Great Times & Tan Lines

RON RICE is a self-built American success story. Growing up outside Asheville, North Carolina, in a modest household in the country raised with old- fashioned values, Ron developed his robust work grade school. After graduating from the University of Tennessee

and moving to Daytona Beach, Florida, he labored long hours for little pay as a high school chemistry teacher, lifeguard and assistant football coach until he spent four dollars for a metal garbage can in which he mixed some oils to create a sun-tan product that would ultimately make him wealthy and change his life forever.

Behind Ron’s unique marketing strategies focused on hosting beauty pageants to promote the company’s brand, Hawaiian Tropic quickly became a household name and a large part of Americana. In this book, Ron describes how he then guided his company to $4 billion in lifetime sales after opening 13 factories located around the world. And yet he always had plenty of fun along the way, dating models and mingling with celebrities from movie stars to comedians to rock stars, as Ron’s beachfront Florida mansion became a frequent host for A-list parties throughout the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. Behind Ron’s unique marketing strategies focused on hosting beauty pageants to promote the company’s brand, Hawaiian Tropic quickly became a household name and a large part of Americana. In this book, Ron describes how he then guided his company to $4 billion in lifetime sales after opening 13 factories located around the world. And yet he always had plenty of fun along the way, dating models and mingling with celebrities from movie stars to comedians to rock stars, as Ron’s beachfront Florida mansion became a frequent host for A-list parties throughout the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s.

Read how Ron skied with Sonny Bono weeks before his death on the slopes of Lake Tahoe, wowed Michael Douglas at the Cannes Film Festival, alienated famous drummers Dennis Wilson and Ringo Starr, worked on movie sets with Burt Reynolds and Jim Carrey, once appeared on “Seinfeld,” sponsored the Beach Boys in concert, and constantly feuded with singer John Denver. Ron’s amazing life story is part- business, part-celebrity and yet offers plenty of lessons in leadership and motivation and is an engaging and at times a hilarious read.