I really wanted to take the time to really gather my thoughts about Greg Plitt because I’ve been in shock and disbelief since hearing the news. It really didn’t hit me until I started looking at old photos of he and I together yesterday and I thought to myself I can’t believe this man is gone….Unbelievable just like that! WOW!!! What can I say about Greg? I’ve laughed with him; I’ve partied with him; I’ve admired him; I’ve respected him; I’ve shot with him; I’ve wrote about him; I’ve shared late night creative business ideas with him; I’ve argued with him and I’ve also have fought with him. I’ve experienced more up and down emotions and feelings with Greg Plitt friendship wise more than most in such a short amount of time because our relationship/friendship was so complex and unique at the same time. He is without a doubt one of the hardest working people that I’ve ever met in my life and was original in everything he did. He never copied anybody in fact he always wanted to be different than everybody else. He was the ultimate straight-shooter as he would tell you in your face if he didn’t like you. He had a huge heart and out of all the dinners I’ve had with him he always picked up the tab and he never let me pay once even when I would insist on paying. Many people talk about what he did in the fitness industry but he was already a very accomplished individual before he ever stepped foot in the fitness industry in 2003. The man was a West Point Graduate and a Army Ranger which is absolutely no joke and such a huge accomplishment. From December of 2003 when he landed his first fitness cover on Muscle and Fitness to the day he left this earth he was by far the best fitness cover model in the fitness industry. In 11 years he has been on more than 120 fitness covers which is mind-boggling and astronomical which is an average of 10 to 11 covers a year for an 11 year period which is unbelievable. He was the Jerry Rice and the Michael Jordan of fitness magazine covers. A lot of people in the fitness industry lie about how many fitness covers they’ve actually been on but he legitimately has been on over 120 fitness magazine covers. During that 11 year timeframe he was in the fitness industry and that includes A-Lister entertainers and celebrities nobody has been on more fitness covers than Greg Plitt. To really appreciate what he did as a fitness cover guy you have to understand how hard it is just to get on one national or international fitness cover. It is so difficult just to get on one cover because you have to have tremendous amount of appeal and marketability; then you have to deal with the politics; then the decision makers have to really like you and lastly your image has to sell. That image on a front cover is responsible for the sales of the magazine. Your image has to be strong enough to move copies or you won’t get a 2nd cover opportunity. I used to shake my head all the time and think to myself how on God Green’s earth do these fitness magazines always put this same guy on a cover every year and every month and the answer is: He had huge/tremendous marketability, appeal and influence from a fitness perspective and every-time he was on that cover issue for the most part the magazine always did very well in sales. He took so much pride in being the best fitness cover guy in the fitness industry and he worked so tirelessly photo-shoot after photo-shoot to maintain that status for literally a decade. And he worked tirelessly to maintain relationships with those decision makers as well. One of the funny things about Greg he always loved showing his membership motivational videos off to his friends at his house. I remember many nights we would be at his house late at night till 2am and him showing me his videos and we would literally laugh together at his own motivational funny rants. And he would laugh hysterically loud as he was literally amused at his own self which thinking about that makes me smile. I will share with you a quick story about Greg and me. I remember being at his house in 2008 and I was relatively unknown in the fitness industry at the time and I hadn’t really done much at that time. I was showing him my 2nd fitness magazine cover at that time called Inside Fitness Magazine. I asked him if he was interested in getting on this cover as he never heard about the magazine as it was a fairly new magazine and he said sure. So I said let me ask Terry Frendo (the publisher of the magazine) to see if he would be interested in putting you on. At this time he was already a huge household name in the fitness industry and had been on about 60 to 70 fitness covers at that time. When I asked Terry about putting Greg on for some strange reason he never heard about him so I told him to go to his website and look at all of the fitness covers he has been on. He proceeded to do that and I told him he is the top fitness cover in the industry right now and if you put him on the cover I guarantee you it will be one of your best sellers ever. He was very impressed with Greg when he researched him and immediately wanted to pull the trigger on it. After he speaking to Greg finding the right image supplied by Jason Ellis he proceeded to make the decision to go with Greg for the March 2009 Inside Fitness issue which was his first cover on that magazine. Greg insisted that I write the cover story on him for this magazine cover because he felt I really knew his personal story and wanted me specifically to write it. I always took great pride and was always flattered that he thought highly enough of me to insist that I write the cover story on him because I hadn’t done much in the fitness industry at that time to really validate that type of opportunity. I always respected that he wasn’t too proud to have a relatively unknown fitness guy in the fitness industry at that time help him get on a fitness magazine cover and not that he needed the help. My first cover story I’ve ever written and one of my first articles I’ve ever written was on Greg Plitt with this issue. That cover issue he graced was one of the best sellers ever for Inside Fitness Magazine and since that issue up until now he has been on the cover of Inside Fitness magazine more than any cover fitness model in the history of that magazine. Here is a link to the cover story wrote on him for the March of 2009 issue-(His first Inside Fitness Cover) if anybody that is interested in reading that cover story from 6 years ago. obiobadike/2011/10/top-fitness-model-obi-obadike-writes-cover-story-on-greg-plitt-for-inside-fitness-magazine/ The last time I saw him I had dinner with him at Morton’s one of his favorite restaurants in Burbank near where he lives a couple of months ago and for whatever weird blue moon reason it just wasn’t the best dinner we’ve had but when I got home from that dinner I got a text at midnight from Greg which I never deleted and I saved and it read the following: “It was nice to see you again, let me know how the show goes and when it airs, good stuff man, great opportunity which I know you will excel in! See U soon!” Those last words that he texted me will be the last positive words that I will always remember from him. I attached some personal photos of he and I and his first inside fitness cover he was on as well as a photo shoot we did back in 2009. Greg accomplished more in 37 years on this earth than most people could accomplish in 10 lifetimes. I will always appreciate the advice, help and support he gave me when I first started in the industry and the times we spent together. I want to give my deepest condolences and prayers to his family and his close loved ones during this absolutely horrible tragedy. I cant imagine the thought of losing a child or sibling. He was an immovable force in the fitness industry and what he accomplished will never be duplicated, erased, nor forgotten. RIP in GREG PLITT!!
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 19:40:38 +0000
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