PERHAPS MORE THAN ANY OTHER PERSON, Jack LaLanne embodies the ideals of a fitness coach. In 2008, I had the chance to get to know the late 96-year-old legend.

Jack’s staggering accomplishments, like his energy, have no end in sight. He started 200 Jack LaLanne Fitness Clubs throughout the U.S. (which later became Bally’s) and invented many of the weight machines we use today. He’s broken several world records, including swimming from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco while handcuffed, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He’s been quoted as saying: “I cannot afford to die, it will ruin my image.”

After combing through his answers, I’m reminded of Yoda’s statement to Luke in Star Wars: “Size matters not; look at me.” His statements may be simple, but in true guru form, they resonate with clarity and depth.

SAM PAGE: How has your fitness lifestyle played a role or contributed to your successful marriage?

JACK LALANNE: Both my wife and I have our health, lots of energy & vitality, and pride in how we look and feel, which has contributed to our marriage.

Is there one exercise that you still do on a regular basis?

Swimming.

There’s been a lot of news coverage about doping and steroid use in sports—what’s your take on all that?

If you take steroids, you have to pay the price. They can kill you; there are no shortcuts. It’s like going to bed with a rattlesnake, it’s got to get you.

I read an interview in which you specifcally mentioned, in particular: the importance of pride and discipline.

Yes—pride & discipline. Pride, because you should be proud of what you’re doing, but not conceited. If you can’t be proud of yourself, you’re a failure. Kids need to be taught this in the schools. And discipline. To do anything in life you have to have discipline. To accomplish anything, you have a goal, challenge yourself, and work until you accomplish that goal. Practice what you preach.

What’s the hardest thing you did in your career as a fitness coach?

When I quit eating all that junk food and started exercising when I was 15—I exchanged bad habits with good habits. Also, all my birthday feats.

There have been so many stories in the news lately about celebrities who may look great physically, but they’ve gotten in trouble with the law for using drugs and alcohol. Do you think using substances undercut your health & fitness, and how have you avoided falling into that trap in your own life?

They lost their pride & discipline. You have to figure out: “What does it do for me? Is it going to make me feel better, live longer?” Goals & challenges are my drugs.

You once said:  “Jesus performed miracles to call attention to his profession. I do these physical feats to call attention to my profession” At 93 years old, what are your physical goals for yourself?

Anything in life is possible if you MAKE it happen. My physical goals are to keep doing what I’m doing. I can’t do what I did at 21, but I can help people and want to LIVE while I’m living.

As a trainer who feels “called” to the profession, what advice do you have as I grow my practice?

Be an example of what you teach. [As a personal trainer], delve into your student’s life, know everything about him. Be interested.

If you had to distill your life’s work into one message that you could “send out to the world” for all time and eternity, what would it be?

Anything in life is possible, if you MAKE it happen. So, never get satisfied. The minute you stop trying, you go downhill.

Anything you’d like to add?

The MOST IMPORTANT person on this earth is YOU. What are YOU doing to help the most important person in this world: YOU? To live right, you have to exercise, have goals and challenges.

Never, ever get satisfied; keep the carrot in front of the horse. I’ve never been satisfied, I keep striving for more

© 2013 SAM PAGE | about

My interview with adult film legend Aiden Shaw is the cover story of the January/February 2010 issue of HIV Plus magazine. In the piece, Aiden talks about his newest book and second autobiography, Sordid Truths. Here’s a link to the story (after the jump)… http://su.pr/2LYZ7m

OK, they’re French and adorable. But Bronson’s interview (and exclusive photo) of the Daft Punk hotties who made the wildly popular YouTube video only increased my admiration of their artistry.

Great interview, Bronson!

]]> http://www.peacelovelunges.com/blog/interviews/daft-punk-hotties-interviewed-on-lovesick-billy/feed/ 0 http://www.peacelovelunges.com/blog/health/brad-pitt-i-quit-smoking/ http://www.peacelovelunges.com/blog/health/brad-pitt-i-quit-smoking/#comments Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:30:05 +0000 Sam Page, CFT http://www.peacelovelunges.com/?p=5021 Brad Pitt testifies to the power of fundamental choice, telling W Magazine that becoming a father inspired him to quit smoking cigarettes:

In the late 90′s, Brad was something of a slacker, “spending too much time smoking things I shouldn’t be,” Pitt recalls. “I was asking, What’s it about? It couldn’t just be wanting a successful movie or something. Then I got more engaged, started studying more and [my] interests blossomed.”

Pitt admits that his own mortality frightens him—”I’m scared to death of death,” he says—and he also acknowledges that becoming a father inspired him to give up a deadly 20-year habit. “I quit smoking,” he says when asked how family life has changed him. “‘That was the only thing that got me to quit. That was it. Done.”

