Top 10 Fitness Heroes!

I have been involved in Sports and Fitness for a long, long time. My first year of organized sports was 1973, which is 36 years ago. Wow. I was recently thinking of all of the people that have influenced me along to way to pro football and now to fitness professional and business owner. So here goes my Top 10 Fitness Heroes who influenced me to get where I am today.

1. Arnold Schwarzenegger- A no-brainer. My background is Austrian and my dad gave me "Education of a Bodybuilder" when I was 14. To say it was life-altering would be an understatement.
2. Bobby Orr- When I first started playing hockey, he was in his prime. Even though he wasn't a Hab, he was the greatest ever. I read the book "Orr on Ice" when I was 7 and Bobby was shown LIFTING WEIGHTS in it.... in 1973!
3. My mom- My mom's favourite saying when we were growing up "You CAN....and you WILL!". Turning 80 soon, and she STILL hikes weekly on the bruce trail.
4. Douglas Brooks- Early in my personal training career, I met Doug at a lecture that he was giving and was so impressed with his ability to present material in a professional way that it showed me that I COULD be a pro at something I love. This was before email and Doug actually corresponded with me from California by WRITING! Wow.
5. Phil Kaplan- The "Master". When I became exposed to Phil's writing and teaching, it was like a cloud had parted and everything that I had done in 10 years as a fitness pro seemed like nursery school. The biggest influence on me since reading about Arnold 25 years earlier. Check him out at http://www.philkaplan.com/
6. JC Santana- I didn't even know what functional training was until I studied JC. Now that is the ONLY way that we train. Getting to know JC has been an honour and truly inspiring.
7. Walter Payton- Perhaps the hardest training athlete ever. This guy was class personified and he proved that you could be a really nice guy and absolutely demolish your opponents on the field of play.
8. Lance Armstrong- The HARDEST working and most inspiring athlete of all time! Not much to say about Lance except that I was just discovering my new favourite sport (cycling) as he was racking up Tour de France victories.
9. Monica Seles- Could YOU come back to pro sports after getting stabbed in the back (literally)? Monica is so mentally strong it's crazy.
10. Russ Riederer- Last,but certainly not least. My strength coach from Purdue University. Russ not only trained us, he trained WITH us. He wouldn't ask you to do anything that he would do himself. He looked sort of like Sgt. Rock and he went on to coach the Chicago Bears for 15 years!