Stephen P. Smith of Planet Beach and HOTWORX on Athletic Discipline, Franchise Playbooks, and the Infrared Fitness Frontier

As a part of our series about the work ethic lessons we can learn from professional athletes, I had the pleasure of interviewing Stephen P. Smith.

Stephen P. Smith is the Founder of Planet Beach and HOTWORX®. He has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors since April 1996. He received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Mississippi, a Masters in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix, and the Distinguished Certified Franchise Executive Designation from the International Franchise Association for his work and study in the Franchise industry. He has received his Personal Training certification through AFAA and Suspension Training certification through TRX among other fitness training certifications. His background as an athlete includes college football and Arena Football as well as numerous bodybuilding titles including NPC National Collegiate Champion.

Mr. Smith has an extensive business background, which includes being an entrepreneur since 1986. In 2014, Mr. Smith invented a new infrared fitness sauna, which is now patented. It was designed for three people to work out with virtual instruction. He opened the original HOTWORX® 24 Hour Infrared Fitness Studio in 2017 and founded the HOTWORX® Franchise in that same year.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to learn more about your personal background. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

From the moment I remember being alive, I recall my dad telling me stories about how to win football games. He taught me the importance of maintaining a competitive spirit. My dad was an All American Quarterback in High School and went on to play for SMU as a running back in college.

When I was growing up, I was a very active child and sports were central to my life. From an early age, I was always on the move, playing football and eventually taking on bodybuilding, where I was fortunate enough to win numerous titles including the NPC National Collegiate Champion.

I earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Mississippi. Later, I went on to get a Master’s in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. My interest in the business side of things naturally led me into the world of franchising. In 1995, I opened the first Planet Beach in New Orleans, and just a year later, I decided to start franchising the concept, which led to the creation of Planet Beach Franchising Corporation.

In 2014, I came up with the idea for a groundbreaking fitness program that utilizes infrared heat absorption to deliver a virtual exercise experience. That concept evolved into HOTWORX®, and in 2017, we opened the first 24-Hour Infrared Fitness Studio. Members can engage in a 30-minute Isometric workout or a dynamic 15-minute High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) session, benefitting from the deep, detoxifying sweat induced by the penetrating infrared heat and the muscle contraction associated with isometric postures.

In December of 2020, my book, HOT EXERCISE, was published and made available on Amazon where it has remained a bestseller in the business franchise category. For those who want to understand what I call the “Bold New Infrared Fitness Frontier,” my book is where they will find the answers.

What or who inspired you to pursue your career as a high-level professional athlete?

Vince Lombardi was always incredibly inspiring to me while I was younger and eventually becoming a professional athlete. To me and so many athletes, he was the greatest coach of all time, and I think being able to see the impact he had on not only his team, but the world truly resonated with me.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?

My dad, who was an All-American Quarterback in High School and went on to play running back at SMU, was the most influential person in my life. He instilled the importance of competitiveness into me that has served me well in athletics and in business throughout my life.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your sports career? What lesson or takeaway did you learn from that?

In my late 40’s I decided to embark on a training program to return to arena football. My goal was to contribute to the success of a team and to be the oldest player in the league. During a training session, while performing a lunge sprint, I experienced a serious hamstring pull. After weeks of recovery I felt up to training again. After only a couple of days into training, I pulled the same hamstring on the exact same lunge sprint. Turns out lightning does strike in the same place twice. That ended my football career.

Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. As an athlete, you often face high-stakes situations that involve a lot of pressure. Most of us tend to wither in the face of such pressure and stress. Can you share with our readers 3 or 4 strategies that you use to optimize your mind for peak performance before high-pressure, high-stress situations?

Working out: I know this piece of advice may seem simple, but I have always found that moving my body almost evaporates any stress I was feeling. In the face of these high-stress and high-pressure situations, my mental clarity comes from taking a step away and giving myself a second to focus on something else, like isometrics performed inside of an infrared sauna!

