BATTLING CANCER ONE MARATHON AT A TIME HERE COMES THE 'GERIATHLETE™'
Rebranding Aging®
MOM WAS RIGHT ABOUT POSTURE LEARN THE HAPPINESS EQUATION
MELVIN JUST KEEPS MOVING This Dance Master is Tapping His Heart Out for a Good Cause.
Movin' Melvin Brown
CONTENTS MAY/JUNE 2016
FEATURE
TAPPING INTO HEALTH
DEPARTMENTS 5 | FROM THE EDITOR 6 | GROWING BOLDER WITH ...
12 20 | BOLDER HEALTH Overexposure to those radiant rays can be deadly. By Jackie Carlin
Movin' Melvin Brown dances to entertain, stay fit and change the world. BY JACKIE CARLIN
30 | THE TAKEAWAY To really appreciate your progress, jettison perfection. By Jillian Michaels BATTLING CANCER ONE MARATHON AT A TIME HERE COMES THE 'GERIATHLETE™'
7 | THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH At 92, she's battling cancer one marathon at a time. By Marc Middleton ®
22 | BOLDER FITNESS Here's a practical primer on proper posture. By Katy Widrick
REBRANDING AGING®
MOM WAS RIGHT ABOUT POSTURE LEARN THE HAPPINESS EQUATION
8 | NEVER TOO LATE ® A filmmaker's dream finally comes true. By Jackie Carlin
25 | BOLDER HEALTH Caregivers must stay healthy for their loved ones. By Bill Shafer
9 | ROAD TO RECOVERY Stand up straight: It really could save your life. By Robert Masson, M.D.
26 | TEAM GROWING BOLDER Let's get moving! Team Growing Bolder hits the streets.
10 | 5 QUESTIONS Neil Pasricha's equation makes positivity predictable. By Jackie Carlin
28 | SURVIVING & THRIVING ® A hole in her heart, then a whole new start. By Bill Shafer
4 GROWING BOLDER
MELVIN JUST KEEPS MOVING This Dance Master is Tapping His Heart Out for a Good Cause.
Movin' Melvin Brown
ON THE COVER: Movin' Melvin Brown knew that his fans left his shows feeling happy — but he wondered how long they stayed that way. Helping people find perpetual joy in living has been his mission ever since. MAY/JUNE 2016
FROM THE EDITOR
Editor-in-Chief Marc Middleton Managing Editor Jackie Carlin Associate Editors Bill Shafer, Katy Widrick Contributing Writers Robert Masson, M.D. Additional Photography Ryan Bethke, Erick Regnard, F. Sansalone, Fred Thate Digital Development and Production Jason Morrow, Pat Narciso, Josh Doolittle, Mike Nanus
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HERE COMES THE GERIATHLETE ™
B
ack in the good old days, old really wasn’t old. Modern man has been on the planet about 200,000 years, and for 99.9 percent of that time, the average lifespan was 35. In 1900, the average lifespan was 45, so an “old” person was unusual — even rare. The word “geriatric,” first used in 1909, was derived from the Latin word “gere,” meaning “to grow old.” It was simply a statement of fact, not a pejorative. Indeed, since so few people were fortunate enough to grow old, it was usually a mark of distinction. It certainly didn't carry a negative connotation, nor was it used as a term of derision, as it is today. Not all older people live in a state of disease, disability and morbidity. Many are active, independent, engaged and vital individuals. Yes, they’re “old”— but only because they’ve been alive for so many years. It would be inaccurate to call them “young” and ageist to call them “young-like,” which would suggest that the qualities they possess are unsuitable for older people. Why do I care about the semantics of aging? Because we need age descriptors that are value-free. We’ve allowed our youth-obsessed culture to ascribe a negative value to all words that mean a person is no longer young. Growing old is a good thing, with the potential to be a great thing. We should all aspire to be old — and to make that stage of our lives as positive, meaningful and joyful as possible. We need to reclaim the terms of aging that have become negative. We’re beginning with the word "geriatric" and using it as the basis for a new word of our own — GeriAthlete™. You don’t have to participate in sports to be a GeriAthlete™. All you have to do is make movement and the fitness derived from movement — functional fitness — part of your daily life. If you do that, you’re a GeriAthlete™ — and that’s a very good thing. Speaking of very good things, we’re excited to announce the expansion of Growing Bolder® and Surviving & Thriving® to WESH-TV and WESH.com in the Central Florida market. Growing Bolder will begin airing on WESH’s MeTV every Saturday morning at 7a.m.b eginning May 14. The three-time Emmy Award-nominated Surviving & Thriving will begin airing on WESH this summer. Check out GrowingBolder.com for more information. Marc Middleton, Editor-in-Chief marcmiddleton@growingbolder.com GROWING BOLDER 5
GROWING BOLDER WITH
JUDI SHEPPARD MISSETT
71
Fitness Innovator
“People hear ‘Jazzercise’ and think we’re still the same workout phenomenon that became popular in the ‘80s. We’ve been around for nearly 50 years, and every decade we’ve made a major transitional change. It’s not easy to change; people don’t always like change. But in business and in life, you have to reach out and make sure you’re serving people as best you can. Much like Growing Bolder, Jazzercise is all about empowerment. I think we’re still here because, at our core, we’re centered on making people feel good, helping people get healthy and giving back to the community.”
