Embracing Power and Humor: Fitz Kohler on Fitness, Cancer Survival, and Community Resilience

Speaker 1: 0:09

What is up? My guest today is Fitz Kohler. Fitz is a dynamic figure in the fitness world, having shared her expertise with millions, both in person and across over a dozen countries, and has reached people through various media channels, such as books, TV, radio and online. She's branded her own fitness approach that she calls fitness. It's an emphasis on a realistic and enjoyable way to maintain health. But she's much, much more than that. Beyond her role as a fitness advocate, she's one of America's top race announcers. She's really well known for elevating the race experience with her energetic and engaging style. She's announced for really huge events the Los Angeles Marathon, the Philadelphia Marathon, just to name a few of the many that she's announced for. So if you've ever done any of those events, you may have heard her call you in. She's also a breast cancer survivor and has inspired millions.

Speaker 1: 1:14

She's the author of her memoir my Noisy Cancer Comeback, which was published in 2020. She also will follow a book, your Healthy Cancer Comeback. Sick to Strong, published in 2023. She's also written other books the Everything Flat Belly Cookbook. She's contributed to a number of articles major news outlets, magazines Really fun conversation. She is a dynamo and entrepreneur. She's done a little bit of everything, and we talk about a lot of areas. So, without further ado, here is my conversation with Fitz Kohler.

Speaker 2: 1:59

You know what? I like the fun stuff. I like the sidebar so I'm always happy to talk about, to talk shop right, fitness cancer speaking, blah, blah blah. But I love the randoms. What superhero would you be? What three famous people would you go hang out with? I do like the silly fun stuff.

Speaker 1: 2:20

Yeah, well, I saw you announcing at the Wonder Woman Run, so what superhero would you want to be?

Speaker 2: 2:27

Well, my superhero is actually a super villain. It's Marvel and her name is Scream and she's got this long hair and she makes a piercing sound and she grabs people with her hair and throws them around, and so I think anyone would expect. But I would be a villain and I would scream her loud, be noisy as I am, and grab a little bit of my hair and get rid of them that way, so it's great.

Speaker 1: 2:52

First of all, I've never heard of Scream. That's an interesting comic book character. You do have that noisy piece. It's really part of your persona. Where did that come from?

Speaker 2: 3:04

Oh gosh, I mean, it's just how I communicate with people and I have laser focused my business on mass amounts of people, so I don't have too many options to sit around and chit chat at a low level. I'm always on the microphone and that's part of who I am is reaching people in a big way. So, yeah, I make happy noise and I don't know it works for me. I also am happy to people call me bossy all the time. I'll take it. That's fine. It's not a negative, not a critique. It's a compliment, because people ask me how to behave when it comes to health and fitness and I boss them around and I tell them the truth, and if they're being a slacker, I poke them in the chest and I'm willing to shake them and get them to live up to their own expectations.

Speaker 1: 3:48

Well, that's a job of a good coach, right? A good coach isn't there to be your friend or to tell you everything you want to hear. A good coach is to coach you. It's to motivate you, it's to help you understand the shortcomings and how to overcome them right?

Speaker 2: 3:59

Absolutely, and one of the most frequent compliments I get are people say thank you for the brutal honesty. So again, I'm not afraid to lean in and tell people the hard truth. I've got an online person that I support and guide and he has to lose over 200 pounds and he tried last year and he kind of failed. He came back and he said what do you think if I can do it? And I said you're running out of opportunities, you might not be around for a long time if you don't take it.

Speaker 2: 4:28

Thank you. So, yeah, I get away with brutal honesty because people know I love them, they know I'm highly credentialed and I know myself. But they know that my sometimes harsh or abrasive message comes with adoration and true respect. So that's a big factor that works.

Speaker 1: 4:47

Yeah. So I mean, I know you speak, I know you're an author, I know you really kind of have your own media company. You're a race announcer and also a fitness trainer. Where did this start? Was the fitness trainer kind of like the beginning of all this?