Here’s my list:

1. I moved to Los Angeles 15 years ago, and while I’ve found so much success and happiness here, I miss living in a smaller town.
2. I’m trying on the idea of a life without shame.
3. A quote that’s really stuck with me:
   “Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” (Eleanor Roosevelt).
4. I’m planning to uncover what’s physically possible if I honestly cleaned up my nutrition. I’m using a great website to track my nutrition (thanks, Eric).
5. At 6-foot-3-inches I’m somewhat clumsy and struggle with spatial awareness. Like, this week while training a client, I nearly tipped over backwards when I tripped over my own foot. Luckily, I caught myself.
6. After eight years bleaching my hair, I’m making a conscious choice to embrace the gray, a la Anderson Cooper.
7. Sex, sunsets, Bronson, and licorice. What more does a guy need?
8. I love film scores, and they’ve formed the soundtracks to many periods of my life. A few of my favorites: Brokeback Mountain, Moulin Rouge, and Run Lola Run.
9. I eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich pretty much every day.
10. My favorite food used to be chicken fajitas, but it’sbeen replaced by my mother-in-law’s slum gullion, which is sublime.
11. I consider myself a Zen Christian, a term coined by my college journalism professor Michael Kirkhorn (R.I.P.) On that note, I believe that a historical person named Jesus existed, but I don’t believe he was the only manifestation of the divine. I believe there are many names for what we call “God” and that no one religious sect has a corner on the truth.
12. Speaking of college, I attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, known for its basketball team. After graduating with a double major in speech and journalism, I made ends meet working as a funeral singer.
13. I’ve performed in the following operas:  Die Fledermaus, the Ballad of Baby Doe, and La Boheme.  I’ve auditioned for both the Metropolitan and Los Angeles Opera companies.
14. The habit I’d most like to break is biting my cuticles.
15. I found a copy of Playgirl when I was 5, and shoplifted a red Speedo at age 13. Seven years later, at age 22, I came out as a gay man. I was diagnosed HIV+ at 29, after a year of performing in adult films. I’m not implying any kind of cause and effect—that’s just the timeline.  I have no regrets.
16. For the last eight years, I’ve been working full time as a personal trainer. My decision to become a trainer was directly informed by my desire to take my health and fitness more seriously in the wake of the above diagnosis. But, I’m not perfect and I’m always trying to find balance and get out of my own way.
17. If I forget my headphones in the gym, I’m screwed. I work out almost every weekday, but I don’t do enough cardio. As a way to keep me accountable, I started posting photographs of the LED screen from my time on the cardio machines to my Facebook profile.
18. I’m rethinking how I feel about the terms “fag” and “queer.”  I get the whole “reclaiming the word” thing, but I reject that the words ever belonged to the gay community in the first place. How can a pejorative term ever be reconstituted as positive?
19. The physical accomplishment of which I’m the proudest is completing the 2000 AIDSRide from San Francisco to Los Angeles, which took 7 days and a whole lot of Gatorade.
20. The first book I remember reading is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, but I don’t really like fiction.  I have a tattoo of  the main character, “wild” Max, on my right shoulder.  My second tattoo (the word “Discipline” across my back) took four hours. The tattoos taken together represent for me the dynamic tension of my life experience.
21. The last book I read was Where’s My Fifteen Minutes by Howard Bragman—a really great read.
22. My favorite sound are “I’m home,” which is tied with the sound of a rainstorm pounding against the roof.  The two together?  Heaven.
23. My favorite quote of all time:
    “I want to beg you, as much as I can, be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves—they are like locked rooms or books written in a foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you now because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live some distant day into the answer.” (Rainer Maria Rilke,  Letters to a Young Poet).
24. I don’t agree with Rush Limbaugh or Dr. Laura, but I listen to both of them. Show me an absolutist and I’ll show you a hypocrite.
25. Everyone should work in a bar or wait tables at least once. It’s a microcosm for the whole world. Also, there’s no place on Earth more humbling than a porn set.

After the disastrous No on 8 campaign (which Robin Tyler and I talked about), I’m really glad to see cool new grassroots sites like this one launched by my buddy Rick Garman.

Here’s a little background about this important site and how you can help:

How did you come up with the idea for Citizens for Equality and the “We Are” Campaign?

RICK: I actually came up with the idea of an elected body of representatives for the gay community a long time ago when I got frustrated with what I saw as a lack of true leadership and leaders. But it was what I believe was a disorganized and poorly run campaign against Proposition 8 (along with my questions about whether gay marriage is the actual battle we should be putting all of our resources and energy behind) that made me finally do something about it.

The “We Are” campaign became the launching pad for Citizens For Equality as a way to get people involved and engaged.  I got that idea from the sorryeverybody.com website where people sent in pictures of themselves with sign apologizing to the works for the 2004 election of George bush.

I love that all the images use the words, “We Are” — why did you choose that language?

