 minutes that, like you can burn up to 700, 800 calories and listen to kick-ass tunes and you're having a great time using your brains to learn choreography. So you're burning more calories. And I have ADD, it's quite bad. So I think I have that with exercise as well.

So I need to do something constantly, you know, change it up. Otherwise I get bored. Now, why is cardio so important uh it's for i mean your heart rate weight loss i don't know women just are happy to do an hour class like a bar class yeah and um it's not very car bar's not cardio right no it's not so for people listening all over the world that don't know what bar is what is what is bar but i mean there's all these here especially in in Los Angeles, barre method.

And I guess it's a form of ballet, like this very quad heavy, very lower body heavy, working like burning out the quads. Gotcha, a lot of squats. Yeah. But I think, you know, if you really want to change your body, you want to see weight loss, you know, you have to change your body, you want to see weight loss, you have to increase your cardio. But not to mention for circulation, for blood flow, for healthier lungs.

Everything, skin, everything. You were dancing on Broadway and then you started doing this during the day. You started teaching one-on-one clients with these celebrity clients. And then were you burning yourself out? I was burning myself out. I was training like five clients a day during the day and then doing the show at night. Wow. I did that for about six months. And then I had the chance to say, do I want to continue with Broadway?

Or do I want to continue with training and maybe open a business? And one of my clients who's actually now my business partner uh she saw the largest transformation in her body really she dropped like three dress sizes working with you yeah and she uh but it was more so a spiritual emotional thing when she was actually engaging with herself in the mirror and feeling you know strength and empowered and and powerful again which is so important for women. I think we put so much of our energy into our families and our husbands and our boyfriends and our kids. We forget to put the energy into us. Careers.

So, yeah, it was a big transformation for her. And then so we decided to open a studio to offer it up to as many people as we could. You've got a studio in New York in Chelsea. It's called Body by Simone. Yeah. And it kind of took off, right? You've got hundreds of members in the first year.

It's been around for two years now? Two years in New York. You're launching another one right around the time of this book in Los Angeles. It's a beautiful two-story studio with, again, what did you say? Sprung dance floors? Yeah. you you put one on the it's not just like you're on wood no there's like a foam padding underneath with the wood over the top of it and it's uh to what's the point you sound like crazy right you're like why are you doing that it's like all dance studios or professional dance studios have that and

basically it's it like gives um you a sprung bounce into the floor. So it helps with elevation for any of your jumping, but it also protects your joints because it's like padding. So it's great for the lower back and knees and any of the joints because you wouldn't want to jump on concrete. Concrete or wood or whatever. The reason I like this is because your attention to detail and making this amazing experience is beautiful.

I think it's really cool. And I'm sure this is one of the reasons why women love it and appreciate it so much because they can't go to a dance studio or find a sprung dance floor anywhere else and do like a fitness thing. Yeah. I think it connects with women because I think at some point all women have danced in their lives. And if it wasn't professional, you know, maybe their mom took them to ballet when they were younger. So there's a connection there. But there's an ability to free the soul and the spirit. And I always say exercise is exercise, but I'm trying to sell a feeling.

So I think dance is very joyous. What do people say after they finish one of your workouts? Like either a celebrity or, you know, an average mom or? They say to me that's the hardest thing they've ever done. Hardest? Yeah. Wow. How do they feel usually?

Like emotionally or? Like elated and alive. Yeah, it's like the natural endorphins, you know, and the good vibes kick in. And what is it? You think it's like the natural endorphins you know and the the good good vibes kick in and what is it you think it's the the actual choreography you think it's the fitness you think it's the music you think it's the group atmosphere do you think it's the trainer because you have number of trainers as well now what do you think it is that makes it so incredible for these well it's a combination of things, I think. But a group class, a group fitness class,

there's something quite empowering about that. You feed off the energy of the other people in the room. The New York Times nicknamed us the girlfriend workout. It's a great thing to come and work out with your girlfriend. So a lot of people do that now in New York. Rather than going and having wine and cheese, they come and work out or celebrate their birthday parties or, you know, bridal showers.

Sure. But I don't know. I think there's something joyous about dance. And so I think it goes very quickly. So 45 minutes or an hour is gone. And then people are like, wow, I've just worked out. And I've burnt 700 calories. And I had fun doing it.

