By Richard Andreoli

Gorgeous bisexual dance and private fitness trainer Jorge del Busto discusses attaining success in America, teaching boys to dance, and his new line of clothing and DVDs.

Jorge del Busto is hot. From his sexy Latin looks to his hugely popular Tango Salsa Caliente fitness DVD series, this Argentine transplant is constantly turning heads wherever he goes. But becoming one of the most sought-after fitness experts in the United States wasn't simply a matter of having a great body and a catchy new regimen for turning flab into fab; indeed, from beginning to end del Busto's rise to fame has been one of creating opportunity through hard work and an unwavering focus for being the best.

"When I was growing up in Argentina, I wasn't very popular," recalls the openly bisexual del Busto. He was considered fat among his peers and struggled with both asthma and epilepsy, and while he had a penchant for the performing arts, it wasn't something his father encouraged. "I got into swimming because I could do it by myself, and then my health improved," he says. But more importantly, he also discovered that physical fitness was a passion he could invest in.

Following high school, del Busto enrolled in the exclusive Private Institute of Physical Fitness in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He earned numerous degrees in fitness and in his early 20s became widely known as an award-winning athlete and coach.

"My approach to fitness is to see the body as a useful tool for everyday activities," he explains. "The emphasis on the big muscles from the 1980s, ala Arnold Schwarzenegger, is so retro. I believe in balance and proportion and the functional body."

With that mentality and a drive to continue his climb toward success, del Busto realized he needed to make his move to the United States. Unfortunately, without a green card and very few English skills, he soon found himself working at a Chicago health club where he was cleaning bathrooms for $4 an hour.

"I worked at the gym and learned English, and [eventually] started training people," he says. Among his clients was best selling novelist and one of Vanity Fair's 200 Most Influential Women in the USA, Sugar Rautboard. When the Chicago Tribune ran a story about how the rich get fit and Rautboard was interviewed, she mentioned del Busto. "So they chose me to be featured in the story," he explains. He used to samba dance with Rautboard as part of her exercise routine, but during the interview "she said we would tango, salsa, mambo, merengue, and samba -- all these dances that I had no idea how to do," he laughs, but the calls came pouring in for new clients. "I had to go to all the Latin places to learn to dance, so I would teach what I learned the night before to my clients."

Eventually, del Busto decided he had done all he could in Chicago and made the move to Los Angeles to further his career. But in a town where trainers, actors, and spokespeople are easier to find than a 10-pound weight, he soon found himself essentially back to square one.

"The good thing was I had all this free time," he says. "I got to use my creativity to the fullest, from [inventing] new ways of making fitness fun and effective to designing my own clothes. It also gave me time to take care of my spiritual side, which, in a way, I had left behind."

From these beginnings he envisioned a series of DVDs where he could teach his Latin aerobics to people across the country. Though a few scam artists approached the rising star, he eventually came across some producers who liked the idea but wanted to see del Busto in action. Fortunately, that was when a certain Bravo reality show came along known as Boy Meets Boy.

In Boy Meets Boy, one bachelor had to find the perfect mate among a house full of other available men; the twist, of course, was that some of the men were heterosexual. During one of the challenges, del Busto had to teach some of the "bachelors" how to country-western dance and his on-air appeal carried across. So for the next two years he and the producers developed his Tango Salsa Caliente DVDs, which combine various forms of dance into one aerobic workout.

While del Busto has already developed a clothing line, he is always looking to expand into new territories. To that end, he recognizes that there is a desperate need for physical fitness training within the Hispanic and Latino communities, and he sees himself as the man to fill that void.

"Latinos [are] now the biggest minority group, not just in L.A., but also in other cities," del Busto points out. "Economically, we represent over six billion dollars in spending money and I think it is time for someone like me to take care of my people in a wider spectrum." Del Busto points to statistics showing that over 70 percent of Latinos have a predisposition for heart disease and related health problems due to the lack of good eating habits and exercise. "I am working on this project now in the format of a TV show, where it will be a fun way to educate and inform the Hispanic community."

While The Jorge Show is still in its development phase, it is ultimately just another step in del Busto's overall philosophy toward health and wellness. As he says, "We are here for short time, we need to protect our health and body in a more natural and spiritual way. My fitness formula is about making an interactive connection with each other and ourselves through movement and dance."