I wanted “We Are” for it’s positivity.  To show the world that we are just like everyone else.  We are doctors and lawyers, mothers and fathers, husbands, wives, strong, weak, young, old, worried about the economy, worried about the environment, bowlers, card players, Christian, Jewish… We are human and if people can see that, they may be a little less inclined to do things like vote yes on Prop 8.  Imagine hundreds, thousands…. More… of those photos saying We Are… What a statement that will make!

What are you asking folks to do?

People can get involved in a variety of ways.  They can send in a picture through the website and encourage others to do the same.  All of the instructions and guidelines plus a bunch of suggestions are on the site.  And remember, our straight friends can participate too. People can also join the organization by filling out a simple form.

We are also actively seeking people to be on the steering committee that will set up the elections for (hopefully) late 2009 and people will be able to register and vote for their representatives and on other issues.  We’ll be seeking candidates and advisors also of course.  But the best way to stay informed is to join on the website.

The Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice Parole Board approved MARK DALTON, (a.k.a. Jeremy Sons) today, for parole on February 16, 2009. Dalton has been incarcerated for 18 ½ months due to a parole violation. The last several months he was housed at the Mineral Wells facility, east of Ft. Worth. He will parole to his hometown of Denton, TX.

Dalton’s last adult film appearance was in the highly successful, “Mark Meets Zeb: The Texas Two-Step.” And, prior to that, he starred in Falcon’s blockbuster, “Super Soaked.”

There are no plans, yet, for any adult film projects or live appearances. PLL has been trying to secure an interview with Dalton since last year.

When I saw a poster about Dallas Malloy’s 1993 groundbreaking boxing match on the walls at Bodybuilders Gym, I inquired about boxing lessons. In our brief exchange, I immediately recognized something special about her; here in LA, we call it “star quality.” And you probably remember Dallas’ cameo appearance (playing herself) in the opening minutes of the film Jerry Maguire. Not only is she a groundbreaking female athlete, but a champion competitive bodybuilder, writer, and personal trainer. And this coming Tuesday, December 30, she’s the newest guest star on ABC’s Eli Stone.

SAM:  I think it’s awesome that you were singled out to appear as yourself in the film “Jerry Maguire” as a rebel/athlete in the world of amateur female boxing. What was that like?

It was a wonderful experience, Cameron Crowe was a delight to work with, and Tom Cruise was a prince—he was so down-to-earth, he was asking me about my boxing experience, it was great.  I made amateur boxing history when I was 16, when I became the first female to have a sanctioned amateur bout.  Until then, females were excluded from amateur boxing, so I filed a discrimination suit with the help of the ACLU and forced them to set up a women’s division, I won my match in court and in the ring—by unanimous decision.

You live in Los Angeles—how do you recharge yourself and get inspired here?

My work inspires me—I have extensive theater training, starting a new role, a new project, seeing great work inspires me.  My relentless drive/intention keeps me going.

Tell us about your upcoming role on ABC and what you’ve learned about yourself?

In this episode titled “Two Ministers” I’m playing a transsexual minister who has been fired from his church after getting his sex change (to male), and goes to Eli Stone’s law firm for help.  This character resonated with me from the moment I heard about him.  He has a passion to help others—his life work as a minister, and he insists on being true to himself even though he is condemned because of it.  This experience was truly indescribable, for one, the cast and crew were an absolute dream, the writing is brilliant and meaningful.  From this experience my awareness of myself has deepened, my understanding of and embracing the total complexity of gender.

How has your approach to health & fitness changed over the last 10 years?  How have you changed?

Frequently in my life, I’ve had to go to extremes to ultimately find balance, and health and fitness is no exception.  I’m a recovering alcoholic, so before I got sober almost 12 years ago I was at the opposite end of health in every way.  Two years later I stopped smoking, began working out again, changed my eating habits, later studied naturopathy—natural health using nutrition and herbs … a constant evolution of learning sums up my life.  Then, I started competing in bodybuilding in 2006, where your results are almost entirely due to nutrition.  I’m always learning, and I’ve become more intuitive about my body and what I need.  I learn so much from personal training as well, I learn from my clients—everyone is unique. Experience is the best teacher.

What advice would you give someone moving to Los Angeles for the first time?

What are you crazy?  [Laughs] OK, I guess I’ll have to quote Bette Davis and say “Take Fountain” (avenue that is).

Are there any causes near and dear to your heart?

Gay rights, transgender rights, elderly rights, and animal rights.

Anything that you’d like to add?

People that say you can’t do something, that it’s impossible, or can’t be done, they’re always wrong.  Also, I would say to someone who has been judged and misunderstood, even hated, that someone else’s judgment doesn’t define you, you have to believe in yourself.  Believe in yourself, find those that believe in you and forget the rest.

Dallas Malloy’s episode of “Eli Stone” airs Tuesday, December 30 at 10PM Pacific on ABC. You can learn more about Dallas on her website.

Are there any charitable organizations really “doing it right” in your view?

No charity that receives the majority of its support from the general public can dare to do it right. In the current climate, it would almost be irresponsible; they’d lose their support — they’d be subject to scandal.