Judi Sheppard Misset started Jazzercise in Chicago in 1969, when she was still a student at Northwestern University teaching jazz dance classes to non-dancers. She simplified the process, basing the workouts in dance but with easy-to-follow routines. Today, more than 8,000 instructors around the world teach Jazzercise classes. Sheppard remains the CEO of the company.
STELLA PARTON
66
Entertainer
“I’ve been through divorce. I’ve been through domestic violence. I’ve seen horrible things happen to very good women. I feel like I need to be an advocate, and use the bad things that happened to me as positives. I wake up every day and try to inspire somebody else. You know that old saying about turning lemons into lemonade? Well, I make lemon pie, too. I teach at the New Opportunity School for women at Berea College in Kentucky, where I take all the things I’ve learned over the years and help other women. I have a cosmetology background, so I try to teach women how to do their hair, makeup or dress themselves when they don’t have a lot of money. It’s not about how much money you have; it’s about how creative you are.”
Stella Parton is a singer, songwriter, actress, author, speaker, philanthropist, and yes, Dolly Parton’s younger sister. She’s released 16 albums, charted numerous country singles and has notched appearances on TV, Broadway and in film. Her latest album is Mountain Songbird: A Sister's Tribute.
LEE BRISTOL
67
Humanitarian “I’m retired, and now is the time to give back and, more importantly, to do what I really want to do. I love Haiti and Tanzania, and to go there and be able to do something useful is very satisfying. I’m a hippie from the old days, and I first got interested in alternative technologies back in the ‘70s. I would love to inspire more retired people to make a difference. I need volunteers who can use the skills they developed during their working lives and aim them in this direction. I think there’s a lot of people who want to help; they just need to find the right fit.”
Through his company, Global Solace, Lee Bristol is bringing renewable and reliable energy to the places and people that need it most — the 2 billion people living in energy poverty in the developing world. He’s on a mission to implement solar systems and add computer networks to rural schools and health clinics in countries such as Haiti, Tanzania and South Africa.
GB EXTRA Visit GrowingBolderMagazine.com to listen to our entire Growing Bolder Radio conversations with Judi Sheppard Missett, Stella Parton and Lee Bristol.
6 GROWING BOLDER
MAY/JUNE 2016
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
RECORD-BREAKER At 92, She's Battling Cancer One Marathon at a Time. BY MARC MIDDLETON
photo BY Ryan Bethke
H
arriette Thompson is an unintentional trailblazer who, at 92, became the oldest woman in history to finish an official 26.2mile marathon. What makes Thompson’s story especially inspiring is that she doesn’t consider herself an athlete — and she never ran at all until she was in her late 70s. Her motivation to run was very personal. “I’m a three-time cancer survivor, and I lost both of my parents, my three brothers and my husband to cancer,” she says. “I started to run marathons to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.” Thompson only runs one marathon a year, and it’s always the San Diego Marathon. She’s run it 16 times so far, raising more than $100,000 for cancer research. “All of the money raised goes to the
GROWINGBOLDERMAGAZINE.COM
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which is why I chose the San Diego Marathon,” she says. “There are always so many people who have pledged so much money. Thinking about their generosity keeps me going and puts me over the finish line.” It took Thompson 7 hours, 24 minutes and 36 seconds to finish her historic marathon, and she enjoyed every difficult and painful moment of it. “Young people run by me and say, ‘You’re the reason I’m running,’” she says. “It makes me feel so good to know that at my age, I can still do something to help and inspire others.” Thompson is currently undergoing radiation treatment on one of her legs, and has been unable to train for this year’s marathon on June 5. “I still have a wound on my leg from the radiation, but if it heals and I can train a little, I’ll compete again,”
Harriette Thompson, a cancer survivor, became the oldest woman in history to finish an official 26.2-mile marathon.
she adds. “I think I can break my record.” A little bit of training may be all she needs, because Thompson doesn’t train like a typical marathon runner. “I don’t run or even walk very far,” she explains. “I save myself for the race itself. But I do exercise every day.” Thompson likes to swim, practice yoga and take exercise classes. She also does some strength training with weights for her arms and legs. “At my age, you have to keep moving,” she says. Harriette Thompson is an ordinary woman who has accomplished something extraordinary — reminding us all what’s possible. “My advice to others? Think positively, keep moving and find a way to help others,” she says. “I would have never imagined, in a million years, that I would be a marathon runner in my 90s, raising money to help fight cancer. But that’s exactly what I am.”
GB EXTRA Visit GrowingBolderMagazine.com to listen to our conversation with Harriette Thompson and to learn more about her fundraising efforts for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
GROWING BOLDER 7
12 G R O W I N G B O L D E R
MAY/JUNE 2016
TAPPING
INTO HEALTH Movin' Melvin Brown Dances to Entertain, Stay Fit and Change the World. BY JACKIE CARLIN
Brown started dancing in school, at age 5, and knew from that point on that he wanted to be an entertainer.