59 Simone De La Rue: Bringing Joy to Business and Fitness to Work with Top Celebrities

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. Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Lewis Howes?

  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.

• 0:33Lewis Howes?

  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 of 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, it's literally kicking my butt. And speaking of kicking my butt, I've got a, a new friend on for the episode today.

• 1:15Lewis Howes?

  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 these, 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.

• 1:56Lewis Howes?

  I tell the story in 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, 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 been, it's just been blowing up. So her new book is out and I thought we'd bring her on to talk about

• 2:38Lewis Howes?

  what this whole strategy is about, her story, how she built up this extremely successful fitness studio in New York in just like, 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. So now let's dive into this episode with the one and only Simone De La Rue.

• 3:18Lewis Howes?

  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.

• 3:27Speaker 01

  Oui.

• 3:27Lewis Howes?

  What is up Simone?

• 3:28Speaker 01

  Hi, how are you?

• 3:29Lewis Howes?

  I am fantastic and there's an interesting story about how we met.

• 3:33Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 3:34Lewis Howes?

  We met in West Hollywood on the side of a street.

• 3:37Speaker 01

  Correct.

• 3:37Lewis Howes?

  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.

• 3:50Speaker 01

  A damsel in distress.

• 3:51Lewis Howes?

  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.

• 4:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, you're my hero.

• 4:20Lewis Howes?

  Yes. And it was really interesting. It was, 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. And it just so happened you have a book coming out. And I was like, we need to have you come out and do a 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 incredibly nice looking book. You have every celebrity under the sun who's

• 5:03Lewis Howes?

  endorsed it, Anne Hathaway, Naomi Watts. But you're 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. And but you were, that wasn't what you've always been doing. You used to be a dancer, right?

• 5:21Speaker 01

  Correct.

• 5:22Lewis Howes?

  On Broadway?

• 5:23Speaker 01

  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.

• 5:34Lewis Howes?

  Check the box. That's every dancer's dream, right?

• 5:35Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah, I think especially growing up in Australia and watching, you know, the Broadway musicals. So that was definitely a huge dream of mine.

• 5:44Lewis Howes?

  Hmm. So why did you get into dancing in the first place?

• 5:47Speaker 01

  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, you know, five, six days a week. But I started young.

• 6:13Lewis Howes?

  From three?

• 6:14Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:15Lewis Howes?

  Five, six days a week?

• 6:16Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 6:16Lewis Howes?

  Lessons?

• 6:17Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 6:17Lewis Howes?

  Was it like group lessons or private?

• 6:18Speaker 01

  Uh, group lessons at that point. So I was training classical ballet. And so the discipline you need for that is, you know, it's very intense.

• 6:26Lewis Howes?

  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.

• 6:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:34Lewis Howes?

  What are they called?

• 6:34Speaker 01

  That was.

• 6:35Lewis Howes?

  Is that ballet or is that?

• 6:36Speaker 01

  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.

• 6:48Lewis Howes?

  It's like serious.

• 6:49Speaker 01

  Serious. Now you're doing like a standing split as you're spinning.

• 6:51Lewis Howes?

  But they do like four or five spins with the split above their head.

• 6:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's crazy.

• 6:56Lewis Howes?

  I don't know how.

• 6:57Speaker 01

  When you start young, your body's malleable, you know, so you're flexible, you can do.

• 7:02Lewis Howes?

  It's insane, but they, I, I've seen this, this one girl on Instagram, she's like a choreographer of these little girls.

• 7:07Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:07Lewis Howes?

  And she's got like 20 of them doing the same thing.

• 7:09Speaker 01

  Spin, spin.

• 7:11Lewis Howes?

  It's insane. So you did some of that stuff, but not as crazy?

• 7:14Speaker 01

  Not as crazy. I mean, I trained in classical ballet, so that's very, very disciplined. It's very structured. Um, you know, so, um, I, I kind of veered off into musical theater as I got older.

• 7:27Lewis Howes?

  Hmm. Interesting. So you grew up in Australia and then when did you move?