In the book, I talk about five double standards between the nonprofit sector and the rest of the economic world. We let business pay people based on value. But we don’t want people making money in charity. Want to make a million as a CEO selling violent video games to kids? Go for it. Want to make a million curing kids of cancer? You’re a parasite. So our top business school grads gravitate to the for-profit sector. We let business advertise ‘til the last dollar no longer produces a penny of value, but we don’t want charitable donations spent on advertising. So charities can’t build demand for causes. Budweiser’s all over the Superbowl. AIDS and Darfur? Absent.

Sounds like there’s kind of a double standard going on.

We let business make mistakes, but expect charity to spend contributions cautiously. It’s OK if a $100 million Disney movie flops, but if a $5 million charity walk doesn’t show a 75 percent profit year one? Call the attorney general. So charities can’t develop learning curves for revenue generation. Amazon could forgo investor returns for six years to build market dominance. But if a charity embarks on a long-term plan with no return for the needy for six years we expect a crucifixion. Business can offer profits to attract investment capital. But you can’t pay a profit off of investment in charity — it’s illegal. So the for-profit sector monopolizes the multi-trillion dollar capital markets.

You get the picture: anything a charity might do to test the rules brings a guillotine down on its reputation.

Was the timing of the book release (after the election) a coincidence?

A complete coincidence, unless of course you believe in some kind of divine synchronicity in the universe — which i do. I think it’s a fertile time for imaginative ideas and transformative thinking.

Should government have a role in changing the ways charitable organizations work?

Yes, absolutely. Government can make a big difference, on two fronts in particular. The government should fund a large national charity data agency — what I call the “Super Database for Charity,” that would have an iTunes-like, easy-to-understand user interface on front of a massive database of up-to-date narrative, audio, video and financial information on every major human service charity in America.

Yeah, it blows my mind that something like that doesn’t exist already.

Americans give $300 billion a year to charity. Know what we spend to make sure the giving is smart? Almost nothing. There are three national “watchdog” agencies — the Better Business Bureau, Charity Navigator, and the American institute for Philanthropy. Collectively, they have about 40 staff and annual budgets of less than $5 million — a statistical zero percent of the $300 billion we give away each year. They look at fewer than 5,000 of the 1.6 million registered U.S. nonprofits, and they don’t look at program quality — which is all any of us should give a damn about.

Okay, so what do we need from the government, specifically?

We need an agency that has teams of surveyors that visit every major charity each year to conduct a week-long study and gather rich multimedia data on the charity’s work that the public can view online. This would require somewhere in the neighborhood of a billion dollars (less than half of one percent of the money we give away each year). For a billion dollars a year we could transform charity as we know it — get people to stop asking only about overhead, get them rich information on charity programs and long-term goals, which is what really matters, increase faith in charity, and increase giving as a result.

We also need to change the tax code in two areas: first, to allow people to make a financial return off of capital investment in charity so charities can raise growth capital, and second, offer tax-deductibility for social good embedded in consumer goods.

If asked to be the “Charity Czar” in Barack Obama’s administration, what advice would you give the president?

Fund “the Super Database for Charity” and change the tax code.

You live and work in Los Angeles. Is L.A. a particularly charitable city?

Not with respect to dating when you get older, but fortunately, I have a partner for eight years now.

This is your second book. Did you learn anything about yourself as you were writing it?

I learned that I really love history — I spent six months doing in-depth research on the earliest Puritan settlers to America and their ideas about charity. It was like detective work. I found the smoking gun. I also learned to trust my instincts — I didn’t know that in the days when we were being pretty viciously attacked for trying things in a new way.

How do you think social networking sites (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, MySpace) should be leveraged to change the ways charitable organizations work?

They’re a form of marketing, and charities should put a lot of resource into reaching out through them, as well as into other forms of marketing. marketing builds demand, demand builds revenues, revenues create social change.

Has being a father changed the way you think about these issues?

Absolutely. I worry now about the world my children will grow up in. More than ever, I want a serious say in what that world will look like. I believe we can create a world that works for everyone, and i want to play a role in creating it.

What’s next?

I’m going to leave that up to God a little bit – but three things that interest me – running for public office, creating the Super Database for Charity, and re-creating Pallotta TeamWorks and making good on its vision of creating the “Disney of Meaning.”

For more, check out the book’s website.

There are interviews you skim, and then there are interviews you read—all the way to the end. This week’s issue of the Advocate declaring “gay is the new black” nailed it, and Robin Tyler has an important message that will hit home at this moment in history—a moment that could be the tipping point of our movement.

Robin (left) and her wife, Diane Olson, were the first challengers to California’s ban on same-sex marriage in February of 2004.  A blogger, world traveler, stand up comic and activist, Tyler has been an integral part of the grassroots movement in the gay and lesbian community for more than 30 years, including roles as the executive director of the Equality Campaign, and the co-founder of Stop Dr Laura.  As pioneers in this civil rights struggle for marriage equality, Robin and Diane were the only couple in Los Angeles county to receive a marriage license on June 16, and on that day in front of the Beverly Hills courthouse, they were married.

