Even with the glitz and prestige of owning a multi-million dollar fleet of the world’s most coveted supercars, Manny Khoshbin has managed to maintain its ‘Honda Accord mentality’ both in business and in life. His daily ethos pays tribute to his very first car – a 1983 four-cylinder – which he bought at age 17, just three years after arriving in the United States from Iran with his parents. He earned it by stocking shelves and mopping floors at Kmart for months, saving $5,000 and earning the first of his many American dreams.
Khoshbin already had a strong work ethic, but during his first years in America he also sought training inspiration and cultural understanding. So, like many teenagers of the era, he immersed himself in American life, learning both mannerisms and fitness routines from ’80s legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. “My first English came from watching Rocky, RamboAnd Command– those two are my idols,” he explains. “I have always looked up to them because they both started from nothing.”
Now 54, Khoshbin has upgraded from the original dumbbells to a striking home gym that shares space with his prized collection. “Working out and looking at my cars makes training more fun,” he admits. Still, he stays true to the training principles he learned from reading about Arnold in fitness magazines, often donning a Rocky T-shirt for his morning routine that starts with a pull-up – an old-school move that has shaped his philosophy and remains a staple of his weekly training regimen.
“My strengths are doing pullups and situps,” says Khoshbin. “You have to have them in your routine.”
Through bodyweight exercises, just one part of his program that also includes plenty of circuit training and core work, he continues to prove that when it comes to maximizing both body and mind, discipline is still better than luxury.
It’s a great example of 1950s Khoshbin, who is also the author of two books:Driven And Contrarian playbook—hopes to share to help young and future entrepreneurs. While many tune in to his YouTube channel for the latest addition to a fuel-injected garage, his real motivation, he says, is to share his journey – the wins and, more importantly, the failures – and to prove that success is possible for anyone, whether it’s your first million or your first try.
“A big part of my social media is that I don’t monetize it, but I do it to share my journey and hopefully inspire young people,” he says. “So that’s a way for me to give back.”
One of the most important training tips: unlike his favorite McLaren P1, which accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.5 seconds, Khoshbin’s approach to maintaining his still ripped physique is the opposite of speed or extravagance. The slow, steady consistency that has benefited both his health and his business is proof that training can give you what an unlimited bank account can never buy: mental toughness.
“Fitness really saved me,” he says. “If it didn’t work out, I probably would have had to file for bankruptcy.”
Inspired by Arnold, powered by body weight
Starting from scratch in a new country, Manny Khoshbin arrived with two clear ambitions: excel in business and fitness. And both journeys started at a local garage sale. “The first two things I bought in the trade were two dumbbells when I was 15,” he says. “I started doing bench presses and dumbbells on the patio of my apartment.”
Although his physique never matched that of his iron idols, the young bodybuilding fanatic felt a unique bond with the seven-time Mr. Olympia itself. More than forty years later, his admiration for Schwarzenegger remains unwavering. “It was just his stamina to not give up and he also had that mentality and dedication to become Mr. Olympia,” Khoshbin said. “He came here as an immigrant and didn’t have much money, but he worked on his body and he overcame. He wanted to be an actor and a governor, and he did both. All those milestones in his life all led back to fitness.”
Thanks to his dedication and physique, Manny’s photos were featured in the August issue of Flex magazine – ironically, Arnold graced the cover the same month. “I still have the magazines,” he says proudly.
Although Khoshbin made early gains lifting weights, reaching the Olympia stage was never his goal. “I didn’t have a big focus on building my body to bodybuilder level, but now it’s all about my cognitive health and clarity.”
What stood out to him, he says, was his ability to lift himself over the pull-up bar – more than anyone else at his high school. Bodyweight movements were and continue to be his inspiration to keep improving. “I actually got a medal in high school,” he says. “I did 74 situps in less than a minute. I thought that was pretty cool.”
Today, Manny’s garage gym, modest by some standards, features dumbbells, a leg press, free weights and cable machines. “The only thing I’m missing are leg extensions, which I’m about to order,” he notes. He trains almost daily, spending 20 to 30 minutes in each session.
Like most, chest day for Khoshbin falls on Monday, followed by arms on Tuesday. Khoshbin often uses Wednesday to catch up on his rest, but then he goes back to work on Thursday (leg day), followed by a tough workout on Friday that ends the week.
