After completing school he moved to Los Angeles and started working at a restaurant in Beverly Hills. That was the point when his interest in fitness grew but since he did not like the fitness programs that were already available he opened his own gym. He named it the Anatomy Asylum where eating healthy and exercising happily were the main focus. This fitness studio caught the eye of people who were not happy with the current standards of fitness and wanted something enjoyable and relaxing. He opened the exercise studio with his business partner and friend Edwin Colon Jr .Earlier it had a restaurant called Ruffage which mostly served salads .

The salad bar was later removed and the whole focus shifted to exercise and workout. The name of the studio was also changed to Slimmons. Today his studio supports thousands of people throughout their weight loss. In an interview, Simmons said that he has made humanity lose around 5,500,000 kgs of weight since he started his studio 35 years ago.

Simmons is very famous in the media as well. In earlier days he used to appear on a show called Real People in which he was shown working with obese people an making them fit. He also appeared as guest roles in many TV series such as Win, Lose or Draw, Super Password, Body language and many others. Due to the positive reaction of the viewers, he appeared in the famous TV show General Hospital for 4 straight years. Besides being on TV he has also hosted a radio show on Sirius Satellite Radio for 3 years which was stopped later on.

Once he appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman in a turkey costume. In that episode, he had an asthma attack due to some unfortunate series of events. He later returned to that show after 6 years again to be pranked but this time, everything was fine.

Richard's sexuality is not known, he hasn't ever been married or had a divorce. He is very secretive about his personal life so there is very less information regarding his partner if any. He currently lives in Beverly hills, California with his 3 dogs and some of his maids. He is also known to talk to his fans personally through telephone or through mail. He regularly holds seminars o the importance of fitness and appears on TV from time to time. His net worth is estimated to be around $15 million. His biography can be read on Wikipedia and on other websites as well.