On Nov. 5 of this year, just after the passage of California’s Proposition 8, Robin & Diane filed a brief with the California State Supreme Court asking that Proposition 8 be overturned on the basis of it being unconstitutional in California. The Court agreed to hear the petition, and Robin generously agreed to answer some questions here on PLL about this important moment in history.

Some Gen-X and Gen-Y friends of mine are “unaware” or somewhat oblivious to the historic struggle for equal rights for gays and lesbians. Could you put into historical context for these young people why marriage equality should matter to them?

Two gay men were married in Minnesota in 1971 and they are still married.  Two men were married in Arizona in 1974, and they are still married.  At every LGBT march on Washington, we have done marriage equality protests, because we have always seen this issue as an essential civil rights issue.  Marriage equality means that our relationships are recognized by society as valid and equal to heterosexual committed relationships.   Relegating same-sex couples to domestic partnerships or civil unions (even if these came with over 1,000 federal benefits, which they don’t), is marriage segregation. When African-Americans were forced to drink from separate water fountains, separate was not equal.  Even though the water being served was identical, it meant that African-Americans were considered less worthy, and therefore, not entitled to drink from a white water fountain.  This was called segregation, part of a pattern to keep African-Americans  “in their place.”

Well, the issue for the religious right isn’t about marriage.  Otherwise, they would not have passed the amendment in Florida, which denies legal recognition in any form for same-sex couples.  It is simply, hiding behind religious beliefs in order to perpetuate discrimination.  It’s based on three things: hate, fear, and a lack of self-esteem on the part of the religious right.  In order for them to feel superior, they need to make others inferior.  This is what I mean by a lack of self-esteem.  So, deny marriage rights to same-sex couples is part of a pattern of ‘keeping us in our place.’

A lot of people are comparing this moment in history to Stonewall. Do you think the comparison of the recent street demonstrations to the Stonewall movement is accurate?

Yes, I think that the comparison to Stonewall is accurate.  But, despite four marches on Washington (I called for the first and fourth, and produced the main stages for the first three) we have not obtained one civil right on a federal level.  Why?  Because the Democratic party (and I am a Democrat) has never fulfilled one promise in three decades, to the LGBT community.   There are so many other countries who have ruled for total equal rights for LGBT people, that the USA is seen as backwards.  Obviously, the LGBT Washington-based organizations have done nothing but capitulate to the Democratic party.  We cannot depend on them anymore.  We need to stay in the streets, demand equality from the Democratic party, and tie up the court system until this issue clogs every state court in the country.

Many people take an armchair attitude toward public policy, preferring to sit back and watch others on the front lines do the work. Was there an “A-ha!” moment for you when the ‘light went on, when you were inspired and knew you had a special role to play in this movement?

I knew it in 1962. I was at a drag ball in New York, (dressed as a woman).  It was raided and 44 men and I were arrested for female impersonation.  I was just a kid, and afraid to call my parents in Canada.  So, I called the New York Post, and the headlines were “44 men and one woman arrested for female impersonation.”  The cops were calling everyone names, and beat on us as they arrested us.  This radicalized me, although I was out of the closet at age 16, holding up signs [saying] “gay is good” in Winnipeg, Canada (1958).

(I later went on to become a “female impersonator” at the 82 club.  I did Judy Garland, so the arrest got me my first job in show business.)

How has the legal battle for marriage equality and the media attention affected your relationship with Diane?

The media attention has not affected us whatsoever.  Diane and I function as activists, and don’t consider ourselves celebrities.  You can’t take press home with you. And if one lives for it, (which neither of us don’t) then when it is over (and in reality, fame only lasts 15 minutes) there is nothing left. Diane and I are happy that the issue is getting so much attention. But, we stand with thousands of activists who are fighting for this cause, and because we are part of a passionate movement, it only brings us closer together. It is an honor to be part of such a great civil rights struggle.

Has the attention affected other couples?

The Goodrich couple—lead plaintiffs in Massachusetts broke up, as did Woo (vs. San Francisco). We thought this might be because of the personal media attention. (I have been an activist in the media since the 1970′s.  I also was signed with ABC television, and when I starred in a show, the all national news broadcasts (mid-70′s) carried a story saying “avowed” lesbian Robin Tyler, star of the Krofft Comedy Hour, takes on Anita Bryant.”  Diane’s grandfather, Culbert Levy Olson was the first elected Democratic Governor of California in the last century (1938-1942.)  He was very controversial as he ran on the platform of “separation of church and state.”  So, she is used to her family getting a lot of attention and being controversial).

What do your “instincts” tell you about what the outcome with the California Supreme Court will be?

