International fitness guru and creator of the supremely popular home workout series P90X, Tony Horton, headlined Century City Westfield’s Workout Wednesday last week.
Spending a large portion of his time traveling both within the U.S. and overseas, Westside-based Horton said he always enjoys being back home and connecting with people face-to-face.
“It’s a great opportunity to meet some local folks,” Horton told Century City News. “These are my peeps man! This is local, just down the street.”
Horton led the 100-strong crowd through a 50-minute workout that included some of his key P90X moves that many of those taking to the mall’s forecourt knew very well.
“It’s awesome to have Tony here,” said workout participant Jose Mendez. “I’ve been doing his programs at home, but to see him here in Century City is just awesome. I am really pumped to be doing this with him here.”
Workout Wednesdays are organized by local fitness-app creators BurnThis. The integrated social network component of BurnThis allows users to create a profile, follow their friends, see what classes their friends are taking, and unite like-minded people.
“Through our app we have digitally connected thousands of people at boutique classes and fitness events all over the country, including SXSW, Sundance, the Santa Monica Pier, Reebok Fithubs, Westfield Century City, and more,” explained Monica Mange Johnson, BurnThis co-founder.
“Tony was a great addition to Westfield Workout Wednesday because he has a highly devoted following and has made such an incredible impact on so many people’s lives,” she said.
“We were amazed at how charismatic and infectious Tony was in person. His live workout was exciting, funny, difficult, and thrilling. You left feeling like you got an awesome workout, surrounded by like-minded people who inspired and motivated you to give it your best.”
Horton’s appearance at the mall coincided with his launch of Tony Horton Kitchen at 104 of Southern California’s 7-11 stores.
Horton’s new food line is aimed at those wanting to grab a quick healthy bite on the go. The new menu includes two sandwiches; two salads, including Spicy Quinoa Salad with Chimichurri dressing; two wraps; and four cold-pressed juices. The sandwiches and wraps are priced from $4.75 to $6.50, and the juices at $4.99.
“People are loving the food,” Horton said. “There’s a trend and it’s changing. More and more people are buying bananas [at 7-11s] – more bananas than chocolate bars. So we’re introducing healthy foods and cold-press juices.”
Horton’s workout session at Century City was part of Westfield’s weekly free Wednesday exercise activities that have been extended until the end of October.
“Workout Wednesdays is the first ever al fresco workout series in a shopping center. As fitness events have started to trend, more and more people want to work out as part of a community to feel healthy, motivated and inspired. We felt that Westfield’s courtyard would be the perfect place for it to happen given its proximity to so many corporations, retailers and the amazing outdoor spaces it provides,” said Mange Johnson.
“The series is successful because people feel like that they are getting to experience cutting edge fitness in an inspirational, beautiful atmosphere with easy sign up through the BurnThis app.”
To inspire participants to continue on their fitness journey, Horton gave away five of his latest P90 programs; a simplified version of the popular P90X.
“We’ve toned things down. It’s still six days a week, it’s a 90-day program and it’s a gorgeous place to start,” Horton explained.
“If you’ve got a purpose that’s bigger than weight-loss and your ego and other people’s opinions about you, it’s really about wanting to have a better quality of life – purpose is everything,” he concluded.