• 7:33Speaker 01

  I moved to London. I actually, I traveled and, and did musicals in, 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, you know, 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, uh, I think in my early twenties and, and, uh, you know, chased the dream there of the West End and then, and then came to the US.

• 7:58Lewis Howes?

  So how long were you in London for doing musicals?

• 8:02Speaker 01

  About five, five, six years.

• 8:05Lewis Howes?

  And you were on the same show or different shows?

• 8:06Speaker 01

  Different shows.

• 8:08Lewis Howes?

  How many different shows?

• 8:08Speaker 01

  Uh, I think I've done about 12 or 13 shows. Yeah, in my career.

• 8:13Lewis Howes?

  Wow. And that was the dream?

• 8:15Speaker 01

  That was the dream.

• 8:16Lewis Howes?

  To get out of Australia, go be a professional dancer, but it was always Broadway was in the back of your head?

• 8:21Speaker 01

  Yeah. I, 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 passports.

• 8:29Lewis Howes?

  All the keybies too, right?

• 8:30Speaker 01

  Exactly. 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 US. And then once I'd done London, I was like, I need, what, what now? So I needed a new challenge and, uh, yeah.

• 8:43Lewis Howes?

  Then, so you moved, you moved to LA first, right? And then your goal was to get to Broadway.

• 8:50Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 8:51Lewis Howes?

  And you finally made it after a couple of years of being in LA, you got your green card.

• 8:54Speaker 01

  Yes, made it, made it to Broadway.

• 8:56Lewis Howes?

  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?

• 9:01Speaker 01

  I was lucky that I worked with a choreographer. Um, he's quite well known, Rob Ashford, and he did a lot of shows in London. I worked with him. So he, uh, you know, was a big Broadway choreographer. So he, I really just got a call when he knew I was in town.

• 9:15Lewis Howes?

  So hey, we need someone. Can you show up and do like an audition, but you're already in? We just want to make sure you're the right fit or something.

• 9:22Speaker 01

  Correct. So that was, that was exciting. That goes to show if you, if you do a good job and you work hard, you know, people will always ask you back.

• 9:28Lewis Howes?

  Wow. Okay. So what was that play?

• 9:31Speaker 01

  That was, uh, I did, I was supposed to do Brigadoon, uh, but we got, we got cancelled just because.

• 9:37Lewis Howes?

  You're the lead, right? You were supposed to be the lead.

• 9:38Speaker 01

  Well, no, uh, well, one of those. Yeah. Uh, but then, uh, we, I did promises, promises. Uh, with Kristen Chenoweth and Sean Hayes. That was really fun.

• 9:49Lewis Howes?

  Kristen, who? Why do I know that name?

• 9:52Speaker 01

  You know her. She's a little, little blonde.

• 9:54Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 9:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 9:55Lewis Howes?

  Oh, wait, is she on Glee?

• 9:56Speaker 01

  Uh, yeah, she was.

• 9:58Lewis Howes?

  She's like the Broadway, she's like the Broadway singer that comes on Glee, right?

• 10:01Speaker 01

  I can't believe you know that. Yes.

• 10:03Lewis Howes?

  Okay. She's like really well known on Broadway, but I watch Glee.

• 10:07Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 10:07Lewis Howes?

  I'm not a closet Glee fan. And, uh.

• 10:11Speaker 01

  You're admitting that in public. That's all right.

• 10:13Lewis Howes?

  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?

• 10:23Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 10:23Lewis Howes?

  The Broadway show?

• 10:24Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 10:24Lewis Howes?

  Okay. That was the promises, promises thing?

• 10:26Speaker 01

  Correct.

• 10:27Lewis Howes?

  Got you. So how long were you doing that show for?

• 10:29Speaker 01

  Uh, I only did that for like eight months and then, you know, I started training and, um, kind of the rest is history.

• 10:36Lewis Howes?

  So why did you start? Doing, I guess, fitness training stuff on the side.

• 10:41Speaker 01

  I think, um, like every dancer has to, it comes a point in their life where they have to decide what to do after dance.

• 10:46Lewis Howes?