Now, there's a lot of dance classes out there, like hip-hop classes and ballet classes that you can go and take instruction and just sign up for class by class or whatever at studios here in New York and LA. So, what's the difference between those where it's just like a routine that you're learning, where I'm sure it's pretty intense as well, and yours? Well, I mean, with dance, it's a full body workout. So that's one element of what we do. But then we combine like low weights with high reps or resistance bands with high reps. And then also I think you saw the mini trampolines, which has become a really huge thing now. It's great because it drains the lymphatic glands. And it's another version of drains the lymphatic glands and it's another version of low impact cardio right um but yeah so there's there's other fitness

elements to to the workout so it's not yeah you've got weights you got jumping rope you've got these elastic bands on the wall which you do some pretty cool things with it's interesting when i saw the trampolines i immediately thought of my grandmother because when i was a kid i'd go hang on my grandmother's place she would have one of these mini trampolines, I immediately thought of my grandmother because when I was a kid, I'd go hang out at my grandmother's place. She would have one of these mini trampolines because it's like all she could do, I guess. But it was a way to keep her heart rate up and not be like killing herself. You could slip slide them under the bed. Right, right.

But I mean, the technology now, there's this sprung free, so they don't make any noise. It feels like you're running in quicksand. So it actually gets your heart rate up really know really really quickly that's really cool it's a good um good option for people who who don't want to dance or don't want to run so what's the biggest fear you had overcome going from dancing on broadway to starting a business when you pretty much had zero experience with a business and starting a business in New York City retail space having a lease for however many years hoping that someone's going to show up and buy your services what was the biggest fear you had yeah to be honest I you know people say to me how did you create the business I was like I was really

making it up as I was going along I just thought if the product was good and I believed in the product and I was passionate about the product and you know my people skills and the way that you know um people reacted to me that that's the reason why I think it was a success because to be honest with you I had no business experience whatsoever I was like well let me just turn this computer on and let me just charge a few people and I guess you know this many numbers will pay the rent and so I've I've definitely in the past few years learned to be a businesswoman where before I was,

poor dancers get labeled as being, can move their bodies, but not much brains upstairs. So I was working against that stereotype. So I've definitely learned a lot in the past few years. So did you have a mentor? Did you research? Did you just kind of like one step at a time

figure it out as you go? Just one step at a time, it out as you go just one step at a time you know and learn from the mistakes and wow um that takes a lot of guts yeah or stupidity you could say one or the other now would you say that since you didn't because you didn't have any business experience you were just like getting paid for your weekly gigs you had a contract and things like that um would you Did you say that because you didn't have any professional business experience or didn't go to school for it, do you think it actually helped you or supported you in where you are now? Or do you think it hurts you in figuring things out?

Well, I think, I mean, I definitely would have helped if I had a business background. There's no doubt with that. But at the same time, i've proved to myself that you know if you put your mind to something you really can do anything you know with technology now you know you can google something if you don't know how to do it you can google you can read and you can learn so as i think you know we had this conversation earlier if you're talking about education you know everyone should be able to have an education um but there's so so much at

our fingertips now where we really can can teach ourselves and i think you just have to be willing and wanting to do it and have the passion and i'm stubborn you know i didn't i didn't want to not make this a success so i was going to work as hard as i could to do that. So, you know, for me, I've been an athlete my entire life and I've done a lot of training. But when I got older, I realized that the training was only half the battle. The other half was the nutrition and the diet because I started to get a little gut no matter how much I would work out. And it's because I was eating like crap constantly.

And I guess when you're not tan anymore, it starts to catch up with you. You're eating like an athlete and you're not training like an athlete, then it catches up with you. Yeah, so the physical training is part of it, but really what a lot of people say is like abs are made in the kitchen is the diet plan. So tell me, what's your kind of like philosophy on foods and dieting? Yeah, well, I always say it's 80% diet, 20% exercise.

And I shouldn't be saying that considering, you know, I want to get more people into the gym, but there's no point eating a pizza. I mean, working out for an hour and then going home and eating a pizza. I do that a lot though. I'll get a whole pizza because I'm like, I'm starving now.

Bueno, it's no good. So you really have to do, you know, watch what you eat. But I don't believe in diets. I don't believe in counting calories. I mean, I grew up in classical ballet where we were, you know, weighed, constantly weighed and encouraged to be super thin, which is so unnatural. And I saw so many of my peers go through eating disorders

and injuries because of it. So I'm really blessed that, you know, I came out of, you know, being a professional dancer without an eating disorder. But it's a huge component of healthy living. And I think there's so many quick fad diets, like lose 10 pounds in five days. And there's so many diet pills and there's diet water. And it's like we're constantly trying to find the quick fix. How is there diet water?

