You can vote for ‘Hot Husband’

Tina Catanzaro always knew her husband of eight years, Tony, was hot.
In fact, the night she met him in a Long Island club 14 years ago, he won a hot body contest.
Now she is hoping that he will beat out nearly 2,000 other applicants to win Redbook magazine’s ninth annual “America’s Hottest Husband” contest.
“I was reading Redbook in December [of last year] and saw the contest,” said Tina, 40. “So I sent in a 500-word essay and pictures. At the end of January, an editor called me and said he was a finalist [one of only 24].”
“When Anthony’s wife Tina wrote to us about her husband, his unbelievable kindness really caught our eye,” said Redbook’s deputy editor Jeannie Kim. “He is an amazing friend — literally giving the shirt off his back to someone he cared about. Good looks and a sweet guy — who wouldn’t think he’s a Hot Husband!”
She continued, “In picking the finalists, we weren’t just looking for great smiles and hot bodies. For Redbook, a hot husband is a guy who is both good-looking and a great guy — someone who is strong, sweet, caring, fun to be around, and all those other intangibles that make a man a wonderful husband.”
Tony, a 37-year-old motivational speaker and model, also runs a personal training business out of his home in Ozone Park.
“When I met him I thought he was gorgeous,” said Tina.
Nevertheless, she admits, his appeal extends beyond his physical presence.
“He has such wonderful manners and is so down-to-earth,” she confessed. “He is very old fashioned. He is known not only for his looks, but also for what he stands for and how much compassion he has for the world. He is a wonderful husband and very sensitive as well.”
Tony, the youngest of six children, was encouraged to enter contests by his friends.
“I used to go out to clubs and women would put dollar bills in my pants,” he recalled. “My friends urged me to enter contests. [Eventually] I was banned from competing because I won all the time.”
The Bay Shore, Long Island native and avid entertainer got into working out when he was only 15 and modeling when he was 18.
Today he not only competes as a male fitness model, but also in natural bodybuilding shows all over the country.
His resume includes such notable films as “Carlito’s Way,” TV shows such as “Sex and the City” and “Law & Order,” infomercials, and magazines including Health & Fitness and Playgirl.
Additionally, he has appeared on the covers of numerous romance novels, the latest of which is Perfect Stranger.
“Tina and I have even done novel covers together,” he said. “She’s my other half.”
He is also coming out with a motivational book entitled Reach for the Stars.
Tony says his secret is the proper diet. “I say, ‘eat clean to be lean,’” he said. “No preservatives, all natural, drink only water. I get people excited about living a healthy lifestyle, physically and emotionally.”
He works out at the Gold’s Gym on Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach five days a week, for a little over an hour each time. “I do weights and cardio and focus on my abs every other day at home.”
Despite all his accomplishments, Tony says what he is most proud of is helping others achieve their goals.
“Whether it’s health and fitness, motivation, nutrition or well being, I love to encourage others to follow their dreams,” he said. “I believe we are all born with a purpose, and we should all help each other find that purpose.”
As for Redbook’s “Hottest Husband,” Tony said, “I feel I have a good chance of winning.”