He always starts his workout with pull-ups before he starts his circuit training. “I do circuit training, so I start every morning with about 30 pullups. The workouts are pretty much non-stop, so I can get my heart rate up.”
a portfolio built up through setbacks, necessity and puppies
One of the most important insights Driven is that discipline developed in the gym builds the resilience you need to overcome the seemingly insurmountable challenges life throws your way. When difficult situations arise, keeping your mind clear is more important than a one-rep max. Years of sweat and effort in the gym have taught Khoshbin that discipline and resilience become your greatest assets. “Training every day and seeing the results was the catalyst for the never-ending mentality, especially in business,” Manny reflects.
As a teenager, Khoshbin made making money seem easy at first. He earned the $5,000 for his first car by working relentlessly and saving every dollar. “I literally saved $100 a week on my mattress. So after a year I had $5,000. I went to the auction, bought a 1983 Honda, and that was my joy.”
However, his second venture at age 19 was the start of a string of bad deals caused by a combination of bad luck and poorer judgment, he says. Khoshbin saved $20,000 to buy a gas station, but was scammed out of everything by a fraudulent investor. “I basically lost all my money and had to go back to zero all over again.”
As he returned to working long hours to regain what he had lost, he never allowed the overwhelming stress to derail his goals or his health. He managed to release his frustrations at the gym and add marathon training to his already overloaded workday. The effort of lifting heavy and knocking out as many pull-ups as possible became the physical remedy he needed.
“I went to the gym two hours a day,” he says. “That was my first real failure – financially it was a big blow.”
It took several years, but once again Khoshbin saved enough money for a second business, a neighborhood supermarket. But again, other external circumstances also sunk this company. Khoshbin had to work around the clock before he could eventually sell the company. Once again, the same formula, sticking to a routine through good and bad, became the formula he still uses today to build confidence and strength in all aspects.
“Instead of giving in, I stuck to my routines, endured sleepless nights and eventually managed to sell the struggling company,” he says.
Health has become real wealth
Years later, despite being financially secured from a series of successful real estate deals, Manny Khoshbin remains determined to take nothing for granted. Sure, he enjoys his fleet of Ferraris and other supercars, but he’ll still opt for a weekday special at Supercuts.
“I go to Supercuts for my hair — about $20,” he says, laughing. “I’m frugal when it comes to certain things. But if someone comes up and says, ‘Hey buddy, I’ll give you a custom grand piano for $300,000,’ I’ll probably go for that.”
Not everything in Khoshbin’s life is high-end. He once tried a hyperbaric chamber, but gave it back almost immediately. “I’m claustrophobic,” he admits. “I sat in it once and then I gave it back.”
When it comes to supplements, creatine is the only one he uses regularly. For rejuvenation, he turns to his sauna, taking a cold shower after each session for an instant reset. “I go to the sauna for 20 minutes and I always take a cold shower for a minute or two,” he says. “That just restarts my brain.”
He allows himself a few cheat days: enjoying a pizza every now and then or treating himself to Houston’s Hawaiian ribeye when he’s in town with his wife Layla.
At home, his refrigerator is stocked with vegetables and grass-fed meat. “My body needs meat,” he says. “I like red meat.”
His go-to dinner is simple but high quality: “I buy some Wagyu beef, you know, with some Brussels sprouts, glaze it, put it in the oven and season the Brussels sprouts in a pan. That’s really it – and some avocado on the side.”
Money doesn’t buy longevity. At 54, amid all the pretty toys, Khoshbin knows that the most important gifts in life are family and health. Fitness hasn’t just helped him business-wise; it has enabled him to meet the demands of parenthood, especially as a parent of a child with special needs. “I have an autistic son who doesn’t sleep much,” he says. “Sometimes I don’t have energy, but going to the gym reboots my brain and my body.”
Perhaps the most valuable lesson Khoshbin has learned in the weight room is the importance of spending quality time with family. Every pull-up, he says, equals another great day with his loved ones. And that’s something you can’t keep in a garage forever.
“My priority would be to spend time with my kids on vacation,” he says. “As they get older, they don’t want to hang out with you anymore. I told my wife, ‘In 2026 we’re going on vacation every two months.’ Put it in our schedule and it becomes part of our routine, just like a workout.”
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