Not every purchase in the world of Manny Khoshbin demands a black card. Despite owning an absolutely jaw-dropping collection of high-end, high-powered supercars, the real estate mogul can still sniff out a bargain haircut and gladly opts for home-cooked meals over high-priced restaurants whenever his hectic schedule allows. For all the Bugattis and McLarens now filling his massive garage, ask the Iran-born businessman about his greatest investment and he might point out, smiling, of course, to the $2 pair of swap-meet dumbbells he bought as a teenager—an impulse buy he credits with having the most impact on his life.
Even with the glitz and prestige of owning a multimillion-dollar fleet of the world’s most coveted supercars, Manny Khoshbin has managed to maintain his “Honda Accord mindset” in both business and life. His everyday ethos is a 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 through months of stocking shelves and mopping floors at Kmart, 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 workout inspiration and cultural understanding. So, like many teenagers then, 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, Rambo, and Commando—those two are my idols,” he explains. “I always looked up to them because they both started from nothing.”
Now at 54, Khoshbin has upgraded from those original dumbbells to an eye-catching home gym that shares space with his prized collection. “Working out and looking at my cars does make it more fun to work out,” he admits. Yet, he remains loyal to the training principles he learned from reading about Arnold in fitness magazines, often throwing on a Rocky T-shirt before his morning routine that commences with a pullups—an old-school move that shaped his philosophy and remains a staple of his weekly workout regimen.
“My strengths are doing pullups and situps,” Khoshbin says. “You have to have them in your routine.”
Through body-weight exercises, just part of his program that also incorporates plenty of circuit training and core work, he’s still proving that when it comes to maximizing both both mind and body, discipline still beats luxury.
It’s a great post-50 example Khoshbin, who is also an author of two books—Driven and Contrarian Playbook—hopes to share to help young and future entrepreneurs. While many tune into his YouTube channel for the latest fuel-injected garage addition, his real motivation, he says, is to share his journey—the victories and, more importantly, the failures—and to prove that success is possible for anyone, whether it’s your first million or your first pullup.
“A big part of my social media is I don’t monetize it, but I do it to share my journey to hopefully inspire young people,” he says. “So that’s one way for me to give back.”
One of the biggest training takeaways: Unlike his favorite McLaren P1, which accelerates from 0 to 60 mph 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 benefitted his health and business alike is proof that training can give you what a limitless bank account can never buy: mental resilience.
“Fitness really saved me,” he says. “If I didn’t work out, I would’ve probably had to file bankruptcy.”
Inspired by Arnold, Powered by Bodyweight
Starting from scratch in a new country, Manny Khoshbin arrived with two clear ambitions: to excel in business and in fitness. And both journeys began at a local garage sale. “The first two things I bought from swapping were two dumbbells when I was 15,” he says. “I started bench pressing, doing the dumbbells in my apartment patio.”
Though his physique never matched that of his iron idols, the young bodybuilding fanatic felt a unique bond with the seven-time Mr. Olympia himself. Four-plus decades later, his admiration for Schwarzenegger remains unwavering. “It was just his stamina to not give up and also having that mindset and commitment to become Mr. Olympia,” Khoshbin says. “He came here as an immigrant and didn’t have much money, but he worked on his body and he conquered. He wanted to be an actor and a governor, and he did both. All those milestones in his life, it all led back to fitness.”
Thanks to his dedication and physique, Manny’s images were featured in the August 1990 issue of Flex magazine—ironically, the same month Arnold graced the cover. “I still have the magazines,” he says proudly.
While Khoshbin enjoyed early gains from lifting weights, making it to the Olympia stage was never his goal. “I didn’t have a big focus on building my body to a bodybuilder level, but it’s now mostly for my cognitive health and clarity.”
What made him stand out, he says, was his ability to lift himself over the pullup bar—more than anyone else at his high school. Bodyweight moves were, and remain, his inspiration to keep improving. “I actually got a medal in high school,” he says. “I did 74 situps in under a minute. To me, 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 is leg extensions, which I’m about to order,” he notes. He works out almost daily, spending 20 to 30 minutes each session.
