Billy Blanks started his martial arts career at the age of fourteen. Even though he suffered from the handicap of having bad hips, the karate discipline transformed his body. He won his first world championship when he was 16 years of age and he went on to win seven world championships. As a 7th degree Black Belt, he boasted one of the best records the United States has ever seen. He also holds the Tri-State Champion of Champions boxing title.
During his career, he won thirty International Gold Medals and was rated number 1 or 2 in the United States for 7 years. He had over 300 career victories and in 1982 was inducted into the Karate Hall of Fame. He was made the United States Karate Team Captain. He retired from competitive martial arts competitions in 1991 to concentrate on his acting career and developing his fitness center.
His acting career started by chance because he was employed to be a bodyguard for Catherine Bach for a shoot in the Philippines. This was at the time there was political instability and the directors were so impressed with him that they wrote him into the script of the film Driving Force and from there his acting career progressed. He has also acted in Lost Boy Scout, Talons of Eagle, TC200, and Expect No Mercy.
Billy used the fame he built from acting to fuel his career as a fitness guru and the development of Tae Bo which a fitness routine that combines tae kwon do, boxing, and aerobics. In the early 90’s, Billy was only known to a small circle of fans which used to do Tae Bo in at his gym in Sherman Oaks, California. This was a small gym and as the popularity grew he bought a larger gym also in Sherman Oakes in the late 90’s. His gym went from training 16 people to training thousands.
He started promoting Tae Bo through infomercials on TV. After the infomercials were released, the sales of tapes grew rapidly and over a million were sold in just six months. His routine was so popular with celebrities and fans that the fire department had to limit the number of people who were allowed to enter his gym. The business is a family run business and his daughter is an instructor at the gym. She has also now released her own training material which she sells commercially.
Billy Blanks is a devout Christian and he has released some training tapes with motivational prayers in line with his Christianity. The launching of the Tae Bo training tapes and DVDs created a very lucrative business and Billy Blanks net worth is estimated at $30 million dollars.
Return to the previous page| Date of Birth: | 01-09-1955 |
| Birth Place: | Erie, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Height: | 1.82 m |
| Ex. Wife: | Gayle Godfrey |
| Wife: | Tomoko Sato |
| Divorced Date: | 2008 |
| Marriage Date: | 2009 |
| Nationality: | American |
| Profession: | Martial Artist |
| Marital Status: | Divorced |
| Ethnicity: | African American |
| Net Worth: | $30 Million Dollars |
| Children: | 5 |
| Birth Sign: | Virgo |
| Birth Date: | 1 Sep, 1955 |
| Age: | 64 yrs |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | Erie |
| Gender: | Male |
| Description: | American fitness guru |
| Net Worth 2020: | 30 million |
| Net Worth 2021: | 20 million |
