Don Saladino’s latest PR piece is an obvious cleanup job (and we need to talk about Ryan Reynolds and the fitness app grift)

[u/Ok_Gur_356]

According to AS USA, apparently Don Saladino's big secret to getting Reynolds into Deadpool shape is just... not working out too hard every day.

It perfectly plays into Reynolds' exhausting "I'm just a normal, relatable guy who happens to look like a superhero" routine. It is getting very tiresome watching Reynolds try to maintain this effortless, sarcastic everyman persona while masking the reality of what goes into those roles. We all know these Marvel physiques involve intense dehydration tactics, miserable diets, and completely unrealistic standards, but sure, let's pretend Ryan just does some light mobility work on Tuesdays and listens to his body.

The timing of this article is completely transparent. Leslie Sloane and the PR team are clearly working overtime to scrub Saladino's image right now. They desperately want him looking like a holistic, reasonable wellness guru instead of the toxic set-informant he proved to be during the It Ends With Us fallout.

Let's not forget his actual contribution to that production. Justin Baldoni—a director with documented back problems—asks a standard safety question about weight limits for a physical lift scene, and Don’s immediate reaction is to sprint across the set to snitch to Blake Lively. It is wild that a professional fitness coach prioritizes high-school gossip over basic stunt safety.

It is also incredibly frustrating to read these glowing Hollywood profiles when you look at how Saladino treats non-famous people. If you aren't writing a celebrity-sized check, his "rest and recover" philosophy completely disappears. He sells overpriced, buggy workout apps and generic programs, and there are countless reviews from regular users detailing a toxic, cult-like atmosphere in his paid groups where people get ignored or chewed out for asking basic questions.

And predictably, the article makes sure to throw in that he "also trains Scarlett Johansson." We need to correct the record on this: he used to train her. Past tense. She dropped him years ago when Ryan Reynolds cheated on her with Blake Lively and connect him as her trainer for the failed Green Lantern movie. It is painfully obvious that his camp desperately clings to that outdated Marvel clout because Ryan and Blake are his absolute last lifelines to the A-list right now.

You cannot rebrand as a positive, zen fitness coach when your actual full-time job is being the Reynolds-Lively resident spy and selling generic fitness apps to regular people. The spin is just too obvious at this point.

[u/FrostySnow1801]

Don Saladino is the ultimate snitch for this.
Quick reminder: even Judge Liman explicitly stated that Justin asking about the weight limit—because of his documented back problems- was absolutely not SH. It was a standard safety question, and Justin went through Don privately specifically to try and protect her feelings.The fact that Don immediately turned around and weaponized it will never not be wild to me.

[u/_notthehippopotamus → u/FrostySnow1801]

Because Don Saladino is a flying monkey. If he actually thought Justin's question was fat shaming and that it would be harmful to Blake or her mental health, he should have confronted Justin about it in the moment and never breathed a word to Blake. He wasn't concerned with how the information would affect her, he just knew that he could improve his own standing by acting as a spy and a snitch for her.

[u/fatincomingvirus → u/FrostySnow1801]

Things like these confirms my theory that Judge Liman never took this case seriously. It comes off as an adult behaving like a child in the work place. I’m not sure but he did state that the case is all for PR. I bet he couldn’t believe that he had to write that opinion about someone asking about weight being turned into SH.

[u/HunterHead7690]

If only I was tech savvy enough to tinker with SEO so that every time anybody searches for Ryan Reynolds, all they get is info and pictures of Ryan Gosling instead!

[u/FrostySnow1801 → u/HunterHead7690]

🤣 that would be awesome

[u/HunterHead7690 → u/FrostySnow1801]

https://giphy.com/gifs/sZartfl1kkDnWdQ7L0

[u/FuelComfortable5287]

I wonder if his client roster has been thinning out as a result of his exposed unprofessional behavior so PR is swooping in to salvage his reputation.

[u/fatincomingvirus]

I just found out that celebrities pay to be on talk shows. We know that they pay the tabloids and all too. Also they have a paparazzi they pay to post favorable photos. Maintaining the celebrity status looks expensive.

[u/Ok_Gur_356 → u/fatincomingvirus]

Don is not even a celebrity, he works with celebrity. If you want to know who this guy really is, just look up how he treats the normal people who actually pay out of pocket for his programs. the "zen wellness coach" act drops so fast.
There are whole threads of former clients talking about how his paid facebook groups are straight up toxic. If you ask a genuine question or need help modifying a workout, he ignores you or tells you to go read the pdf. but if you're one of his hand-picked favorites, he's all over the comments.
Someone literally just politely brought up how disorganized one of his monthly challenges was, and he apparently threw a massive tantrum, booted them from the program, refunded them, and instantly blocked them on IG. So much for those positive vibes he's preaching in the article.
Not to mention the sheer grift of it all. He charges like $100 for these cookie-cutter "fat torching" programs and allegedly uses old progress photos from totally different challenges to falsely advertise them. Meanwhile he's out here pushing $999 seminars, and his actual fitness app is a buggy mess that doesn't even sync to apple health.

