1. 70 ❘ SMART TAN MAGAZINE ❘ NOVEMBER 2015 WWW.SMARTTAN.COM
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WWW.SMARTTAN.COM NOVEMBER 2015 ❘ SMART TAN MAGAZINE ❘ 71
THE AMERICAN DREAM
a s o l d i e r ’ s
i n s p i r i n g j o u r n e y
i n i n d o o r t a n n i n g
T
he indoor tanning community has always been filled
with a rich diversity of entrepreneurial stories. In
the 1980s, blind backers were investing in a totally
unknown market with the tanning industry. Today, the
market’s ripe with investors betting on new business
models to move the market forward.
It’s these types of salon owners that break the stereotypes
and illustrate why you should feel fulfilled by your role in
this industry. They give new meaning to the term “tanning
salon owner” and are defying barriers and making strides.
These people are championing change and making the
sunshine business proud - Gary Bodony is the prime
example of this in the modern tanning market.
Gary Bodony illustrates how salon owners are more than
their typecasts – they’re the fabric of America. They’re
people who’ve invested their livelihood into bettering the
community. Gary thinks that his business in the tanning
industry has provided him with the American Dream.
When asked how he feels he fits into the category of “living
the American Dream,” he said, “Want to talk American
Dream? Being able to create something and have it be your
own, and to grow and be successful with it - that’s where
I’m at. I couldn’t just go do a nine-to-five job and work for
somebody else’s American Dream – mine is building my
own company.”
Since joining the industry in 2009, Gary has seen it go
through the recession, regulations and the loss of thousands
of salons. In his opinion, this has taught him that nothing
is ever going to be easy. He believes you always have to
outthink what’s going on in the market, so you can be better
than your competition – but he also credits his career in the
military for his drive.
“The American Dream is something you have to fight for
every day. When I put on my military hat, get deployed and
am fighting on the other side of the world, I have a better
perspective of what I’m fighting for than the others I’m
with, because I’m trying to live that American Dream and
fighting for it on both ends,” says Gary.
It’s the heroes of this industry that prove that tanning can
deliver more than just a bronze glow, and one man’s unique
B y S a m a n t h a S h i n e