Develop Good Habits: Having a routine and sticking to it will help you feel grounded in high-stress situations. When everything feels like it’s out of your control, I can count on a clear schedule throughout my day to make me feel grounded. Consistency is the key to sustained positive performance. Things like making your bed every single morning without fail can be a game changer!

Visualization: When I’m starting to overthink an issue, I always try to visualize the end goal and my purpose for what I am doing. Mentally walking through the steps to get where you need to go can help keep you on track, and not lose focus in high-pressure situations. Start with the goal in mind and then you will make the right decisions.

Can you tell us the story of your transition from a professional athlete to a successful business person?

As I began my business career, it was the discipline I learned from the football field and the discipline I learned as a competitive bodybuilder that translated into the discipline that is necessary to compete in the world of business that made the difference.

The blending of athletics into my business career was natural to me. I always tell folks that I look at business as if it were a football game. In franchising, the best way to look at it is to view the franchisor as the coach and the franchisee as the player. The coach creates the playbook and then must teach and motivate the franchisee to execute the business playbook on the field of “operations” at the highest possible level.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting new projects you are working on now?

My team and I are always looking for new ways to innovate the experience for our members. We are currently working on new and improved rowing machines to push our patented Thunder Row machine to the next level. We’re implementing design upgrades to better accommodate our members’ needs while solving some of the more common problems our franchise owners face, such as a more seamless recoil system in the tank. In fact, many of these updates are the direct result of the feedback we’ve received from our franchise owners and members.

We recently upgraded our Diet Trax nutrition tracking app to move from a simple barcode scanning to add video scanning of actual foods as a way to track daily nutrition intake. You have to experience this app now to appreciate the new technology. It is truly an amazing upgrade for our customers.

Additionally, we have established a partnership with Fabletics, which details a specially-curated line of dual-branded apparel that are available to HOTWORX members nationwide. We see true value in working with this incredible brand to offer our members durable activewear made to withstand the sauna heat and the sweat built up during our workouts.

Do you think your experience as a professional athlete gave you skills that make you a better entrepreneur? Can you give a story or example about what you mean?

Everyday, professionally, I am working with multiple team members and employees on a variety of different projects and areas of focus so we can make our business the best it can be for our members. Being an athlete my whole life has made me value the input of team members and taught me to rely on their perspectives and expertise to help us collectively achieve our goals.

Franchising requires teamwork. We all bring something unique to the table, and my background as an athlete has helped me identify the strengths in others so we can work as efficiently as possible as a team. I like to surround myself with people who operate in the same way, and who work just as hard when nobody is watching. My favorite interview question when hiring new team members is, “On a scale of 1–10 where do you see your work ethic?” The response is super important in determining whether the individual will fit into a high demand, high performance work culture.

Entrepreneurs and professional athletes share a common “hustle culture”. Can you share your “5 Work Ethic Lessons That Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Athletes”?

Embrace Failure: As an athlete, failure is something you have to learn to tackle early on, and it’s the same when it comes to business. Creating the next big thing or next big innovation takes trial and error, and most don’t get it right on the first try. You have to truly let yourself see the flaws in your ideas and work to make them better and stronger. Not everything will go according to plan, and that’s okay; take it as a chance to readjust and pivot directions. When you fail, change something and keep going until you get it right!

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: I feel as though this piece of advice has been said time and time again, but it’s because it’s true — your team is what leads you to success. You have to make sure you trust and can rely on those you surround yourself with. When I started to venture into the world of business, I knew that one of the most important things for me was to create a team aligned with my goals and that I could depend on to seek advice from and to execute the plans on the highest possible level.

Celebrate the Small Wins: When working toward your big goals, always try to make sure the small wins don’t go unnoticed. When you’re an athlete, there is always this big match or game you are preparing for, but you also need to celebrate when you learn a new move or improve your speed. The same goes for the world of entrepreneurship. You always have that end goal, that thing driving you, but don’t let that blind you to the smaller successes along the way. Each milestone should be recognized and celebrated accordingly.

