My introduction to health and fitness started at the age of seven when I began swimming and diving competitively on the local swim team in Liberty, Missouri (a suburb on the north edge of Kansas City). Back then, we trained hard each morning for two hours and then erroneously consumed sugar cubes prior to every swim meet. Sports nutrition has come a long way since those days and I have been there every step of the way.

At the age of 13, I received a barbell set for Christmas and instantly fell in love with bodybuilding. I continued to swim and dive competitively until age 15 at which time I went to work at a local pizza place. I was working fulltime while still attending high school. With little time to train, bodybuilding and swimming went to the wayside as I gradually fell into the typical party lifestyle many teens get caught up in. It was fun but not healthy.

In the mid 1970s, at the age of 22, I gave up the party lifestyle and dove back into bodybuilding headfirst. With only the help of a few muscle magazines and books, I trained hard to transform my 155-pound skinny-armed-and-beer-gut-clad body into a muscular work of art. In less than a year I managed to pack on 35 solid pounds to attain the first phase of the body of my dreams. This required discipline, and lots of it! I was training 2 hours a day, 6 days a week and eating in a special way to gain muscle and lose fat. I never missed a workout and I never missed a meal. I loved bodybuilding!

After collapsing in 1978, after a brief workout at the gym, I discovered that I had a pre-diabetic condition medically termed as Reactive Hypoglycemia. This set me on a journey to discover the cause of Diabetes Type 2 and how to prevent and reverse this modern affliction. I not only discovered the cause of my problems, but I also discovered the way to reverse the tendency to develop Diabetes Type 2 through a change in my diet and lifestyle. With this important discovery, I began my professional journey to bring this information to the world.

In 1980, as the first step in professionally sharing my discoveries with the world, I made one of my longtime dreams come true by opening my own gym (Jay’s Gym). I started this gym with very little money of my own and only a $1,500 loan, which is all the bank would lend me at the time. Nothing could stop me from fulfilling my dream. I built my own equipment, bought used weights, and found used mirrors, desks, and office equipment. I also pieced together carpet remnants and did all the painting and decorating myself. It was brutal. It was fun. It was risky—but it worked because once the club opened, it was a success. I took a hard stand again steroids and pioneered some of the nation’s first drug-tested bodybuilding events. In Jay’s Gym, I also opened a protein bar and served the first prototypes of my now world-famous protein shakes. Needless to say, my protein shakes were an instant hit. 

After owning the club for four years, I tired of the gym life, sold it, gave away nearly all my possessions, and set out to a more health conscious part of the nation, San Diego, where I took a job working at a prominent health food store to learn more about natural foods.  While working at the health food store, I decided to become a gypsy and began living in a tent in the backyard of a hippie house near San Diego State University. I owned a 1970 Volkswagen Beetle, six small boxes of clothes, a tent, and a sleeping bag. This almost homeless lifestyle, allowed me to save money because I was squatting on the land in exchange for being their gardener.

Three years later, I started Jay Robb Enterprises with a prayer, my humble savings, and $6000 that had been left to me by my Uncle Dick. My prayer was that, through the company and in harmony with God’s wishes, I could help others realize the incredible life one can experience by eating natural foods and exercising regularly. My prayer has been more than answered…

While building Jay Robb Enterprises Inc. for the first five years, I also managed a health food store. This allowed me the cash I needed to support my family while pumping all profits back into the company to fuel our rapid growth. My average workday was 16 hours plus I also did personal training on the side as a third job. 

For the first five years of the company’s existence, I took no salary. Then for the next nine years I took only a very meager salary that just paid the bills so that I could use the profits to grow the company. After 14 years in business, I slightly increased my salary but continued to roll almost all the profits back into the company. I live a frugal life but that frugal lifestyle has allowed me to build a strong, multi-million-dollar debt-free company. It was tough at times and required a tremendous amount of discipline. Often times, when a person comments on my accomplishments I say, “I am a 20-year overnight success.” Most people do not realize the commitment that is required to start a company and build it from scratch.

Since founding Jay Robb Enterprises Inc. in 1988, I have become a Clinical Nutritionist, the best-selling author of over a dozen health and fitness books, and created an award-winning protein powder formula that is now the #1 Premium Brand of Protein in America (and sold in over 10,000 stores across the nation). Along the way, I was also a personal trainer for 10 years, owned and operated two successful fitness clubs, performed over 500 seminars nationwide, appeared as “The Fat-Burning Chef” for four years on KUSI TV Channel 9 in San Diego, taught sports nutrition in the San Diego area, and was a feature columnist for Natural Bodybuilding magazine for over 20 years.

When you follow your dream with passion, you will never work another day of your life. Even if I didn’t get paid for what I do, I would still do it. That is how you know you are fulfilling your purpose in life. Like Mark Twain said, “Make your vocation your vacation and you will never work another day.” Anyone can be successful if they will stop thinking about money, follow their dream with passion, roll up their sleeves, and go to work. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I merely have used what talents and gifts I have been given and made the most of them. That is life’s secret formula for success. 

My love affair with health and fitness is a beautiful experience that will never end. Teaching others how to be happy by living in harmony with nature is my purpose on earth. It is truly an honor to share my knowledge and wisdom with the world. I have also been blessed with an absolutely gorgeous wife, Beth, who is the love of my life along with our four beautiful children. I live in Jupiter, Florida with my family and enjoy surfing, meditation, the beach, working out, writing, sunbathing, and spending time with my family. As for my success, I give all the glory to God.