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. (more…)

Last week I was training with someone I’ll call John. He was having a really rough week. He really spilled out his guts and heart to me about how he was feeling about his body, weight, and sense of self.  At one point, he broke down into tears. It was an important moment for both of us.

From my perspective as a coach, moments like this are crucial to the development of a person’s “new” self. It’s that moment where a person stares into the depths of the unknown and confronts their dragons.  Now, in this moment with John, I tried to be all of the best parts of myself:  empathetic, understanding, gentle. But sometimes even when I try my hardest, I often fail to communicate gently enough.  Sometimes I just miss the mark. Sometimes I come across as a wise-ass, or my tongue-in-cheek attempt at humor is more aptly described as “foot-in-mouth.” (more…)