Consistency is Key: In the world of being an athlete and an entrepreneur, being consistent separates those who are good from those who are great. You need to show up, work hard, and do that constantly. Consistency builds momentum, and momentum drives success.

Preparation is Everything: As an athlete, I learned early on that what I did to get ready for a football game or bodybuilding contest would directly influence how successful I was. The same could be said for business. You have to make sure you map out the different strategies and tactics in order to get to the finish line. Think about what you want the next few weeks, months, and years to look like, and develop your game plan from there. Make alternate routes, and seek ways to be steps ahead of any issues along the way. You are in charge of your own playbook. The most successful people on the planet spend the most time preparing for the performance. Indeed, in the Sun Tzu classic, The Art of War, Sun Tzu states that all battles are won before they are even fought through planning and preparation.

What would you advise a young person who aspires to follow in your footsteps and emulate your career? What advice would you give?

My advice would be to focus on your goals and never give up. Failure is only a learning event. Pursue a career that you are truly passionate about. Don’t listen to people who say, ‘fake it ‘till you make it’. I believe in consistent hard work, and never cutting corners in attempts to reach your goals. Do the hardest work first and save the easy stuff for last, and know that shortcuts will come back to haunt you down the road. If you develop a product or service that authentically speaks to your passions and has proven data-driven results, and you work harder than the rest, you can’t go wrong.

You are by all accounts a very successful person. How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

When I go out to visit our franchised locations, I get to hear the stories directly from our customers of how the HOTWORX 3D Training Method has “changed my life.” I receive messages on Instagram all the time from customers saying the same thing. The fact that we have introduced a fitness method to the world that is making positive changes in the lives of so many is truly rewarding to experience and it makes the job worth every long day of hard work.

At HOTWORX, we’re committed to supporting the heroes in our military who protect our freedom and the first responders who keep our communities safe. This commitment inspired us to create an annual fundraiser, called Hiking for Heroes. It all started in 2021 when we formed a climbing team to scale Mount Kilimanjaro, raising $1 for every foot of elevation, which came to $19,341. We exceeded that goal, raising over $20,000, and donated the entire amount to Sacred Mountain Retreat Center (SMRC). SMRC provides a healing program for wounded veterans and first responders in the beautiful Black Hills of Deadwood, South Dakota.

Since then, HOTWORX has continued to support this cause, and as of 2024, we’ve raised over $475,000 to help these brave men and women. This is more than just a fundraiser for us — it’s a way to give back to those who have given so much. We will continue to raise awareness and money to support this cause.

Additionally, we donate HOTWORX saunas to fire stations throughout the country. To date we have installed our saunas in 19 Fire Stations, one Sheriff’s Office, and two in the wellness facility of Sacred Mountain Retreat Center. This represents over $260,000 in assets donated in New York City, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota and Texas, so far. We are honored to help Firefighters to detox themselves after serving our communities by fighting fires while being exposed to incredible amounts of cancer-causing toxic substances.

If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

With HOTWORX, I feel we have already started this movement. The focus with our infrared sauna sessions is all about creating good habits of consistency, sustainability in your fitness program, and going at your own best pace. It has been one of my greatest honors professionally and personally to spread awareness of the immense benefits of infrared sauna therapy combined with a consistent fitness routine. I was able to develop something that brought so much positivity to me personally, and I’m so proud to be able to help make this program accessible to thousands of members across the country, and to other countries as we expand.

Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?

Vince Lombardi — “Winning is not everything, but making the effort to win is”

This resonates because you can’t always guarantee your desired outcome in any situation, but what you can control is how hard you work to achieve those goals.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them.

I would really like to sit down for coffee with Tom Brady. The reason is because he is the winningest QB in the history of the NFL. I want to ask him about his views on team culture and work ethic. I watch his interviews online and I am inspired by his statements. He is really big into fitness as well. So, it would be really cool to sit down with him for a private conversation.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.