If you look up in the dictionary the words "perseverance and determination", there is a picture of Forbes Riley. As a little girl she overcame a disfiguring accident, having her mother being held hostage by gunpoint in her home, and a tragic accident that landed her father in the hospital for over 3 years while she was a teenager. While most young girls in her position might have thrown in the towel, Forbes learned early on the power of forging ahead, even when there is no end in sight and everyone tells you it's not possible. Another major obstacle Forbes fought was her weight - now to most people that's a typical struggle, but when you have dreams of being a Broadway dancer and actress it became monumental. She worked in spite of hurtful comments and rejection and acted in TV (24, The Practice), movies, hosted TV shows (ESPN's X-Games, her own talk show on TLC, and a series for ABC Family. Finally, after two decades of humiliation she managed to turn her weight and eating around when at age 42 she gave birth to 7-pound twins and co-hosted the Jack Lalanne Juicer infomercial, which aired worldwide for 8 consecutive years and grossed more than $1 Billion dollars. She not only managed to influence and inspire millions of moms to find their personal happiness with their bodies, but to land in the National Fitness Hall of Fame alongside some of her fitness heroes. Forbes has prided herself never having had a job, but always managing to make a living, start businesses and follow her dreams. Now with a multi-million dollar fitness empire, books, a new TV series on health and wellness, she inspires all of us to believe that "If You Leap, the Net will Appear. SpinGym is the name Forbes Riley coined for a unique fitness gadget she found on a business trip to London that was being used as a "destresser" in the office. The company wasn't doing particularly well and when she tried this product for the first time, she "had a vision" for the entire rest of her life. Suzanne Somers is to ThighMaster as Forbes Riley is to SpinGym.