  Cause you have a shelf life of like ten years, maybe, right? Mid thirties, you're like, body starts to wear down.

• 10:51Speaker 01

  To break down a little. Um, and so I think most, most kind of segue into yoga or pilates.

• 10:58Lewis Howes?

  Or teaching, right?

• 11:00Speaker 01

  Cause it's still being creative, it's still using your body as an art form, you know, some way. And so, uh, I guess it was kind of a rite of passage to, to, to do fitness. But I didn't ever imagine myself being a personal trainer as such.

• 11:14Lewis Howes?

  You just thought maybe you do classes or like?

• 11:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, I thought maybe I'd be a dance teacher.

• 11:18Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 11:19Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:19Lewis Howes?

  Okay. So how did it, how did it start then? You were just like?

• 11:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:24Lewis Howes?

  How did you get your first client? What happened? What, you know?

• 11:26Speaker 01

  It was all, I guess, luck, but I, 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.

• 11:40Lewis Howes?

  She looked like a dancer.

• 11:41Speaker 01

  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, um, 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.

• 11:59Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 11:59Speaker 01

  It was crazy to see the transformation. She looked like a dancer.

• 12:02Lewis Howes?

  Wow. Cause she was doing the form with you. You were like teaching her technique, form, positioning.

• 12:07Speaker 01

  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 are you, you know, said to her, what have you been doing?

• 12:26Lewis Howes?

  How did you become so, you know?

• 12:27Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:27Lewis Howes?

  Coordinated.

• 12:29Speaker 01

  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.

• 12:37Lewis Howes?

  And that's what a lot of actors or actresses were like.

• 12:39Speaker 01

  Yeah. And I think, I think most women too now, we're, we're kind of coming to a stage where we want long, lean feminine muscle. We don't want bulk. So we started moving away from traditional workouts.

• 12:50Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, and on your, on your, your page, bodybysamone.com, it says that your initial desire to create a revolutionary exercise technique was a safeguard against injuries.

• 13:01Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:02Lewis Howes?

  So, you know, 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.

• 13:10Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:11Lewis Howes?

  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.

• 13:21Speaker 01

  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, uh, cause 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. I'm touching my head. I never was injured. So that's part of, um, you know, my method is doing, uh, the movement with correct form, correct technique, making sure that, uh, you're really supporting the body while still, you know, changing the form and structure.

• 13:55Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. You say here, you know, by providing a solid foundation based on dance, you avoided habitual wear and tear.

• 14:02Speaker 01

  Gosh, who wrote that?

• 14:04Lewis Howes?

  And, yeah, right. And not, clients not only avoid injury, but avoid boredom.

• 14:08Speaker 01

  Boredom.

• 14:09Lewis Howes?

  And I think that's the biggest thing. That's, you know, 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, 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 Body by Simone?

• 14:29Speaker 01

  Well, it's

• 14:30Lewis Howes?

  Cause I've seen your studio and I'm actually intimidated to do a workout. I, I will do it sometime, but it's, it's like 95% women mostly, right? Or it's like

• 14:38Speaker 01

  Predominantly.

• 14:39Lewis Howes?

  Mostly women.

• 14:40Speaker 01

  Oh, just a few brave men.

• 14:42Lewis Howes?

  A few brave men. Maybe in West Hollywood, there'll be more men.

• 14:45Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 14:45Lewis Howes?

  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.

• 15:01Speaker 01

  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 is great for, um, you know, developing correct form.

• 15:14Lewis Howes?

  Flexibility.

• 15:15Speaker 01

  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, uh, just.

• 15:25Lewis Howes?

  Cause you get bored, right?

• 15:26Speaker 01

  I get bored, yeah. So, so, uh, we do the cardio through dance routines.

• 15:30Lewis Howes?

  Through dance routines?

• 15:31Speaker 01

  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 forty five minutes of that, like you can burn up to seven hundred, eight hundred calories. And listening to kick ass tunes and you're having a great time using your brains, um, to learn choreography. So you're burning more calories.

• 15:53Lewis Howes?

