Only 19 years old, Richard Samuel had a lot of experiences under his belt. With jobs ranging from stable boy to chauffer to bouncer, the recent high school graduate was looking to start a business he could call his own.

At the time, Rich was a competitive bodybuilder. Naturally after devoting unspeakable hours to sculpting a winning body, Rich thought about opening a gym. But with the pricey investments required in equipment, he thought about the other place he spent a lot of time: the tanning salon.

In 1997, Rich got the best of all worlds. He won the silver medal in the Junior Olympics for bodybuilding and opened the doors to Maximum Tan — right next to a gym — with his brother Philip.

Despite the success, Rich was ready to put bodybuilding behind him and get down to business. “You can’t make a living in bodybuilding unless you turn pro, which I didn’t want to do. The dieting was absolutely horrible! But it taught me that you can achieve if you work hard,” says Rich.

When the brothers teamed up to open their first location, the marketplace looked a lot different. Because competitition consistent largely of other owner-operated businesses, they had the opportunity to figure it out as the went along.

“Being around salons while bodybuilding taught me the basics,” he says. “I was 19 and I didn’t have much to lose, so I figured this was the time to learn the business. I just went for it. I have the personality where I get obsessed with the things I do — I love, breathe and eat what I do.”

For the first two years of operation, Rich and Philip tirelessly covered every shift themselves. From morning until night, you could find them working passionately with their customers and building the business behind the scenes.

After that initial period, they hired their first employee and enjoyed a little breathing room. Finally, they didn’t have to do everything themselves. After five years had passed, they were ready to build a second location.

Click here to read more in the latest issue of Smart Tan Magazine online.