Dominic Certo is an American businessperson and author. He has been nominated for the

American Book Award The American Book Award is an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "the ...

, and served as an international judge for the

International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness The International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness (IFBB), headquartered in Las Rozas (Madrid), is an international professional sports governing body for bodybuilding and fitness that oversees many of the sport's major international event ...

(IFBB).

Career

Dominic Certo served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and is a veteran of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. He has since served as an advisor and chairman of the advisory board for

Operation Homefront Operation Homefront is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, and Arlington, Virginia. Its stated mission is to "build strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive in the communities they ...

. In business, Certo has served as President of Hillside Publications, and Chairman of The Certo Group, a food services company founded by Certo in 1985 and which went public in 2004. He also ran a restaurant chain called LA Café. Certo was knighted by the Royal Family of The Reigning Order of St. John in Russia. He has also received two Presidential Volunteer Service Awards.

Bodybuilding

In 1981 Certo was named by the IFBB a judge for that year's

Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...

competition. From 1980 to 1986 he served as the Director of the Professional Division Judging for the IFBB, and from 1985 to 1990 he was the Vice President of the Professional Division. He was also the co-producer and director for the 1988 Mr. Olympia and was the awarded the IFBB Silver Medal. Certo is both now a coach and a prior national competitor in the sport himself.

Writing

Certo wrote the book ''The Valor of Francesco D'Amini'', a fictionalized account of a Marine platoon during the Vietnam War. It was nominated for the 1980

, and received the 1979 ''Vegas Writer Award for Prose. In 2006 Certo self-published the book ''Success-Pure and Simple: How to Make It in Business, Sports and the Arts!'', which focuses on using lessons from athletics and applying them to various professional fields. Certo is the co-author of the book ''Gold in the Coffins'', released in 2015 and co-written with Len Harac. The novel follows the story of an ex-Marine who builds a gourmet coffee company only to have a Wall Street firm lure them into a predatory

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

. This led to him being awarded the 2015 Literary Artist Of The Year by the NJ State General Assembly .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Certo, Dominic Living people American veterans' rights activists United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War American male bodybuilders American business writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American food company founders American strength and conditioning coaches 21st-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American non-fiction writers American restaurateurs 20th-century American non-fiction writers Year of birth missing (living people)