I don't know. I think maybe I'll make that up. Right, right. Something. It's almost just diet water. Would someone say there was gluten-free water? That's the new thing. Oh, my gosh.

I know. It's a joke. Wow. But, yeah, it's super important about obviously what you're putting into your body. And so, in the book, I have a big cleanse and it's a detox. I worked with a nutritionist called Dr. Lipman, who's very famous in New York. And it's kind of based on the paleo diet, but it's cleansing out your gut, you know, with all the toxins.

So it's not a diet, it's a cleanse. And so you actually feel incredible afterwards your nails grow your hair grow your eyes are shiny your skin's glowing um you sleep better because you're cutting out caffeine you're cutting out sugar i mean you're cutting out fun basically but but you really do see the results and feel you know incredible um but i mean i eat basically paleo i don't really eat gluten i don't eat a lot of dairy except for the occasional chocolate peanut butter you know I eat a lot of protein a lot of you know vegetables and and and so I think so you

don't think we should be like on a diet but more you know just whole foods really I guess right well yeah eat whole foods eat real foods eat organic foods where you can, you know, just whole foods really, I guess, right? Well, yeah. Eat whole foods. Eat real foods. Eat organic foods where you can. Eat, you know, graze like a cow. Eat, you know, six little meals a day. Don't starve yourself. You know, so many women get into this pattern of,

oh, I won't eat all day and then I'll eat dinner. And scarf. Yeah. Yeah. You binge eat and then you're slowing down your metabolism. So, I think. You say don't count any calories or count like – No, because sometimes you get so obsessed with calories.

Like you go into Starbucks and you're like, I'm not going to eat that muffin because it's 140 calories. But then you end up eating a protein bar which tastes like cardboard. It's like just rather than having a low-fat, low-calorie muffin, eat real food. Eat an apple. Eat a banana. I mean I also think it depends what you're training for

and what type of body you're trying to create. I had another guest in here named Mark Fitt who's super shredded and just lifts three times a day. But he's like, I weigh everything and I count it because I love to. And it's part of my plan of getting bigger and stronger. Chicken and broccoli, is it? Yeah, basically, right basically right yeah but I think if you're like a body builder or if you're doing something else and maybe you're trying to look a certain way because it's your profession true then you can do that but you're saying for like the general population

you shouldn't be counting calories you shouldn't be weighing your foods or anything like that you should be eating whole foods and yeah just eat eat well, sleep well. Yeah, exactly. And you talk about applying the cleanse. 14 days. Is that no food? 14 days. No, no, no. So it's basically you're cutting out caffeine.

So you're drinking herbal tea. There's no soda. So you're just drinking water. No sugar, which is a big one. That's a hard one for me because I'm a chocoholic. I love chocolate sweets. Is this juice cleanse or what is it? No, no, no.

You're just cleansing with the toxins that you put on the food yourself. Cleansing the toxins, yes. There's no starch, no salt. So you'll be eating lentils. You'll be eating a protein of some sort, turkey, chicken, salmon. And is there an additional supplement to this that you add into it? You can do the shakes. Yeah, you can do the shakes yeah you can do the shakes

definitely um you know to start for especially for breakfast gotcha gotcha but it's just more removing all the bad stuff yeah removing the toxins yeah and cleanse cleansing your body of the toxins it's incredible how you feel and of course the the you know the the one up is that you actually lose weight while you're doing that right Right. And all that is in the book, right? Yeah. On how to do the cleanse, the information you need, why it works. Yes. Yeah.

What else? What else about women and empowerment? Yeah. That's what I really want to know. I think we're surrounded by magazines now with this celebrity looks like this and this celebrity looks like that. And, you know, I have an inside scoop on that. And they don't look like that.

You train the biggest celebrities in the world. Yeah. And, you know, it's like they're airbrushed. And, you know, they've had a stylist and they have a makeup artist and, you know, a hairstylist. So it's like I think we, as women, spend so much time trying to look like the images that are projected in front of us that aren't real. So what are some of these, without saying their names, what are some of these celebrities and actresses and famous actors look like? Or, you know, because some of them are in great shape, right?

Yeah. I mean, obviously, yeah, they are in great shape. But it's like everyone sweats the same. Everyone, you know, everyone looks frightening in the morning at 6 a.m. when they work out. So I think that's been an interesting journey for me too is just to see that they're human. Do they have different fears?

