ExerciseTV and Jake Steinfeld Introduce the Nation to 'America's Next Fitness Star:' Brandy K. Cruthird

ExerciseTV and Jake Steinfeld Introduce the Nation to 'America's Next Fitness Star:' Brandy K. Cruthird

Cruthird, a Physical Education Teacher and Fitness Entrepreneur From Boston to Star in Her Own ExerciseTV Programming

LOS ANGELES and BOSTON, March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Fitness icon Jake Steinfeld, founder of ExerciseTV, the first comprehensive on-demand network dedicated to fitness, sports training and motivational programming, announced today that the winner of the network's inaugural nationwide contest for "America's Next Fitness Star" is Boston-based physical education teacher and fitness entrepreneur Brandy K. Cruthird. As the contest winner, Cruthird will receive a one-year paid contract with ExerciseTV that includes appearing in an original fitness series on the network and hosting a monthly blog on exercisetv.tv, as well as a year's worth of New Balance footwear and apparel. Cruthird's programming will premiere on ExerciseTV this summer.

Cruthird, who was up against nearly a thousand other contestants in the ANFS contest, runs her own fitness centers for adults and children in Roxbury, Massachusetts, an inner city neighborhood of Boston, and teaches physical education to grades 6-12 in the Boston public school system. Cruthird has also recently launched a number of groundbreaking programs to combat childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes, as well as improve fitness among children and families. Her "Fit Kidz" program accepts prescriptions from participating health care providers in the Boston area, enabling overweight kids to work out at her centers at no charge.

ExerciseTV launched the America's Next Fitness Star contest in October 2006. The contest, a nationwide search for the country's next fitness celebrity, was open to all fitness instructors, trainers and coaches who believed they had the energy and personality to inspire millions of viewers to get in shape. Enthusiastic applicants from across the country entered the contest between mid-October and the contest deadline on November 30, 2006.

"When we launched the search for America's Next Fitness Star, we wanted to find an individual who would motivate people to be their best -- someone who demonstrates and believes, as I do, that fitness can be fun," says Jake. "Brandy is a fantastic health and fitness advocate who embodies that dynamic spirit, energy and commitment. She's already a local hero in Boston, and we are proud to help bring her the national recognition she deserves."

"I am truly humbled to be selected as America's Next Fitness Star," says Cruthird. "It is inspiring to be a part of a team lead by a fitness revolutionary like Jake, whose determination, tenacity and integrity continue to empower and motivate the masses. I am excited to have the opportunity to bring my love of fitness to a broader audience in the hopes of changing lives one workout at a time!"

Born and raised in Roxbury and currently residing in Dorchester, Mass., Cruthird's interest in physical fitness was sparked in the ninth grade, when she began playing basketball in a local community center. A Division I player, Cruthird played throughout college at James Madison University in Virginia, and now says, "Physical fitness changed my life." In 1996 she opened her own fitness center in Roxbury, a largely African-American community where no such center had existed before. Currently, her fitness center is the only one of its kind for children in Boston. She later became a physical education instructor at Josiah Quincy Upper School in Boston, and noticed many of her students were overweight and suffering from a variety of ailments stemming from poor diet and insufficient exercise. She has launched an array of programs to combat childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes, including the annual "Every Body Walk Your Body" Fitness Walk and Health Fair in Boston; the nationwide "Get Active" campaign in partnership with United Way, a series of family fitness videos entitled "The House Is Getting Fit(R)."

Cruthird has also been featured on NBC Nightly News' "Making a Difference," in Essence magazine and The Boston Globe, and has received numerous awards, including Ford Motors' 2006 Fusion "Live In Drive Award" and the 2006 Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare "Innovator Award."

Placing second and third, respectively, in the "America's Next Fitness Star" contest were Nicole Rollolazo, a professional fitness competitor and personal trainer from Los Angeles, California; and Jules Benson, a personal trainer from Belton, Texas.

ExerciseTV offers consumers unprecedented access to the world's leading fitness video/DVD producers 24 hours a day, seven days a week on video on-demand. ExerciseTV viewers can use the service's DVD-like functionality to work out at their own pace in the privacy and comfort of their own homes. ExerciseTV currently offers more than 150 on-demand workouts, in categories including pilates, yoga, cardio, abs, Tai Chi, sculpting & toning, dancing, walking and pre- and post-natal fitness. New Balance is the exclusive performance footwear and apparel sponsor of ExerciseTV.

About Jake Steinfeld

Jake is the innovator and entrepreneur responsible for creating the personal fitness training industry. As Chairman of the Board of Body by Jake Global LLC, a multifaceted business and entertainment conglomerate, Jake has been instrumental in the development of some of the most successful fitness products ever sold. An entrepreneur, bestselling author and philanthropist, Jake is the founder of Major League Lacrosse and of the DON'T QUIT! Foundation, which supports and educates adolescents about the value of physical fitness. Most recently, Jake was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve as Chairman of the California Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, with the mission of establishing California as the nation's first "Fitness State" and encouraging all Californians to set -- and commit to achieve -- their personal exercise and fitness goals.

About ExerciseTV

ExerciseTV is a multi-platform television network dedicated to fitness, motivation and sports training, designed exclusively for video-on-demand (VOD) and emerging media platforms. ExerciseTV is the first VOD network to offer advertisers the opportunity to seamlessly integrate their messages into the network's programming. The network, which launched in January 2006, is currently available in more than 20 million homes in the United States via Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications. ExerciseTV was founded by Jake Steinfeld of "Body by Jake," and developed by Comcast Corporation, the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. ExerciseTV is managed by Comcast, with New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc., and Time Warner Cable acting as additional equity partners. For more information, please visit www.exercisetv.tv .

Source: ExerciseTV

CONTACT: Jenny Snegaroff of ExerciseTV, +1-310-474-7717,
jennysnegaroff@earthlink.net

Web site: http://www.exercisetv.tv/

-------
Profile: intent