 Simmons began his weight-loss career by opening his gym Slimmons in Beverly Hills, California, catering to the overweight, and he became widely known through exposure on television and through the popularity of his consumer products.He is often parodied and was a frequent guest of late night television and radio talk shows, such as the "Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Howard Stern Show".He continued to promote health and exercise through a decades-long career and later broadened his activities to include political activism – such as in 2008 in support of a bill mandating non-competitive physical education in public schools as a part of the No Child Left Behind Act.