I guess some of these big actors when you're training them, is it the same type of feelings that they go through when they're working out, same type of breakdowns breakthroughs as everyone else or they kind of uh you know just whatever thinking differently i think with with actors um they're they're a type personalities usually and they're all or nothing kind of people so when they're training for something they're training for a film uh and usually the film company's paying for it so you know that's their job it's their job yeah they're like let's go yeah so they're you know their focus is is like for the next 10 weeks

they're going to work work their ass off um you know so but they struggle of course they struggle and you know say it's too hard or you know have good days and bad days days when they're motivated days when they're not it always helps when you're you're being paid to look good days and bad days, days when they're motivated, days when they're not. It always helps when you're being paid to look good. Of course. That's your job. You show up, okay, this is what I do the next two hours, whatever. Interesting. Now, you were married for 10 years, right?

Yes. And I want to talk about success in marriage and relationships. It goes a little bit off the top of your book, but I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on this. We kind of briefly talked about this. So do you feel like when you, you started, you kind of achieved your, your career dream of being a dancer before you were married, right? Before and during. Before and during. Do you feel like the marriage supported you in like going after that dream and like getting to the top that you could be in that position?

It's a tricky one. I mean, in some ways, I guess he was also a performer, so we had similar interests and similar goals in some way. But I think when they say when two people in a family are both chasing the same dream, sometimes there's competition. But I think I definitely believe that I, you know, I've become so successful so quickly since being single because I've had to put all of my energy into me,

where perhaps if I was still married, I would have put some of that into the business sorry into the marriage right right and not into the business yeah you know i've been asking guests on here a lot lately about marriage and if you can be as successful in your life and your vision for your your dreams while being in such a committed loving open relationship with someone dedicated you know and it's always always interesting to hear how things work for people, why they work. I think it really depends on the couple and, you know,

no one story is obviously the same. And I think it also depends on the stage you are in your life. You know, I got married quite young, so I'm still chasing a dream then. Yeah, I think it's possible you really just have to find a very supportive partner who um will allow you to shine but then also that they won't lose themselves and and um also focus on what they need to do so i think it's definitely possible to balance he's going to find the right person right right so what's your vision moving forward with Body by Simone? The whole, you know, the system that you have,

the experience that you've created, the training you do. You've got this amazing fan base in New York. You just opened this up and people are already signing up here in LA. What's the vision? What do you see for your work? I guess I've been blessed to be able to work with a lot of celebrities, which is what's made my business. But my belief on everything is that privileged people shouldn't be allowed just certain things. So I feel like exercise should be, health and fitness should be knowledge that

everyone should be able to have, not just people who can afford it. So that's why the book is great because people can just pick that up and have the same experience that you would if you were in LA or in New York. Yeah. Because it's a premium service in New York and LA. It's pretty pricey. Correct.

Eventually, I'd like to do DVDs. I've got a BBS TV at the moment, which is like live streaming videos where you can go on and, um, you know, watch out with me. Yeah. Is it like live classes or is it not? Yeah. I think we're going to do that here in LA, but at the moment it's just like taped videos. It's like 25 pre-recorded so that you can pick and choose. Uh, I think that's kind of the way, you know, everything's heading now. Everything's online. You know, someone said to me, make a DVD. I'm like,

does anyone even have DVD players anymore? But I i mean i don't yeah my computer computer yeah i guess still has one i think but um i think you know eventually i'd like to franchise or just i don't know i i guess keep growing the brand um allowing people to to have access to it wherever wherever you are anywhere in the world yeah it's kind of fun we've got you know fans in australia and germany and argentina and now what do people need to have you know this type of workout do they if they log on to the online and watch videos do they need to buy something first or no no i'm a big believer and you can use your own body weight like you can work out at home you can use uh water bottles as your weights. You can use a towel as a yoga mat. You really don't need to.

There's no excuse now to say, oh, I don't have a fancy gym membership. I can't work out. You can work out anywhere, especially in your home. Sure. What do you say to people who think like, oh, this is just another bar method, trend. Like, you know, why would we do this when there's a million other ways to work out? another bar method, trends, like,

you know, why would we do this when there's a million other ways to work out? What do you say to people like that? Yeah, I always say exercise is exercise. You know, I'm not claiming that I've created something amazing and fabulous.