  Hmm.

• 15:53Speaker 01

  And, uh, I get, 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.

• 16:02Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 16:02Speaker 01

  I get bored.

• 16:03Lewis Howes?

  Now, why is cardio so important?

• 16:06Speaker 01

  Uh, it's for, I mean, your heart rate, weight loss. I don't know, women, women just, uh, uh, are happy to do an hour class, like a bar class. And, um.

• 16:16Lewis Howes?

  But it's not very car- bar's not cardio, right?

• 16:19Speaker 01

  No, it's not. So.

• 16:20Lewis Howes?

  For people listening all over the world that don't know what bar is, what is, what is bar?

• 16:24Speaker 01

  But I mean, there's all the, here, especially in Los Angeles, bar method. And I guess it's a form of ballet. Um, like this very quad heavy, very lower body heavy, working like burning out the quads. Um.

• 16:36Lewis Howes?

  Got you, like squats and like.

• 16:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 16:37Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 16:38Speaker 01

  But I, I think, you know, for your, for, uh, if you really wanted, want to change your body, you want to see, um, weight loss, you know, you have to increase your cardio. Um, but not to mention, you know, for circulation, for blood flow, for, you know, healthier lungs. I mean.

• 16:53Lewis Howes?

  Everything, skin, everything.

• 16:56Lewis Howes?

  You were dancing on Broadway and then you started doing this during the day. You started like teaching one on one clients with

• 17:01Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 17:02Lewis Howes?

  these celebrity clients and then were you burning yourself out?

• 17:06Speaker 01

  I was burning myself out. I was training like five clients a day during the day and then doing the show at night.

• 17:11Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 17:12Speaker 01

  I did that for about six months. Um, and then I had the chance to say, do I want to continue with Broadway? Um, or do I want to continue with training and maybe open a business? And one of my uh, clients who's actually now my business partner, uh, she saw the largest transformation in her body.

• 17:29Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 17:29Speaker 01

  She dropped like three dress sizes.

• 17:31Lewis Howes?

  Working with you.

• 17:31Speaker 01

  Yeah. And she, uh, but it was more so a spiritual, emotional thing where 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, we put so much of our energy into our families and our husbands and our boyfriends and our kids. We forget to, you know, put the energy to us. Careers. So, uh, yeah, it, um, it was a big transformation for her. And then, so we decided to open a studio to, to offer it up to as many people as we could.

• 18:03Lewis Howes?

  You've got a studio in New York and Chelsea. It's called Body by Simone.

• 18:07Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 18:08Lewis Howes?

  And it kind of took off, right? You've got hundreds of members.

• 18:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:11Lewis Howes?

  The first year. It's been around for two years now.

• 18:13Speaker 01

  Two years in New York.

• 18:14Lewis Howes?

  And 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'd you say sprung dance floors?

• 18:25Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:25Lewis Howes?

  So you, you put one on the, it's not just like you're on wood.

• 18:28Speaker 01

  No, there's like a foam padding underneath with the wood over the top of it. And it's uh, to

• 18:36Lewis Howes?

  What's the point of that?

• 18:36Speaker 01

  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 know, sprung bounce into the floor. So it, it helps with elevation for any of your jumping, but it also protects your joints because it's like padding.

• 18:52Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 18:52Speaker 01

  So it's great for the lower back and knees and any of the, of the joints. Cause you wouldn't want to jump, you know, on concrete.

• 18:59Lewis Howes?

  That's, I mean, the reason I like this is because your attention to detail in making like 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.

• 19:19Speaker 01

  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 it's ability to like free the soul and the spirit. And I always say, you know, exercise is exercise, but I'm trying to sell a feeling. So I think dance is like very joyous.

• 19:42Lewis Howes?

  What do people say after they they finish one of your workouts, like either a celebrity or, you know, an average mom or?

• 19:49Speaker 01

  They all say to me, that's the hardest thing they've ever done.

• 19:52Lewis Howes?

  Hardest?

• 19:53Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 19:53Lewis Howes?

  Wow. Well, how do they feel usually, like emotionally or?

