Derrick Evans, or shall we more appropriately call him “Mr. Motivator,” is a Jamaican-Born British fitness instructor who rose to fame in the early 90s from his appearances on the UK show GMTV where he led live fitness sessions.
His trademark was his tight fitting and colorful spandex outfits. Due to his popularity on the show, he went on to produce a number of fitness and workout videos like “Mr. Motivator’s 10 Minutes BLTs” and “Bums Legs & Tums.”
Karen Voight - Then
The 80s were the time to seen and be seen in an aerobics gym. And if you could be the founder of it then all the better. Karen trained other fitness icons like Kathy Smith and Keli Roberts as well as big names in Hollywood like Tina Turner and Bette Midler.
She also consulted with the talented Paula Abdul on her dancer workout videos.
Karen Voight - Now
Over the span of her career, she released over 25 fitness videos and published a book on precision training.
She is still recognized as a pioneer in the fitness world. She co-starred in a 90’s fitness video with supermodel Elle Macpherson and continued to make videos into the 2000s.
Derrick Evans - Now
Derrick has since retired from his bright colored outfits, but takes to colorful things in new ways- his Jamaican ecotourism resort, PaintSplat.
He also continues to appear on fitness TV programs.
Bess Motta - Then
As one of the most popular fitness women of the 80s, Bess Motta was easily recognized as the aerobics queen of the 1980s. She was one of the “bevy of beautiful girls” on the Canadian fitness phenomenon “20 minutes workout.”
While the show aired only for two seasons between 83’ and 84’, Motta’s career continued to flourish. She has been credited with putting TV aerobics on the map. She became a fitness advocate after coming back from England 30 pounds overweight.