My instincts say we will win.  But I am not an attorney which is why I am an optimist.  (I bet Kate Kendell $100 that we would win. She took the bet, and said she hopes she loses).  Obviously, the rights of a minority cannot be taken away by a majority.  So, if the CA Supreme Court follows the law, and the Constitution,  Prop 8 will be made invalid.  If they don’t, tens of thousands of us will be on the streets that night.  If they do rule for us, we will dedicate ourselves to protecting their jobs, which have been threatened by the religious right.

Boycotts have been called on several businesses around the nation who have connections to “Yes on 8.” Do you think boycotts work? How do you think people should respond to these businesses?

Whether boycotts work or not—on a personal level, I don’t want to give money to a restaurant, business or support or work with anyone who would keep me in a position of being a second class citizen. We are a civil rights movement, and this is not about their religious freedom. This is about us finally standing up and saying we are mad as hell, and we are not going to take it any more.  What part of equality don’t they understand?  The public has more sympathy for the couple of bigots who have been forced out of their jobs then the fact that in 30 states, a lesbian or gay man can be fired from their job, just for being gay. We don’t want to work with people who were contributed money to take us (for the first time in American history) out of a constitution.

How do you think the recent “No on 8″ campaign was managed? Did we miscalculate the challenge from our opponents?

The No on 8 campaign was very badly managed, especially here in Los Angeles, where we should have won.  They did not do outreach to people of color, they hid behind their stone walls, and did not allow experienced activists and campaign people to help at all.  And their greatest mistake was not showing same-sex couples.  In the movie Milk, it showed that the one lesson we learned fighting Prop 6 (to stop lesbians and gays from teaching school in California) was that we need to be visible. By being visible, and on the streets and out, in the 1970′s, we took a campaign that was 90% against us (the Briggs Initiative) and won.

Has anything good come from the defeat?  Any lessons you see for our community?

Since Nov. 5, with huge protests happening all over the country, eight percent of “Yes on 8″ people would now vote “no.” This means that watching the protests and understanding the issue changed their minds.  The “No on 8″ people made our community invisible. The only good thing that came out of it is had we won Prop 8, it would have proved them right, that if we stay invisible and “quiet” we will win our rights.  Well, those older activists of us knew this would lose the campaign for us. We will never be invisible and stay quiet again.  And, we will never get off the streets. Those are two good things that came out of the loss.

What do you think is the strongest argument for gay marriage, that might appeal to someone who is undecided?

We are not a movement fighting for a “lifestyle.” We are fighting for our lives.  We are fighting for the right to love, and want that love recognized in an equal relationship to heterosexual marriages.  And yes—we want the word marriage.  Our same-sex marriages do not diminish other people’s marriages.  If anything, we strengthen marriage.  At least six to 10 percent of your children are going to grow up lesbian or gay.  That is their orientation.  If you love your children, you will want every right and opportunity extended to them as to your non-gay children, for all children are important.  Marriage is a civil contract, and no religion is forced to marry same-sex couples. Stop being afraid.  Step out of the shadow of prejudice and discrimination, and come into the light.  That is where spirituality truly exists.  We are waiting for you.

What has been the most inspiring or illuminating moment in this journey for the freedom to marry?

When Diane and I filed the first lawsuit, many of the gay organizations were angry that we dared to file it without asking them.  They said because most of the California Supreme court were Republican appointees, we would lose, and set the gay rights movement back decades.  We sued anyway. My union, AFTRA, was going to deny Diane medical coverage after I retired, because we weren’t married.  (They said that once I retired, “domestic partnership” would not qualify for medical benefits. They changed their policy after the enormous press the lawsuit got, in which I mentioned the AFTRA policy).  So, I could not wait for these organizations to give us the “thumbs up.”  Besides, I had been working for marriage equality since 1974.

We were in our attorney’s office when we heard the ruling.  We cried in each other’s arms.  The California Supreme Court’s decision to make us a “Suspect Class entitled to all rights that everyone else has” was my most illuminating moment in this journey for the freedom to marry.

And, because we were the first lesbian plaintiffs,  when the County of Los Angeles allowed us to be the only couple to marry in Los Angeles County on June 16, we finally felt that someone had recognized our contribution.

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1392383&w=425&h=350&fv=]

Special thanks to my amazing editor, Andrew Mersmann, and publisher Don Tuthill, for the opportunity of a lifetime!

Here’s part one of the interview. Special thanks to my amazing editor, Andrew Mersmann, for giving me the opportunity.

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.627243&w=425&h=350&fv=]

by Bob Lattanzio

THREE WEEKS, 6 DAYS, 6 HOURS AND 43 MINUTES. That’s how long it’s been since my last cup of coffee. Not that I’ve been thinking about it. Okay, maybe a little. I used to drink coffee every day. One or two cups with breakfast, another cup at work, sometimes a cup at a cafe.

The odyssey began a little over a month ago, when my doctor recommended that I see an acupuncturist for the bursitis in my shoulder. Physical therapy had helped in the past, but the pain still flared up from time to time. So off I went.