• 19:57Speaker 01

  Like elated and alive. Yeah, it's like the natural endorphins, you know, and the the good, good vibes kick in and.

• 20:06Lewis Howes?

  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 a number of trainers as well now. What what do you think it is that makes it? So incredible for these?

• 20:22Speaker 01

  Well, it's a combination of things, I think. But, you know, a group class, a group fitness class. There's something quite empowering about that, like you feed off the energy of the other people in the room. The New York Times nicknamed us the the girlfriend workout. It's a great thing to come and, you know, work out with your girlfriends. So a lot of people do that now in New York. Rather than going and having wine and cheese, you know, they come and and and work out or celebrate their birthday parties or.

• 20:48Speaker 01

  But, you know, bridal showers.

• 20:50Lewis Howes?

  Sure.

• 20:51Speaker 01

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

• 21:08Lewis Howes?

  Now, there's a lot of like dance classes out there, like hip hop classes and ballet classes and you know 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 in yours?

• 21:27Speaker 01

  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 a huge thing now. It's great because it drains the lymphatic glands and it's another version of low impact cardio.

• 21:48Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 21:48Speaker 01

  Um, but yeah, so there's, there's other fitness elements to, to the workout. So it's not.

• 21:54Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, you've got weights, you've 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 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.

• 22:13Speaker 01

  You slip slide them under the bed and.

• 22:14Lewis Howes?

  Right, right.

• 22:15Speaker 01

  But I mean, the technology now, like there's this sprung free, so they don't make any noise. Like they're like huge, it feels like you're running in quicksand. So it actually gets your heart rate up, you know, really, really quickly.

• 22:26Lewis Howes?

  That's really cool.

• 22:27Speaker 01

  It's a good, um, good option for people who, who don't want to dance or don't want to run.

• 22:31Lewis Howes?

  So what's the biggest fear you'd 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?

• 22:52Speaker 01

  Yeah, to be honest, I, you know, people say to me, how did you create the business? And 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 maybe 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, you know, learnt to be a businesswoman. Where before I was, you know, poor dancers get labelled as being, you know, can move their bodies but not much brains upstairs. So I was working against that stereotype.

• 23:37Speaker 01

  So I've definitely learned a lot in the past few years.

• 23:39Lewis Howes?

  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?

• 23:45Speaker 01

  Just one step at a time, you know, and learn from the mistakes and.

• 23:48Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 23:50Lewis Howes?

  That takes a lot of guts.

• 23:51Speaker 01

  Yeah, well stupidity you could say, one or the other.

• 23:55Lewis Howes?

  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 or supported you in where you are now? Or do you think it hurts you in in figuring things out?

• 24:19Speaker 01

  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, you know, 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 I'm stubborn, you know, I didn't, I didn't want to not make this a success. So I was going to to work as hard as I could to do that.

• 25:02Lewis Howes?

  So, you know, for me, I've been an athlete my entire life and I've done a lot of training. But I, 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.

• 25:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, if you're eating like an athlete and you're not, you're not training like an athlete, then it catches up with you.

• 25:28Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, so, so the, the, you know, the physical training is part of it. But really, what a lot of people say is like, abs are made in the kitchen. Is, you know, the diet plan. So tell me, what's your, what's your kind of like philosophy on foods and, and dieting or?

• 25:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, I always say it's eighty percent diet, twenty percent exercise. And I shouldn't be saying that considering, you know, I want to get more people into the gym. But, um, there's no point eating a pizza. I mean, working out for an hour and then going home and eating a pizza.

• 25:55Lewis Howes?

  I do that a lot though. I'll eat a whole pizza because I'm like, I'm starving now.

• 26:00Speaker 01

  No bueno, it's no good. Uh, 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, grew up in classical ballet where we were in, 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 I, you know, I came out of, of, you know, being a professional dancer without, uh, you know, an eating disorder. But, um, it's a huge component of healthy living. And, um, I think there's so many quick fad diets, you know, like lose ten pounds in, in five days. And it's, there's so many diet pills and there's, you know, diet water.

