If you were alive in the 90s, you remember the shock of that platinum buzz cut, the electric energy, and the catchphrase that became a cultural lightning bolt: “Stop the Insanity!” Susan Powter wasn’t just a wellness guru—she was a phenomenon. Her infomercials dominated late-night TV, her books hit the New York Times bestseller list, she hosted her own talk show, and her face became instantly recognizable on shelves and screens everywhere.
And then… she vanished.
This week, Susan Powter joins me to talk about the new documentary Stop The Insanity: Finding Susan Powter, now available on iTunes and Amazon. (The documentary is currently trending as #1 on both.) The film traces her meteoric rise and the devastating series of lawsuits that ultimately drove her out of the spotlight and into a life of near-total isolation in Las Vegas. For two decades, she has lived below the poverty line—far from the world that once couldn’t get enough of her.
In our conversation, Susan reflects on the whirlwind of fame, the collapse that followed, and what it means to tell her story now. Is her message still as urgent and empowering today as it was in the early 90s? And what would it take for her to return to audiences who, frankly, might need her voice more than ever?
This is Susan Powter as you’ve never heard her, candid, unfiltered, and ready to revisit the insanity she once begged us all to stop.
I was thinking during that interview “Has Kate even spoken or been able to ask a question?”. It seemed like manic energy. I do absolutely wish her well going forward because she has been through so much.
Fantastic interview! Listening to her speak is like hearing from an old friend, I missed her! I had all her videos and books - her videos were the first time I’d seen people who looked just like me represented in an exercise video.