Speaker 2: 5:04

Yeah, so I started teaching fitness right, I think right before I turned 15.

Speaker 1: 5:09

Oh, we're going back to like teenagers, okay.

Speaker 2: 5:12

Yeah, yeah, you'll appreciate it because I was working at Cinnabon and making Cinnabon in the mall, in front of people and I had this really main manager and so I quit that job and I had happened to join the gym probably six months before.

Speaker 2: 5:26

So I had knee surgery. I had blow up my knee playing soccer, had surgery, went to rehab. I thought that might be good until I saw as a career. And then I thought that, you know, I saw the PT messing with yucky things and I thought, no, thank you. But the PT told my mom, get her to a gym to continue strength training or she'll re-injure that knee. So we joined and then I fell in love with it and when I left Cinnabon I applied at Spa Lady, and it's great. I interviewed on a Tuesday and chatted with the manager and he, you know, he asked why I wanted to work there. I said, well, I don't PT.

Speaker 1: 6:03

And I've learned a lot about the human body and how it works and I love the equipment.

Speaker 2: 6:06

I just love this atmosphere. He said well, do you take classes? I said yes. He said do you, can you teach a class? And I said, well, I'd be willing to try. And again it was Tuesday. He was how about you teach Friday night at 6 30? And I said, okay, I mean so, thank God, I'm a gamer.

Speaker 2: 6:20

So I just kind of practiced for a few days a little routine and I taught an hour long, I think it was dance fitness class and you know went really well and so I stuck with it and got my certification. And then I went to UF and once I came to UF I was teaching fact house classes full of college students, rowdy, fun, and my style of fitness is quite often very rowdy. But I left one summer, worked on a cruise ship over in Europe, russia, estonia. That was incredible. And then I came back to UF and there was a television producer auditioning for a TV show he was creating called Cardio Jam. It was back in the day when ESPN fitness pros was on. So I auditioned and he chose me and you know that that laid out two big ahas for me. As number one, that my skills were transferable to a camera, because it's very different working with a camera versus a live audience or a live classroom.

Speaker 2: 7:13

And then, once the show started airing, strangers would approach Now my college friends. I thought it was cool. But I would go out into town and random people would say are you fit? And I'd say, yeah, I am, I love your show, my favorite instructor, I've lost 17 pounds, thank you. And that kind of feedback was just really powerful. I thought holy smokes, I am helping strangers. That is, that's big time. And so at that point, I became a laser focused on mass impact. What can I do to continue to reach strangers? I soon after wrote an article. I was competitively kickboxing at the time, and I wrote an article called how to Kick People in the Head and I forget which magazine it ran in.

Speaker 2: 7:56

I think it was like Black Belt Magazine or Ultimate Athlete. But a couple of weeks after the magazine was published, some dude from Kentucky wrote me a handwritten letter, came into my office and I had talked. In the article it was about building the strength to lift your leg, the flexibility to get your leg to go up, and then also the strategy of, you know, tricking someone into moving their head into your foot right that head on collision, literally. But yeah, he wrote this letter and he said Fitz, thank you so much. I've been doing martial arts and combat sports for X amount of years and thanks to your article, I finally kicked someone in the head and I thought I kicked that guy in the head.

Speaker 2: 8:32

I just, I just love people. I love the connection, and working with 50 people at a gym just became painfully unsatisfying. When I make an effort, I love connecting with a thousand or a million people, and so you know, my weird little career has evolved through all areas of television, radio, online content, live presentations. I do a ton of keynotes, and that's just a really cool opportunity to impart big wisdom in an exciting way and get people on board that really need it. I feel like the grownup population is is really where they're. We're lacking most. You know, high school kids are still playing in sports, but getting you know a room full of 300 grownups and convincing them that this is necessary for not only their own health but their personal relationships and their professional goals, and getting them to nod their head and laugh and understand, is just so rewarding. So you know, my career is all over the place, but I like it that way.