• 26:43Speaker 01

  And it's like we, we're constantly trying to find the quick fix.

• 26:47Lewis Howes?

  How is it diet water?

• 26:48Speaker 01

  I don't know. I think maybe I'm.

• 26:50Lewis Howes?

  Right, right.

• 26:51Speaker 01

  Something, it almost is diet water. Oh, you know, when someone say there was a gluten free water, that's the new thing.

• 26:57Lewis Howes?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 26:57Speaker 01

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

• 27:37Speaker 01

  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 shake. Uh, you know, I eat a lot of protein, a lot of, you know, vegetables and and um, and so I think.

• 27:57Lewis Howes?

  So you don't think we should be like on a diet, but more, you know, just whole foods, really, I guess, right?

• 28:04Speaker 01

  Well, yeah, eat whole foods, eat real foods, eat organic foods where you can um eat, you know, graze like a cow. It's, you know, six little meals a day. Don't 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.

• 28:17Lewis Howes?

  And scarf, yeah.

• 28:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, you binge eat and then you're slowing down your metabolism and so I think.

• 28:23Lewis Howes?

  And you say, don't count any calories or count like.

• 28:25Speaker 01

  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 zero to forty calories. You know, but then you end up eating a protein bar, which is, you know, tastes like cardboard. It's like, you know, just eh rather than having a low fat, low calorie muffin, eat eat real food, eat an apple, eat a banana.

• 28:44Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, I mean, I also think it depends what you're training for.

• 28:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:48Lewis Howes?

  And you know, why you're, what type of body you're trying to create. You know, I had a another guest on here named Mark Fit, who's like super shredded and just lifts like three times a day. But he's like, I weigh everything and I I count it because I love to. And it's part of like my plan of like getting bigger and stronger and like.

• 29:04Speaker 01

  Chicken and broccoli, is it?

• 29:05Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, basically, right? Yeah. But I think if you're like a bodybuilder or if you're doing something else, then maybe you're trying to look a certain way because it's your profession.

• 29:13Speaker 01

  True.

• 29:14Lewis Howes?

  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

• 29:23Speaker 01

  Yeah, just eat well, sleep well.

• 29:24Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, exactly. And you talk about applying the cleanse. Fourteen days, that no food?

• 29:29Speaker 01

  Uh, no, no, no. So it's basically you're cutting out caffeine. So you know, you're drinking herbal tea. Um, there's no soda. So you're just drinking water or, you know, um, no sugar, which is a big one. That's a hard one for me because I'm a chocoholic. I love chocolate sweets. Um.

• 29:44Lewis Howes?

  Is this juice cleanse or what is it? Just no, you're just cleansing with the toxins that you put on yourself?

• 29:49Speaker 01

  Yeah, there's no starch, no salt. Correct. So you'll be eating, you know, like lentils, you'll be eating, um, a protein of some sort, turkey, chicken, salmon.

• 29:58Lewis Howes?

  And is there an additional supplement to this or that you add into it like a, a?

• 30:03Speaker 01

  You can do the shakes. Yeah, you can do the shakes, definitely. Um, you know, to start for, especially for breakfast.

• 30:08Lewis Howes?

  Got you, got you. But it's just more removing all the bad stuff that's put in there for fourteen days.

• 30:13Speaker 01

  Yeah, and cleans- 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.

• 30:21Lewis Howes?

  Right. And that, all that is in the book, right?

• 30:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:25Lewis Howes?

  On how to do the cleanse, the information you need, why it's, why it works.

• 30:30Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 30:30Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. What else? And what else about it? Uh, women and empowerment. That's what I really want to know.

• 30:37Speaker 01

  I think, you know, we are, we are surrounded by magazines now with, you know, uh, 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.

• 30:50Lewis Howes?

  You train the biggest celebrities in the world.

• 30:52Speaker 01

  Yeah. And, you know, it's like they're airbrushed and, you know, they've had a stylist and they're a makeup artist and, uh, you know, a hairstylist. And, um, 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.

• 31:09Lewis Howes?

  Hmm.

