Tae Bo Founder Billy Blanks is Still at It — But With a Catch

If you were kickin’ it in the 1990s and 2000s, you have to know about Billy Blanks, the boxer who created the fitness phenomenon Tae Bo. The Pennsylvania native discovered martial arts as a child and went on to become an international karate champion. He created his TaeBo fitness system, which combines boxing, martial arts, calisthenics and dance into a heart-pounding workout designed to help people get into their best shape. Blanks trademarked the name, an acronym which stands for Total Awareness Excellence Body Obedience and started teaching classes in his Los Angeles studio.

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“I knew a lot of women liked to do aerobics, so when I started adding karate and boxing and different kinds of aesthetics to it, a little bit of weight training, it gave women the opportunity to feel like they could do it without ever putting on a karate uniform,” Blanks told PEOPLE in 2024. “They started feeling like warriors.”

As Blanks’s classes blew up in LA, he landed a deal to put his workouts on video, and before you know it, everybody and their auntie was kicking and punching along to his Tae Bo VHS tapes and DVDs.

Now, more than two decades later, Blanks is still doing his thing at age 70…just at a little slower pace. His official TikTok account has nearly 140,000 followers.

Some online are taking notice that Billy’s punches and kicks aren’t the same these days.

“This ain’t the speed my mama had me in the living room doing mr billy 😭,” wrote someone on TikTok.

But hardcore Tae Bo enthusiasts still ride hard for Billy Blanks and reminisce about how his videos had them in their best shape.

“Man my best body is when I did his work outs omg I need ti find a vcr the goat,” someone wrote in the comments on a September 25 Instagram post from Blanks.

Others were quick to point out that for someone in his 70s, he’s moving better than most.

Y’all better hope y’all can still move when y’all get his age 😂😂😂😂😂 wrote someone in the comments

As for Billy Blanks, he hopes his workouts will keep people kickin’ for years to come.

“I think Tae Bo will always be around, even when I leave,” Blanks told PEOPLE. “It helps people realize what they need to do to help themselves best.”