Robert Harper (born August 18, 1965) is an American

personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

, reality television personality, and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. He appeared on the American television series ''

The Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show ''The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash prize. ...

''. On September 8, 2015, Harper was announced as new host of ''The Biggest Loser'', succeeding

Alison Sweeney Alison Ann Sweeney (born September 19, 1976) is an American actress, reality show host, director and author. Sweeney is best known for her portrayal of Samantha "Sami" Brady on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', a role she played under co ...

. He was an advisor on ''

The New Celebrity Apprentice ''The New Celebrity Apprentice'' (also known simply as ''The Apprentice'') was the eighth and final installment of the reality game show ''The Celebrity Apprentice'', thus making it the fifteenth and final installment of ''The Apprentice'' as a w ...

''.

Career

Harper has worked as a personal trainer for

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

clients, including

Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough as Stacy Hamilton in ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). She ...

. In 1999, he was cast as an extra in

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...

's hit video for the song " Angels Would Fall" from her album ''

Breakdown Breakdown may refer to: Breaking down *Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated *Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components *Decompo ...

''. He is featured as a trainer on the United States version of ''

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series. He has been a trainer on the NBC show since 2004. and has appeared in several ''Biggest Loser'' DVD workouts. Harper is also featured in the first three seasons of the Australian version of the show. In addition to making appearances, speaking dates, and writing, Harper teaches regular classes in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and works as a

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

instructor. In early 2010, Harper launched mytrainerbob.com, a website where subscribers could discuss weight loss and receive coaching. The success of his site led to the release of his first workout DVD series in May, titled "Bob Harper: Inside Out Method." Harper has also contributed workouts to the ''

Shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external Surface (mathematics), surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, Surface texture, texture, or material type. A pl ...

'' magazine website.

Personal life

Harper was born in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. He attended Austin Peay State University in

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state behind Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States ce ...

, however he did not graduate. After reading the book ''

Skinny Bitch ''Skinny Bitch'' is a diet book written by former modelling agent Rory Freedman and former model Kim Barnouin. The book sold better than expected despite not having high initial sales. ''Skinny Bitch'' became a best-seller in the United Kingdo ...

'', Harper became a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

. In 2010, he then became a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

. In 2013 Harper stopped following a vegan diet because "my body personally got to a point where I needed something more." He practices

Transcendental Meditation Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes a ...

. He is an avid

CrossFit CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trad ...

athlete. Harper has spoken out against puppy mills and has adopted a black and white dog from the Animal Advocates Alliance in

Baldwin Park, California Baldwin Park is a city located in the central San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,176, down from 75,390 at the 2010 census. History Baldwin Park began as p ...

. He named the dog Karl, after

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...

, because of the dog's color. Harper is

Farm Sanctuary Farm Sanctuary is an American animal protection organization, founded in 1986 as an advocate for farmed animals. It was America's first shelter for farmed animals. It promotes laws and policies that support animal welfare, animal protection, a ...

's 2010 Walk for Farm Animals national spokesman. Harper publicly came out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

in the seventh episode of the fifteenth season of ''

'', while talking to a contestant who was having difficulty telling his parents about his sexuality. Harper revealed he had come out to his parents at 17, but that this was his first time ever addressing his sexuality publicly in his career. The episode aired on November 28, 2013. On February 12, 2017, Harper suffered a heart attack; his survival being a subject for his commercial for the

Brilinta Ticagrelor, sold under the brand name Brilinta among others, is a medication used for the prevention of stroke, heart attack and other events in people with acute coronary syndrome, meaning problems with blood supply in the coronary arteries. ...

medication.https://www.tmz.com/2017/02/27/bob-harper-heart-attack/
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Bibliography

* * * * *Harper, Bob (2017). ''The Super Carb Diet''. St. Martin's Press. .

References

External links

MyTrainerBob.com

Bob Harper
at NBC
CrossFit athlete profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Bob 1965 births Living people 21st-century American non-fiction writers American exercise and fitness writers American exercise instructors American male non-fiction writers Television personalities from Los Angeles Gay sportsmen American gay writers LGBT people from California LGBT people from Tennessee Sportspeople from Nashville, Tennessee Writers from Los Angeles American LGBT sportspeople 21st-century American male writers 21st-century LGBT people