Suzanne Somers didn't just sell a piece of fitness equipment. Honestly, she sold a dream of effortless perfection that fit right between your knees. It’s 1991. You're sitting on your sofa, maybe flipping through channels, and there she is. Suzanne, with that "Three’s Company" smile, holding a weird butterfly-shaped piece of blue foam and steel. She looks incredible. She tells you to "squeeze, squeeze."
And boy, did people squeeze.
The Suzanne Somers ThighMaster wasn't an overnight accident. It was a masterclass in business pivot and personal branding that most MBA programs should probably be teaching right now. Most people think she just did a commercial and got a check. That’s not what happened.
How a Physical Therapy Tool Became a Cultural Icon
Before it was a TV sensation, the device was actually called the "V-Bar." It was invented by Anne-Marie Bennstrom, a Swedish physical therapist who originally built it to help skiers recover from injuries. It was clinical. It was boring. It was sitting in a warehouse gathering dust because nobody knew how to market a "V-Bar."
Then came Peter Bieler. He was a marketing guy who saw the potential in this weird car-spring gadget. He realized that while it worked the arms and chest, the real "pain point" for women in the early '90s was the inner thigh. He renamed it the ThighMaster and called Suzanne.
She was at a crossroads. She’d been famously fired from Three's Company for demanding equal pay—asking for $150,000 an episode, which was what John Ritter made. Hollywood basically blacklisted her for it. She needed a win.
"I’m going to make you so much money," she allegedly whispered to Bieler after they signed the deal in her Palm Springs home.
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She wasn't kidding. Within 18 months, they sold six million units.
The Manolo Blahnik Commercial That Changed Everything
If you remember the ads, they weren't about "working out." They were about fashion and confidence. Suzanne later admitted the inspiration for the most famous spot came from a pair of $500 Manolo Blahnik shoes. She walked out of her dressing room in her underwear and those shoes, and her husband, Alan Hamel, said, "Great legs!"
Boom. That became the hook.
The Suzanne Somers ThighMaster commercials were short, punchy, and leaned into the sexual innuendo of the era without being too "blue" for daytime TV. It was the perfect storm. You had a celebrity who people already liked, a price point of $19.95, and a product that you could literally use while watching Murphy Brown.
The Math: $300 Million and Total Ownership
People often wonder how much Suzanne actually made. In interviews later in her life, including a famous 2022 appearance on the Hollywood Raw podcast, she laid it out. She and Alan eventually bought out their partners. They didn't want to just be the face of the brand; they wanted the whole thing.
They reached 10 million sales and just... stopped counting.
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If you do the basic math—15 million units at roughly $20 a pop—you’re looking at $300 million in gross revenue. Because she owned the company, she didn't just get a spokesperson fee. She got the profit. She used that "thigh money" to build a massive lifestyle empire that included skincare, supplements, and over 25 books.
Does the ThighMaster Actually Work?
Let's be real for a second. Can you get "supermodel legs" just by squeezing a spring while eating chips? No.
But from a kinesiologic standpoint, the device isn't a total gimmick. It uses isometric and isotonic tension. When you squeeze, the resistance targets the adductor muscles—those pesky inner thigh muscles that are actually pretty hard to hit with just squats or lunges.
- Isometric: Holding the squeeze at the tightest point.
- Isotonic: The repetitive motion of opening and closing.
Is it a replacement for a heavy leg day at the gym? Absolutely not. But for people with limited mobility or those who want a low-impact way to keep those specific muscles active, it does exactly what it says on the box. It provides resistance. Resistance builds muscle tone.
The "scam" wasn't the product; it was the idea that it was all you needed. But Suzanne never really claimed it was a magic wand. She just made it look like one.
Why It Still Matters Today
Suzanne Somers passed away in 2023, but the ThighMaster lives on. It’s one of the few "As Seen on TV" products that didn't end up in the landfill of history alongside the Shake Weight.
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It represents a moment when a woman in Hollywood took her power back. She was told she wasn't worth the same as a man, so she went out and built a business that made more money than the show ever could have paid her. It’s a story of "comeuppance," as she called it.
The ThighMaster proved that if you find a specific, emotional problem (like "flabby thighs") and provide a cheap, accessible solution through a person people trust, you don't need a movie studio to be a mogul.
If you're looking to actually see results with one of these (or a modern version), the key isn't doing 500 reps once a month. It’s about consistency. Suzanne used to say she did 50 in the morning, 50 in the afternoon, and 50 at night. That’s 150 reps of resistance training a day. Do that for a month, and yeah, your adductors are going to be stronger.
What to do if you want to try it:
- Check the tension: Modern knock-offs are often too flimsy. Look for a steel spring that actually requires effort to close.
- Focus on the "Hold": Don't just bounce it. Squeeze and hold for three seconds at the top.
- Use it for your chest too: Holding it between your palms and squeezing is a legit way to activate your pectorals and triceps.
The legacy of the Suzanne Somers ThighMaster isn't just about legs. It’s about the fact that sometimes, a simple piece of bent metal and a lot of charisma is all you need to change the business of fitness forever.
Actionable Insight: If you’re looking to tone your inner thighs, don’t rely solely on an adductor tool. Pair 10 minutes of ThighMaster-style resistance with compound movements like sumo squats or side lunges three times a week. This ensures you’re building functional strength while targeting the specific "vanity" muscles the device is famous for.