I lay down on the acupuncturist’s table and she asked me if I’d ever done this before. “No”, I said, “but needles don’t really bother me as long as I don’t watch them go in.” Tap. In went a needle. Tap. Tap. Tap. In went a few more. Some hurt a little, most I barely felt.

As she continued her work, she started to tell me about acupuncture points, and the way different parts of the body are connected. Tap. Tap. She asked me about my eating habits. “Do you eat red meat?” “Yes, but very infrequently.” “What about dairy?” “Sure, yogurt and cheese.” “Well, I want you to stop eating those for one month to help reduce inflammation in your body.” “What?” She sure is taking this holistic thing seriously, I thought. Tap. Tap. “And in one month, after feeling the benefits of this diet, you’ll want to continue it.” The list went on — no refined sugars, white flour, or alcohol. Tap. No chocolate, strawberries, or citrus. Tap. Tap. No eggplant, garlic or tomatoes, particularly cooked tomatoes. “Hmm,” I wondered to myself, “what would my Italian grandmothers think about that?”

“Do you drink coffee?” “Yes, every day.” “Well you should stop that too, it has caffeine.” “What about decaf?” “No decaf either, even decaf has some caffeine.” TAP. TAP. TAP. She left me alone to relax, needles protruding from my body. All I could think about was the coffee I drank just half an hour earlier.

Have I unfailingly followed this diet? No, I’ve cheated or slipped up here and there. But I’ve substantially reduced my intake of all these foods, and in the case of coffee stopped it completely. At first it was incredibly difficult, but the intensity and frequency of the craving has subsided over the last few weeks. Has it made a difference? Well, in the last month my sleep has improved, my blood pressure has dropped, and the pain in my shoulder has faded substantially.

Since my first visit, the acupuncturist has softened her stance on the diet. Occasional lapses, perhaps once a week, are okay. My body will let me know when I’ve strayed too far. Tomorrow morning the month is up. Now I just need to decide — will I start the day with a cup of coffee?

Bob Lattanzio is a film and TV editor and a client of Sam Page Fitness.

Does yoga influence the rest of your experience of Los Angeles?

Rachel: Yoga absolutely influences my L.A. experience. It gives me a sense of humility and grace.

A storefront in old town Pasadena painted the words, “What if Bush Did Yoga?” in their window last fall. If George Bush actually did decide to take up the practice, how do you think it might change him?

I don’t know if that would help. Yoga only helps change you from within if you are welcoming that. I do think it makes people reflect on a worldly union, and how we can unite and inspire and support one another. I think the world would be a wonderful place if more people practiced yoga. It just allows you to come from the heart. We could all be so lucky…

Do you have any goals relating to yoga in 2008?

I just started teaching in a boxing gym in Hollywood (where I take muay thai kickboxing). I also have some professional tennis players as clients. I love working with athletes. I admire their strength and want to balance it with flexibility. In 2008, I would like to work with more athletes. But I am not limited to that… I like working with anyone who wants to learn. Would love to teach a retreat in Mexico… if I can ever find some spare time… My truegoal for 2008 is to stay on my mat every day, to stay focused on my practice, and to continue to learn every single day.

So what’s up for the immediate future?

I’ve just added some yoga classes to my schedule and wanted to extend an invite to all PLL readers to come. Fantastic new studio in Studio City at Ventura and Laurel Canyon. Check the websites below for prices and a map. I’m also teaching a Saturday morning class at Fortune Boxing Gym in Hollywood, a great mixed level class with high energy. Sunday mornings, I teach in Toluca Lake at a Pilates Studio. Class times are listed below. If you’re interested, email me and I’ll keep you on my notification list. Otherwise, please pass along this link to anyone you think would be interested.

Monday’s @ 6:30pm - Hollywood Production Center
Wednesday’s @ 7:45pm – Lotus Kitty Yoga
Friday’s @ 6:45pm - Lotus Kitty Yoga
Saturday’s @ 9am - Fortune Boxing Gym
Saturday’s @ 11:30am – Lotus Kitty Yoga
Sunday’s @ 10am - Studio B Pilates
Sunday’s @ 6pm – Lotus Kitty Yoga

PLL:  FOR THE UNINITIATED, YOGA CAN SEEM MYSTERIOUS AND DIFFICULT. Some people say they “just don’t get it” or were frustrated that they couldn’t keep pace… What do you say to them?”

RACHEL CANNON: For those intimidated by yoga, I say ‘Welcome. We were all there.’ But there are so many different types of yoga. If you took ONE class and hated it, ask yourself WHY you hated it? Too slow? Too fast? Too hot? Too much talking? There are hundreds of teachers. If the lifestyle of yoga interests you, find a teacher that inspires you. Meaning you have to kiss a lot of frogs before finding your prince. Just the way it goes. Vinyasa Flow classes are heated and challenging. Ashtanga classes are very disciplined and structured. Hatha classes are much more about the breath and much more relaxing. Bikram are very, very, very hot…. But beware of these since you can easily get hurt from false flexibility… due to the heat…know your limits.