• 31:09Speaker 01

  So.

• 31:10Lewis Howes?

  So what are some of these, without saying their names, what do some of these celebrities and actresses and famous actors look like or? You know, because some of them are in great shape, right?

• 31:17Speaker 01

  Yeah. I mean, obviously, yeah, they are in great shape, but, um, it's like everyone sweats the same. Everyone, you know, everyone looks frightening in the morning at six AM when they work out. Um, so I think, you know, that's been an interesting journey for me too, is just to see that they're human, you know?

• 31:33Lewis Howes?

  Right. Are there any, 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, you know, just whatever, thinking differently?

• 31:50Speaker 01

  I, I think with, with actors, um, they're, they're 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 is paying for it. So, you know, that's their job, it's their job.

• 32:04Lewis Howes?

  They're all in, they're like, let's go.

• 32:06Speaker 01

  Yeah. So their, you know, their focus is, is like for the next 10 weeks, they're gonna work, work their ass off. Um, you know, so, but they struggle, of course they struggle and they, 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. But it always helps when you're, you're being paid to look good.

• 32:26Lewis Howes?

  Of course, that's your job. You show up, okay, this is what I do the next two hours, whatever. Interesting.

• 32:32Lewis Howes?

  Now, you were married for 10 years, right?

• 32:35Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 32:35Lewis Howes?

  And I want to talk about success and marriage and relationships. It was 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?

• 32:57Speaker 01

  Uh, before and during.

• 32:59Lewis Howes?

  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?

• 33:08Speaker 01

  Uh, it's a tricky one.

• 33:12Speaker 01

  I mean, in some, in some ways, I guess he was also, you know, a performer, so, uh, we had similar interests and similar goals in some way. Um, but I think, you know, when they say when two people in a family are both chasing the same dream, sometimes there's competition or, um, but I think.

• 33:32Speaker 01

  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.

• 33:40Lewis Howes?

  Hmm.

• 33:41Speaker 01

  Um, where perhaps if I was still married, I would have put some of that into the business.

• 33:45Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 33:45Speaker 01

  Sorry, into the marriage.

• 33:47Lewis Howes?

  Right, right.

• 33:47Speaker 01

  And not into the business.

• 33:48Lewis Howes?

  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 interesting to, to hear how things work for people, why they work and uh.

• 34:11Speaker 01

  I, I think it, it really depends on the, on the couple and you know, no one story is, is obviously the same. And I think it also depends at the stage you are in your life. You know, I got married quite young, so I was still chasing a dream then. Um. 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. You just gotta find the right person.

• 34:41Lewis Howes?

  Right, right. So what's your vision moving forward with Body by Simone? The whole, your, you know, this, the system that you have, the experience that you've created, the, the training you do. You've got this amazing fan base in New York. You're, you know, 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?

• 35:05Speaker 01

  Uh, I guess, you know, I've been blessed to be able to work with a lot of celebrities, which is what's made my business. But I, you know, my belief on everything is that privileged people shouldn't be allowed just certain things. So I feel, you know, like exercise should be, uh, 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.

• 35:30Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Cause it's a premium service in, you know, New York and LA. It's pretty pricey.

• 35:35Speaker 01

  Correct. Um, you know, 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, work out with me.

• 35:46Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 35:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 35:47Lewis Howes?

  Is it like live classes or is it?

• 35:49Speaker 01

  Not yet. I think we're gonna do that here in LA, but at the moment it's just like taped videos. It's like twenty five, pre-recorded.

• 35:55Lewis Howes?

  Wow, that's cool.

• 35:56Speaker 01

  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. Someone said to me, make a DVD. I'm like, does anyone even have DVD players anymore? But I mean.

• 36:06Lewis Howes?

  I don't.

• 36:06Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 36:06Lewis Howes?

  My computer, I guess, still has one, I think, but.

• 36:10Speaker 01

  Um, I, 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.

• 36:22Lewis Howes?

  Anywhere in the world.

• 36:23Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's kind of fun. We've got, you know, fans in Australia and Germany and Argentina and.

