Actor and fitness entrepreneur Jake Steinfeld chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about “Don’t Quit” and Body by Jake Radio.
“The important thing in life is not victory but combat; it is not to have vanquished but to have fought well,” said Pierre de Coubertin, French Educator who was primarily responsible for the revival of the Olympic Games in 1894. This quote applies to Jake Steinfeld.
How did “Don’t Quit!” come about?
I was cut from my 8th grade basketball team, and this kid saw I was pretty down and literally handed me a poem called “Don’t Quit.” I was not much of a student, and for whatever the reason was, I didn’t throw it in a garbage pail because it was on a Perma-Plaque, so I brought it home. I started reading it, and it ended up becoming like a Bible verse to me. I trademarked the words in 1981, and I’ve lived by the poem ever since.
The last stanza says, “Stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit, it’s when things seem worse that you must not quit,” and we’ve lived by those two words, especially when we were tested to the extreme a year and a half ago when we lost our home in the Palisades fire. We decided that you had a choice: you could either roll up in a ball and die, or you persevere, and you don’t quit. My wife Tracy and my daughter Morgan and my sons Nick, Zach, and Luke, we all banded together and said, “let’s go. We don’t quit!”
How does it feel to launch Body by Jake Radio?
It feels amazing! Body by Jake Radio came out of, if you will, the ashes of what happened to our family. My wife Tracy and I are living in Century City, CA temporarily, and we are used to being in the car a lot living in LA, I’ve lived here since I was 18 years old, but it seems that we’ve been in the car even more as we’re always going to the West Side to our house we are rebuilding in the Palisades.
While sitting in traffic, I was always trying to find something on the radio, whether it be XM or terrestrial radio, that has nice music and motivating or inspiring words or sounds, and there was nothing out there like it.
I went on this adventure to launch what has become Body By Jake Radio. It’s the first 24/7 radio platform where we wake you up in the morning and we put you to bed at night. I’ve partnered with iHeartMedia and Universal Music Group. All day and night, we have all of these nuggets – wellness, nutrition, longevity, mental health, fitness, and mindset tips – all surrounded by great music from the late ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. It’s just meant to make you smile. Our tagline is “Body By Jake Radio – where it’s 72 and sunny every day.”
How does it feel to be part of the digital age?
It’s pretty amazing. You know, I was one of the original guys in the cable business. Ted Turner gave me my start doing the fitness break, a 60-second vignette on Cable News Network (CNN), which ran four times a day in the states and 10 times an hour around the world. I had this idea for my Body by Jake Show in first-run syndication, and then I moved to ESPN, all during the time when my videos were on Beta and VHS and all that stuff like that.
I had this dream to create a 24-hour fitness television network, which I did in ‘93, called Fit TV, using the headline news wheel, which was Ted Turner’s headline news. Here we are in this digital age where, with streaming technology and social media being so prevalent, I took the same platform and programmed a radio channel, just the way I did with my Fit TV. It’s incredible.
What motivates you each day?
I love living life, man. I love to create. I love the response in such a short amount of time that Body By Jake radio has received. Quite honestly, I’ve never had the support of a machine, like the folks at iHeartRadio and Universal Music, that are backing me here. I’ve been a lone wolf my entire career. I’ve created things and brought people in, but to start off with two great machines at your side, man, it sure is fun, and it sure is exciting, and it sure gets you pumped up.
What do your plans for the future include?
Right now, my main focus is on securing the Body By Jake Radio platform by growing it and sustaining it. My partners are also talking to me about podcasts and things like that, which I’m enthusiastic about, but I just want to make Body By Jake Radio a success first.
iHeart does these great music festivals, and I’ve always had a fun idea to do like a Body By Jake health and fitness and music festival, but we would do it kind of like a pop-up where we would do like a 7th inning stretch, and it would give me the opportunity to introduce the next generation of stars, which is what I would like to do.
We could grow it that way and then hopefully be strong enough on our own with people and excitement and sponsors that we can do a Body By Jake health and fitness and music festival as big as Coachella.
What is your advice for young and aspiring entertainers, entrepreneurs and fitness professionals?
My advice is to just take a shot, man. Don’t ever think you can’t. There’s a saying that I coined: “the world lets you be what you make them believe you are.” If you are truly an entrepreneur, and an entertainer, and a fitness professional, because all of it is really wrapped up in one, right?
You got to believe in you. Because if you don’t believe in you, no matter how great you are, no one is going to believe in you. So get up and take the shot. Don’t let anybody tell you no because then when they do, for me, no is halfway to yes. And just don’t forget me when you’re rich and famous.
Were there any moments in your life or career that have helped define you?
There were so many moments, man. I will say this: after all these years, being married to my wife Tracy as an entrepreneur, I mean, that’s all I know, that’s all I knew. I went to 90 days of college. I came out to LA to be Mr. America. It didn’t work out because I wouldn’t take steroids. Right place, right time, I ended up being the guy who created the personal fitness training industry.
I got married to my wife Tracy in 1988, and I don’t know if she knew what she was getting into, but she has stood by my side, thick and thin. We’ve won, we’ve lost, we’ve won more than we’ve lost, but to have a partner who believes in you every day, if that’s the one piece of advice you take away from this interview, make sure that you get that done. And on top of it, we have four incredible kids, which that’s what gets me up in the morning.
What does the word success mean to you?
Being able to do what you want to do, when you want to do it, how you want to do it, and with who you want to do it with. Period.
What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?
I am so excited to be back. These last few weeks, I’ve kind of been walking on air. So many of you have reached out. I’ve done so many radio shows and podcasts, and what’s been so much fun is, while the response to Body by Jake Radio has been great and people are presetting it and all that good stuff, the DJs who have interviewed me have all shared a personal story about their personal relationship with Body By Jake growing up. That was really something special to hear, and it just goes to show you that you can’t buy trust and you can’t buy authentic.
I promise that wherever you are, however you’re feeling, whether you have that black cloud over your head or you’re in the deepest, darkest ditch you’ve ever been in, change is rough and change is tough, but with the right motivation and the right inspiration and the right tools, change can happen.
That’s where Body By Jake Radio comes in. It’s simple. I talk to you, it’s fun, and you’re going to smile 24/7, and by the way, it’s free. Don’t Quit!
Body by Jake Radio is available on iHeart by clicking here.
To learn more about actor and fitness entrepreneur Jake Steinfeld, follow him on Instagram.