Like most, chest day for Khoshbin falls on Monday, followed by arms on Tuesday. Oftentimes, Khoshbin uses Wednesdays to catch up on rest, but then it’s back to work Thursday—legday— followed by a week-ending, back-blasting workout on Friday.
He always begins his workout with, of course, pullups before embarking on his circuit training. “I do circuit training, so I start with about 30 pullups every morning. The workouts are pretty nonstop, so I can get my heart rate up.”
A Portfolio Built by Setbacks, Resilience & Pullups
One of the key takeaways from Driven is that discipline developed in the gym builds the resilience you’ll need to overcome the seemingly insurmountable challenges life throws your way. When tough situations arise, keeping a clear head is more important than any one-rep max. Years of sweating and straining in the gym taught Khoshbin that discipline and resilience become your greatest assets. “Working out every day and seeing the results was the catalyst for the mindset to always keep going, especially in business,” Manny reflects.
As a teenager, Khoshbin made making money look easy, at first. He earned the $5,000 for his first car by working relentlessly and saving every dollar. “I saved 100 bucks a week on my mattress, literally. So after a year, I had $5,000. I went to auction, bought a 1983 Honda, and that was like my joy.”
His second venture at 19, however, was the start of a string of bad deals brought upon by a combination of bad luck and worse judgment, he says. Khoshbin saved $20,000 to buy a gas station, only to be swindled out of all of it by a fraudulent investor. “Basically, I lost all my money, and I had to go back to zero all over again.”
While back to working long hours to regain what he had lost, he never let the overwhelming stress derail his goals, or his health. He managed to let out his frustrations at the gym, adding marathon workouts to his already overextended workday. The strain of lifting heavy and knocking out as many pullups as possible became the physical remedy he needed.
“I was going to the gym two hours a day,” he says. “That was my first real failure—financially, that was a big blow.”
It took several years, but again, Khoshbin saved enough money for a second business, a neighborhood supermarket. However, again, another outside circumstances sunk this business as well. Khoshbin had to work around the clock before he would eventually be able to sell the business. Again, the same formula, sticking to a routine through good and bad became the formula he still applies today to build confidence and strength in all aspects.
“Instead of giving in, I stuck to my routines, weathered sleepless nights, and finally managed to sell the struggling business,” he says.
Health Has Become True Wealth
Years later, despite being financially secure from a string of successful real estate deals, Manny Khoshbin remains rooted in taking 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 bucks,” he says with a laugh. “I’m frugal when it comes to certain things. But then, if someone comes up and says, ‘Hey buddy, I’ll give you a custom wing for $300,000,’ I’ll probably opt for it.”
Not everything in Khoshbin’s life is high-end. He once tried a hyperbaric chamber but returned it almost immediately. “I’m claustrophobic,” he admits. “I got into it once, and then I returned it.”
When it comes to supplements, creatine is the only one he uses regularly. For rejuvenation, he turns to his sauna, following each session with a cold shower for an instant reset. “I do the sauna for 20 minutes, and I always do a cold shower for a minute or two,” he says. “That just kind of reboots my brain.”
He allows himself some cheat days—enjoying an occasional pizza or treating himself to Houston’s Hawaiian ribeye when out on the town with his wife, Layla.
At home, his refrigerator is stocked with vegetables and grass-fed meats. “My body needs meat,” he says. “I love 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 age 54, amid all the fancy toys, Khoshbin knows the most important gifts in life are family and health. Fitness hasn’t just helped him in business; it’s enabled him to handle the demands of parenting—especially as a parent to a special-needs child. “I have an autistic son that doesn’t sleep much,” he says. “Sometimes I have no energy, but I hit the gym and it restarts my brain, my body.”
Perhaps the most valuable lesson Khoshbin has learned in the weight room is the importance of spending quality time with family. Every pullup, he says, equals one more great day with his loved ones. And that’s something you can’t store in a garage forever.
“My priority would be spending time vacationing with my kids,” he says. “As they get older, they’re not going to want to hang out with you. I told my wife, I said, ‘2026, we’re taking a vacation every two months.’ Put it on our schedule—and it becomes a part of our routine, like a workout.”