It's, you know, it's a workout, but it just seems to resonate with a lot of people because I think it's so joyous. So it just goes back again to the thing of like selling the feeling. So if that works for you, then you're going to love the workout.

Right, right. Do you have a game plan before you go into every workout with a group of people? Do you create an experience in your head and then a vision in your head of what you want it to be like when you go into the room and you step into the room you've got 50 women ready to go 50 men and women i should say ready to go waiting for you to give them some experience do you have a plan do you have you know structure? Do you have kind of a choreographed aspect to it with the music, with the words you're saying,

with the movements they're doing at the time they do it? Is there like a set plan for that? Or is it kind of just like, let me wing it. Uh, I depends on what kind of mood I'm in. Um, obviously cause I have trainers that work for me and work under me.

Um, I, there is a structure and they all have to follow that and that's what i teach them and so that then the classes are all you know relatively the same you're going to have the same experience but what i love to do is where i get to be creative and where i guess my theater background comes in is that i will go with the journey of whatever's in the room so you, you know, whatever the playlist is, let the music kind of take me on a journey. Yeah, and who's in the room.

So depending on their energy and, you know, how many people are in the room or what their level is, I will definitely wing it depending on, you know, what I'm getting back. What's the best part about being a trainer? It's changing people's lives. Like, honestly, I have so many beautiful testimonials

that just, like, make me tear up about people who have said, you know, like, life, you know, the experience has been life-changing for them. They've empowered them. They've not only dropped weight, but they're, you know, far more confident. They're physically strong, mentally strong. they love looking at themselves in the mirror like to hear a woman say that they can now look at themselves in a mirror that's really powerful yeah that's fairly special so

i think that's probably that's the life-giving experience for me is um seeing the the transformation in others how long do you think you'll be a trainer for or be in fitness? I think I'll always have to use my body. It's just who I am. So maybe I might not be doing seven clients a day. Maybe I'll only do one a day. But I think I'll definitely, it'll always be a big part of my life. Yeah.

I love it. Thanks. I think it's cool. If you guys are in New York or LA, definitely check it out. I think you's cool if you guys are in New York or LA definitely check it out I think you should check out

bodybysimone.com but also what is this bbstv yeah it's bodybysimone.tv I think that's cool I'm going to link it up

in the show notes bbstv.com and check that out if you want to get access to Simone in your living room take me home with you

or is this iPhone compatible as well yeah I think so can I just plug it in their iPhone If you want to get access to Simone in your living room. Take me home with you. Or is this iPhone compatible as well? Yeah, I think so. Just plug it in their iPhone. iPad, definitely. iPad, for sure. There you go. So anywhere outside, if you've got Wi-Fi, you can download them and listen or watch them

and do the workouts anywhere, on the beach, in the cold, in the snow, wherever you are. But definitely check out this site. I think it's really cool. Once you've created there's some amazing testimonials you can see you've got all these beautiful women trainers all over the place on here as well so it's very cool check out the book body by simone the eight week total body makeover plan you've got all these fitness exercises in here. You've got complete nutrition plan, lots of images, graphs, charts,

everything you need to transform your body in eight weeks. So I definitely recommend checking this out. It's beautifully designed. And say hi to Simone when you're in L.A. or New York. Please do. And where can we find you online besides your website? Where do you like to hang out on social media? On your sites, of course.

But are you on Twitter? Are you on Facebook? Yeah, I'm on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. It's all Buddy by Simone. Buddy by Simone. I think there's a couple of Simone de la Rue's in there somewhere too. Simone de la Rue. Yeah.

Okay. And final question I ask all the guests guests which is what is your definition of greatness um what is my definition of greatness feeling um empowered inspired and just loving life living the dream there you have it I hope you guys enjoyed connecting with this Aussie fitness queen Simone I had a fun time chatting with her and really getting to uh learn more about her system and her philosophy on fitness and lifestyle and if I get the courage to go into a studio with 90% women and do some dance cardio soon, I will check it out and get a workout. And I'm afraid to check it out because I know I'm going to embarrass myself.

And these women are just going to kick my butt. And I'm probably not going to be able to keep up for more than 10, 15 minutes of this hour session. So I will let you guys know how it goes. But make sure to check her out. Body by Simone.com. I've got all the show notes back at Lewis house.com. And, uh, I am super pumped for this. Make sure to check it out. Share it with your friends. Go get a copy of the book. It's body by Simone, the eight week total body makeover plan. You guys know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.