If you want a spiritual class, find a spiritual teacher. If you want to just work it out and sweat a lot, go to a gym class. Find what works for you.

So how is yoga different from meditation? Or is it the same?

Yoga and meditation melt into each other wonderfully, yet they stand on their own.

Meditation is something you can do anywhere, anytime, in a group, or on your own. It is the discipline of your mind. Quieting your mind, in my opinion is much harder than perfecting your Chaturanga. It takes time and years of practice.

Yoga (the posture/practice) is the discipline of your body. One nourishes your mind, the other your body… both nourish your spirit. Done together, I think they can change your life.  MORE

© 2008 SAM PAGE | about

INTERVIEW BY SAM PAGE — PART 1/3

THE NIGHT WE MET RACHEL CANNON, I could tell my (gay) husband Bronson had a girl crush. On the roof of Fiesta Cantina in West Hollywood, he recounts the moment with near butterflies:

Yes, Rachel is HOT. And blonde. A rising star in Hollywood. But most fascinating to me is her athleticism. Because Rachel Cannon is one of the most sought-after yoga instructors in this city. I’m honored to have her on my team at Sam Page Fitness, and I think it’s time you got better acquainted.

SAM: Okay, talk to us about…you!

RACHEL: Growing up in Oklahoma and Texas, there are a few things that are given… as a girl, you will be a girl scout, a basketball/softball player or a dancer. At the tender age of three, I made the choice to be a dancer. I was in ballet for ten years and it was what I lived for. The Nutcracker and my recitals became the air in my lungs. Until I was old enough to be a cheerleader of course. So, I hung up my point shoes and hiked up my skirt for a few years doing high school and college dance on the Pom Pom Squad. At OU, our cheer practices came five times a day and consisted of running in plastics with the wrestlers, lifting weights, dancing until we dropped and not eating too much so we could still squeeze into those tiny uniforms. Although grueling, athletes were Gods at OU, so you did what you had to in order to stay on that squad. Even if that meant additional workouts (kickboxing, pilates, swimming, ballet, etc).

All those sports and you hadn’t discovered yoga?

Well, I threw my hip out doing a switch leap at a dance practice. I went to the chiropractor— a 300-pound lug of a man in a doctor’s coat put me through what felt like initiation into the UFC world championship! So when that didn’t work, I decided to try yoga.

What was that first experience like?

Well there was this little yoga studio on campus corner led by a soft spoken crunchy granola man named Andrew. I took my first class with Andrew that day and 15 minutes into class… my hip was back in place!! And I had sweat dripping off my body in places I couldn’t even explain. Being an athlete and dancer my entire life, it was rare to find a workout that challenged me… and this one had me hooked! I went five times a week to an ashtanga yoga class (2 hours each). It was the only workout I had ever done that challenged me physically as well as mentally.

When I was on my mat, my head was clear, my breath was pure, and my heart was centered. It made me feel alive and spiritual and clean. I adored every one of my 120 minutes each day.

© 2008 SAM PAGE | about 

Kisses to Jennifer of StandOut Destinations for this photo from my interview with Kathy Griffin on a private island in Bora Bora.

You can read the exclusive interview with La Griffin in an upcoming issue of PASSPORT (subscribe already!) and see me this summer in the upcoming season of Kathy’s Emmy award winning “My Life on the D List”

Photo: David Beebe
© 2008 Passport Magazine

Never in my two years of working as her fitness coach would I have expected it. But when I heard that Natalie had signed up for the Los Angeles Marathon, I was surprised and impressed. I knew she hated running (from all our hours together doing sprints), but her resolve, discipline and spunk went much, much deeper than I imagined. Here’s her story.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I work in theater, currently improv. So my entertainment needs are met, HA! Because of some inevitable life situations, I’ve tried to constantly challenge myself physically with such things as yoga, rock climbing, salsa/swing dancing, boot camp, and of course Sam Page Fitness workouts. Well this year, it was all about marathon running.

Some people think marathoners are nuts. Why did you decide to do it?

I was doing the Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society with a friend and she asked if I’d train with her for the AIDS Marathon (L.A. Marathon). I innocently and casually said “sure.” AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) claims to train coach potatoes (like me!) for marathons. Little did I know what I was getting myself into.

About 8 hours. My goal was just to finish since it was my first marathon. I kept on my own personal pace (a 17-minute mile – I did just a little beyond that). Next time it will be a time goal.

Wait…did you just say what I think you said?

I know —I can’t believe I just said NEXT TIME.

How long did you have to train?

APLA trained us for 6 months, once with a group Saturday run in Griffith Park and we had to run twice on our own. Maintenance runs were only about half an hour, but the group runs kept getting longer and longer —and harder and harder!

]]> http://www.peacelovelunges.com/blog/sports-fitness/natalie-hated-running-so-she-ran-the-la-marathon/feed/ 0