In the 80s and 90s, Fabio was everywhere: On billboards, in ads, and on the covers of books, his ripped chest exposed and his trademark hair blowing. Today, he has a net worth of $10 million, built up through a number of avenues.
He Was Discovered At The Age Of Fourteen
Born in Milan, Italy to a businessman and a former beauty queen, Fabio Lanzoni was discovered at a young age. Working out at a gym when he was 14, he was approached by famous photographer Oliviero Toscani, who told him he’d be a great model.
Although his father had hoped his son would become an engineer, Fabio jumped at the chance. For the next four years he honed his craft, modeling teen clothing for a number of Italian brands.
The Young Italian Took The US Modeling World By Storm
Five years later, the young model decided to try his luck in the U.S. and headed to New York. His story is well known: He arrived at the Ford Modeling Agency without an appointment and walked out with a contract.
Different to the other male models on the circuit, the Italian’s muscled torso and long hair made him unique. A day after signing with the Ford Agency, he was cast for one of the biggest campaigns in America at the time – the launch of The Gap. He earned $150,000 from that first job, a huge amount at the time.
And he became simply Fabio.
Fans Went Crazy For Fabio
If he’d achieved fame as a model, that was nothing compared to what lay ahead. In 1987, a painted version of a photo of Fabio appeared on the cover of Johanna Lindsey’s romantic novel, Hearts Aflame. His image moved more books than any other cover had, and the book rose to number three on the New York Times Best Sellers list.
Fabio went on to appear on 460 covers, a record only broken in 2017 by Jason Aaron Baca who, inspired by Fabio’s career, was determined to appear on more romance novels than Fabio.
Fabio Retired From Modeling In 1991
His retirement didn’t mean Fabio disappeared. The ex-model launched a 24-hour hotline, which callers could use to hear him reading intimate stories from around the world.
In 1994, he released an album titled Fabio After Dark, which included soliloquies on his philosophy of love. It flew off the shelves.
He also published his own romantic novels, Pirate, Viking and Rogue featuring images of himself on the covers of his books. Fans didn’t even care that they’d been ghost-written.
His Movie Career Turned Out Differently To What He Expected
Fabio also decided to try to break into action movies, in the tradition of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Instead, he found that Hollywood was keener to use him in appearances as himself.
Although some cast members may have tried to sue the producers of The Bold and the Beautiful, Fabio had a great run on the show, and was booked for a multiple-episode guest arc, where he appeared as himself. He appeared in one episode of Step By Step called Absolutely Fabio. And he also appeared as himself in the cult-classic Zoolander, which became a huge hit.
He did manage to grab a few roles where wasn’t booked as other characters, he played a bodyguard in Death Becomes Her (1992) and a cult leader in 2001’s Bubble Boy. In 2017 fans saw him appearing as the Pope in the fifth installment of the Sharknado franchise.
He Designed A Women’s Clothing Line In 2002
Fabio’s face still sells. The launch of his line attracted widespread interest, possibly because audiences were keen to see the star again. Fabio had appearances on The Insider, The View and CNBC’s Business Hour. Print publications were also happy to feature him, with People,Fortune and local newspapers clamoring to have him back on their covers for the first time in a decade.
In 2005, he was the host on Mr. Romance, a show created by Kiss lead singer Gene Simmons, who has created some exciting work during his lifetime. The series featured male contestants competing for the title and the opportunity to appear as a romance novel cover model.
He’s Opted Not To Follow ‘The Retired Celeb’ Route
Although he has been offered the chance to appear in Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor and The Apprentice, he’s turned them down. According to Fabio, when people put themselves in that position, they do it because they’re desperate for money and attention. In his words, “There’s not enough money in this world to make me do something degrading.”
He’s Still Careful About His Diet And Fitness
At 63, he still keeps himself in shape. As a teenager, he lost a friend who died of a heroin overdose. As a result, he’s never used drugs and doesn’t drink alcohol. He doesn’t eat carbs, cheese, fried foods or sweets. And he never allows a hairdryer near those famous locks, which look as good as ever.
The ex-model works out in the gym for 60 minutes at least four times a week, focusing on cardio and weight lifting. He hikes, runs and has a tough dirt bike endurance trial on his property, which he uses daily on one of the 325 dirt bikes he owns.
And that’s not all: He sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber which, he says, reverses the aging process.
Famous Advertising Campaigns
Fabio became a huge hit in ad campaigns for I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. He has worked with the company as a spokesperson since 1994. One of his most memorable commercials involved Fabio breaking free from a butter sculpture of himself.
He also worked as a spokesperson for a number of other groups, including Geek Squad and the American Cancer Society.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, he said he didn’t care about Instagram, which is why fans haven't seen much of him over the last decade. However, since 2021, he’s been back in the limelight, telling interviewers how he’s finally ready to settle down and start a family.
Whatever happens, we can be pretty sure he's not going to change his image. As he says, "Please. Who else can I be, besides Fabio?"
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