• 36:29Lewis Howes?

  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 is it?

• 36:37Speaker 01

  No, no. I'm, I'm a big believer in 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, the yoga mat. You know, 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, I can't work out. You know, you can, you can work out anywhere, especially in your home.

• 36:55Lewis Howes?

  Sure. What are you, what do people, what do you say to people who think like, oh, this is just 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, what do you say to people like that?

• 37:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, I, I always say exercise is exercise, you know, um, 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 um, I think it's so joyous.

• 37:25Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 37:25Speaker 01

  So it just goes back again to the thing of like selling the feeling. So if, if you. If, if, uh, you know, that works for you, then you're gonna love the workout.

• 37:35Lewis Howes?

  Right, right. Do you have a game plan before you go into every workout with a group of people? Do you, you know, create an experience in your head and a vision in your head of what you want it to be like? When you go into the room and you step in 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, a structure? Do you have a 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 are they kind of just like, let me wing it?

• 38:17Speaker 01

  Uh, I, it depends on what kind of mood I'm in. Um, obviously, because 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 gonna 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 know, whatever the playlist is, you know, let the music kind of take me on a journey. Yeah. And, and, and who's in the room? Hmm. So depending on their energy and, um, you know, how many people are in the room or what their level is. I, I will definitely wing it on depending on, on, uh, you know, what, what I'm getting back.

• 39:03Lewis Howes?

  Hmm. What's the best part about being a trainer?

• 39:06Speaker 01

  Is changing people's lives. Like honestly, uh, I have so many beautiful testimonials that just like make me tear up about people who have said, you know, like life, that, 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 really special. So, uh, I think that's probably, that's the life giving experience for me. Is, is, um, seeing the, the transformation in others.

• 39:42Lewis Howes?

  Hmm. How long do you think you'll be a trainer for or be in fitness?

• 39:46Speaker 01

  Uh, I think I'll always have to use my body. You know, it's just who I am. So, uh, 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.

• 39:58Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 40:02Lewis Howes?

  I love it.

• 40:02Speaker 01

  Thanks.

• 40:03Lewis Howes?

  I think it's cool. If you guys are in New York or LA, definitely check it out. I think you should check out body by Simone.com. But also, what is this? BBS TV?

• 40:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's Body by Simone TV.

• 40:12Lewis Howes?

  I think that's cool. I'm gonna link it up in the show notes. BBS TV.com. And check that out. If you want to get access to Simone in your living room.

• 40:23Speaker 01

  Take me home with you.

• 40:25Lewis Howes?

  Or is this iPhone compatible as well?

• 40:28Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think so.

• 40:29Lewis Howes?

  Plug it in their iPhone.

• 40:30Speaker 01

  iPad, definitely.

• 40:31Lewis Howes?

  iPad, for sure. There you go. So anywhere outside, if you got wifi, 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. So, but definitely check out this site. I think it's really cool. What 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.

• 41:15Lewis Howes?

  And say hi to Simone when you're in LA or New York.

• 41:18Speaker 01

  Please do.

• 41:19Lewis Howes?

  And where can we find you online besides your website? Where do you like to hang out on social media?

• 41:25Speaker 01

  On, on your sites, of course.

• 41:29Lewis Howes?

  But where are you? Are you on Twitter? You on Facebook?

• 41:31Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.

• 41:35Lewis Howes?

  It's all Body by Simone.

• 41:36Speaker 01

  Body by Simone, yeah. I think there's a couple of Simone de la Rue's in there somewhere too.

• 41:39Lewis Howes?

  Simone de la Rue?

• 41:40Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 41:40Lewis Howes?

  Okay. And final question I ask all the guests, which is, what is your definition of greatness?

• 41:47Speaker 01

  What is my definition of greatness? Feeling empowered, inspired, and just loving life, living the dream.

• 41:58Lewis Howes?

  There you go. Thanks, Simone.

• 42:06Lewis Howes?

  And 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 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, bodybysimone.com. I've

• 42:48Lewis Howes?

  got all the show notes back at lewishouse.com. And 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.