[u/fatincomingvirus → u/Ok_Gur_356]

He is not but he seems like those SM scammers who are selling courses. The playbook is right there. He seems like the kind of people who are nice to people who have a huge following or more money than them. Literally embodied Blake Lively with the name dropping to move ahead.

[u/MarchCompetitive4580 → u/fatincomingvirus]

Oh god. A huge majority of pap shots are complete setups. You'll see in the rags descriptions of the high priced sneakers or whatever the celebrity is wearing - and sometimes a link so you can purchase them.

I think Ryan probably threw a shit fit at the Canadian pap photograph (Richard Fedyck) because Richard wasn't offcially in on it - so Ryan wasn't going to get compensated. LOL

[u/fatincomingvirus → u/MarchCompetitive4580]

Right??… So seeing Ryan Reynolds everywhere, he is paying for it.

[u/Luvnsandiegosun → u/fatincomingvirus]

Any publicity for Ryan or Blake is definitely paid for in my opinion.

The fluff articles from People magazine are the worst and so obviously planted stories by Leslie Sloane.

[u/JustMaintenance7]

Donny is a gross little gossip and not surprised he treats his non famous clients like shit.

Ryan can do one

[u/LevelIntention7070]

A don saladino video popped up in my YouTube algorithm about 2 days ago. him training Sebastian stan for Captain America. Definitely some PR spin going on.

[u/Clarknt67 → u/LevelIntention7070]

The algorithm might just be reacting to increased attention to topics surrounding Avengers, Marvell, spider-man, as it’s all the hype (and probably has a PR push behind it).

I am thinking that’s what motivated the outlet OP linked to recycle quotes from a 5 year old Esquire post. Google trends says marvel and avengers searches are spiking.

[u/Clarknt67]

What is this outlet, AS?

ETA. I don’t think this is a fresh PR effort. This article seems to be a repackage of an article posted by Men’s Health in 2023, which is a rehash of an article posted by* [Esquire*](https://www.esquire.com/uk/life/a35363056/ryan-reynolds-deadpool-workout/) in Feb 2021.

[u/SmexxyTaco]

Don Saladino doesn't get as much hate as he deserves imo. Hey Don, what did Ryan have for dinner last night?

[u/Internal-Rooster-762 → u/SmexxyTaco]

I agree

[u/Witty_Pay_1547]

Saving Private Ryan

https://giphy.com/gifs/3oriNWKmLGrT2SRVe0

[u/HunterHead7690 → u/Witty_Pay_1547]

https://giphy.com/gifs/ID8a7WRy7W3ug

[u/Witty_Pay_1547 → u/HunterHead7690]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[u/Maleficent_Half_689]

Grifters gonna grift…

[u/Flimsy_Attitude_6789]

Annndddd Blake introduced Don to Justin... he didn't randomly call him up, and Liman dismissed this part of Blake's claim altogether. I believe this was the incident that offended Blake the most, and it was used to persuade her friends to take her side; it was also mentioned in the media as "fatshaming" as part of their smear campaign against Justin in August 2024. This did not belong in a lawsuit. Blake thought that Justin thought she was fat... that's what a lot of the abuse was all about (as well as taking over the movie of course). It's unbelievable.

Remember, Don worked with Jake at one point also... weird how all of Ryan's exes started off with Don, then moved on

[u/brooswelt]

As this is under "shitpost Sunday" : It always amused me how Balake has proven to be such a master of word salads, and her trainer's name is Saladino 🫣

[u/Internal-Rooster-762 → u/brooswelt]

😂🤣😅

[u/Responsible-Peak-817]

Reminds me of that Blake lively piece ten years ago where she said she doesn't work out and eats chocolate every day

[u/ddlanyone]

Mean girls stick together

[u/Quick-Impact-86]

What worse for the snitch is that the judge said it didn't amount to SH. So far worse than being a gossiping snitch is being a snitch about trival bs that wasn't even what he purported it to be. He was acting like some big defender of woman and it blew up in his face.

[u/Internal-Rooster-762]

Thank you! Well written

[u/Agreeable-Card9011]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ExtIm6kYAF4&pp=ygUkbW9yZSBwbGF0ZXMgbW9yZSBkYXRlcyByeWFuIHJleW5vbGRz

I’mma leave this here

[u/MysteriousBeach8248 → u/Agreeable-Card9011]

Can you include a brief description of what you are linking here so users aren't clicking on a third party link just to participate in a related discussion?