Billy Blanks is an American fitness guru and the inventor of the renowned Tae Bo®, fitness program. He has also devoted a great deal of time toward helping people through his Foundation and by traveling around the world to train the U.S. Armed Forces. In addition, Billy's extraordinary achievements as a world karate champion, actor, author, motivator, philanthropist and humanitarian continue to earn him acclaim.
Born the fourth of 15 children to Isaac and Mabeline Blanks, he had few opportunities on the streets of Erie, Pennsylvania. Complicating his young life, Billy was afflicted with undiagnosed dyslexia and suffered a problem in his hip joints, which impaired his movement, resulting in a clumsiness that caused his coaches to think he would never amount to much.
However, Billy took his first martial arts class at age 11 and soon began to gain a mastery of the sport. In 1975 he became the first Amateur Athletic Union Champion, a title he would earn five times. Billy ascended to become a seventh-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and gained black belts in five other forms of martial arts. He became a seven-time world karate champion, captained the U.S. karate team, won 36 gold medals in international competition and earned admission to the Karate Hall of Fame in 1982. Billy Blanks also became the 1984 Massachusetts Golden Gloves Champion and the Tri-State Golden Gloves Champion of Champions. Billy moved to Boston as an adult and opened his own karate studio. It was there, while combining dance moves and Tae Kwon Do, that he hit upon the concept for Tae Bo®. Billy moved to Los Angeles in 1989 and taught classes in his garage. Shortly after, he opened the Billy Blanks World Training Center in Sherman Oaks. Word of mouth brought the early clients, but when singer-dancer Paula Abdul came through the door and the benefits of Tae Bo® became quickly apparent, the business took off. Most recently, celebrities like Charlotte Ross of "NYPD Blue", Melissa Reeves of "Days of our Lives", actress Alicia Coppola, actor and country music star Scott Reeves, Stephanie La Grossa of "Survivor", and actor Lou Diamond Phillips have been reaping the benefits of Tae Bo® and BootCamp.
Athletes seeking to stay in top physical shape have also flocked to the studio, including Wayne Gretzky, Bruce Jenner, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O'Neal. Concurrent with his rise as a fitness expert to the stars, Billy has also built an impressive resume as an actor. He has appeared in 18 movies including Kiss the Girls, The Last Boy Scout, Bloodfist, Lionheart and Back in Action. On television, Billy has been seen in such episodic shows as "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," "The Parkers," "Suddenly Susan," "ER," and "Melrose Place?. In addition to creating Tae Bo, Billy has made helping others a top priority in his life. He established The Billy Blanks Foundation in 1999 which is dedicated to equipping high-risk individuals with life skills that allow them to achieve their full potential. Billy has also done notable work with the military. He frequently travels with members of his family helping to integrate cross-gender, generational and racial messages into their appearances at training camps and hotspots worldwide including trips to Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sarajevo, Greece, Africa, Germany and Italy, to work with members of the U.S. Armed Forces.