Ben Stiller’s Absurdly Brilliant ‘Tony Perkis’ from Heavyweights (1995) Was an Influencer Before Influencers Existed

We recently published an episode focusing on the sublimely under-the-radar cult classic Heavyweights (1995). We were struck by how Ben Stiller’s character, Tony Perkis, was decades ahead of his time. The business model he built around his personality and promise of transformation looks remarkably familiar in today’s creator economy, and we need to give credit to this forward-thinking character from the summer camp movie genre.

For a quick summary, the story follows a group of overweight kids who arrive at Camp Hope expecting a fun summer, only to discover that the camp was sold by the beloved owners, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, to Tony Perkis, a maniac fitness and lifestyle guru who brought a cameraman and sought to feature the kids as a success story in “the No. 1 weight loss infomercial in the country.”

For those of you who may not know about “infomercials” (information + commercial) from the 90s, they were long-form television programs, 30 minutes in length, and dedicated entirely to demonstrating, pitching, and selling a product. The closest equivalent is probably TikTok/Instagram/YouTube “direct-response content” that blends entertainment with an aggressive sales pitch. Think of a buff guy working out and talking into the camera, saying something like, “I used to struggle to get enough protein, then I found XYZ product. One scoop has 25g of protein, and it tastes great. I’ve been using it for three months and see noticeable gains. Tap below to get your first order for 20% off.”

Tony pushes his extreme program on the campers until they mutiny, and the movie ends with a competition victory over a rival camp on the other side of the lake. The kids love the freedom and friendship of having a great summer after all.

While watching the film, several big points jumped out at us three decades after its unheralded release in theaters.

First, the movie definitely holds up. It respects kids, has interesting/edgy humor, and remains positive without cynicism. It’s streaming on Disney+, and we highly recommend it.

Second, and most importantly, Tony Perkis’ concept was impressively far ahead of its time. We now see versions of his business model everywhere, with creators who build audiences around a personality and lifestyle, then turn those audiences into customers for their own products, programs, and brands.

Alix Earle, for example, went from promoting other products on livestreams to building her own product ecosystem. Mat Fraser, a five-time “Fittest Man on Earth” CrossFit champion, built HWPO (Hard Work Pays Off), a training brand based around his approach to fitness. Nick Bare has built a business around the hybrid athlete trend and his supplement company.

In Heavyweights, everything is built around Tony Perkis’ image as an expert who has discovered the secret to changing people’s lives. He understood the value of turning one’s personality into a business long before social media made that model commonplace.

Here’s a quick summary:

Brand: Perkis Power, an entire business built around Tony Perkis

Platform: Camp Hope served as the setting for the health transformations

Lifestyle: “Perkisizing” or the “PerkiSystem”

Slogan: “I’m Tony Perkis, and I’m your motivation!” An actual quote from Tony Perkis is “Kids, at age 12, I weighed 319 pounds… Now, I eat success for breakfast, with skim milk.”

Logo: A direct parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous “Vitruvian Man” drawing that maps out the mathematical “ideal proportions” of the human body.

What He’s Selling: Transformation. Essentially, he’s selling how to become a different person. An actual quote: “Today is evaluation day. The key word here is value. Do you have any? Not yet. But by the end of the summer this camp will be full of skinny winners. You think I’m crazy? I’m not crazy. I just believe in you.”

Yes, this is extreme, and we’re not saying all content creators are like this. The similarity is the promise that you’ll become a more successful version of yourself by buying into these types of systems.

Content: A dedicated crew onsite (aka Kenny the Cameraman) to document daily routines, meals, and interactions. He was essentially shooting the equivalent of daily “Vlogs,” “Day in the Life” content, and “Get Ready With Me” videos decades before they were popularized. The heavily edited content, before & after photos, and testimonial footage were supposed to prove that Perkis Power works.

Merchandise: A full ecosystem of merch from the camp, vocabulary, branding, fitness tapes, and more to pull customers deep into the Perkis Universe.

Summary

Tony Perkis understood the scalable creator-business model before smartphones and social channels existed. This got us thinking: What would Tony Perkis look like today?

We’d love to tune into the Perkis Podcast, subscribe to Perkis+, and order some Perkis Protein Powder.