Speaker 1: 9:30

Yeah, you know I'm, I'm picturing you as Kind of that young kid and you know, all of a sudden you're asked to to get out in front of this big group of people. And I know, I know you do these race events in front of you know, tens of thousands of people and you, you speak and all these different types of things. Like, have you just never had a fear of getting up in front of large audiences?

Speaker 2: 9:51

I actually used to. So in middle school I ran for office I was always running for like seventh grade governor or whatever and you'd have to make the speech and I remember getting breathless and shaking at the podium. And then, through high school, I did more and more presentations, as, where most of us are required to, and and I think it was my senior year there was this guy, kenny Lusco. He was just this average guy and everybody liked Kenny and he was a cheerleader. He was one of those guys holding up the girls and just a lovely, lovely guy.

Speaker 2: 10:22

But in English class we were all there was 25 of us we were all assigned the task of Doing a presentation on our background, our heritage, right. So mine was Irish, ireland and his was Poland. But he got up and he melted down. He was just standing in front of our classroom Shaking and sweating and hyperventilating, and I was in the back just thinking this is completely irrational. This is completely irrational because a were required, nobody's expecting anything out of him, and we all be like him. Like what is he? I think he has to lose. And at that point it resonated inside of me where I thought well, what do I have to?

Speaker 2: 11:01

lose? Who cares if I don't speak eloquently on Ireland? So that just I'm a pragmatist. I'm such a pragmatist and I was just able to kind of knock that fear out of me and I don't have a fear of public speaking, I have a death, death like fear of not public speaking.

Speaker 1: 11:22

We interesting yeah the idea, the idea that you you're not heard or you don't have an opportunity or a platform or to be able to share your, your thoughts and feelings and motivations.

Speaker 2: 11:33

Yeah, yeah, the. The. No more microphone, no more giving those messages, no more connecting with people heartbreaking, I would just. That would make my knees knock.

Speaker 1: 11:42

So when you, you know you talked about talking, you know some of the the corporate events speaking with adults, helping them understand things About. You know the importance of health and fitness and I'm a big proponent of health and fitness in in my own life, just personally, you know, I think we're at a point now where very few people Don't know that exercising any right is good for you and yeah, it's like smoking, like if you're. If you see someone out on the street smoking, they know smoking is not good for them. They've just just made a choice to smoke right. So, like, how do you reach people to get them to exercise to? You know, to get started?

Speaker 2: 12:21

So you know I do three things. So, first of all, my goal is to make fitness understandable, then attainable, then fun, and so you know, delivering the message of why. So okay, you no longer want to look hot in a swimsuit at the beach? Fine, most adults are not striving for that anymore. We want to look our best, but it's not the same pressure we had as a teenager. Okay, well, what are the other benefits? Where are you? Are you really lagging in your career?

Speaker 2: 12:47

If you're out of shape and you're not energetic. That's probably why you might have a high degree and all this great content in your head, but a future employer looks at you and thinks he just doesn't look like a go-getter. She's kind of slumpy, she's got a crap posture. I don't know if I want that person representing my business. Well, your lack of fitness is holding you back. Is it holding you back from promotions? Is it holding you back from actually producing quality work because you're sickly or unenergetic or your calling is sick all the time? So you know to understand that your health and fitness actually can have real ramifications to your career. Sometimes that might be the thing. If they don't care about their arteries or their waistline, fine, perhaps they just want a better job. That might resonate or the fact that people who exercise and have that outlet for Anxiety and stress to get that toxicity out of there, those emotions out of their body, they are much nicer spouses, they're much kinder, more patient parents, they're better friends. You know, I imagine if you feel like crap about your body, you're certainly not gonna strip off naked and have freaky fun with your partner, which kind of stinks. So you know your fitness can affect your career and can affect your personal lives, and whether you care about your body or not, you may start caring about having a better career or having better relationship. So you know it's understandable, resonate with people why it's not necessarily.

Speaker 2: 14:08

I break fitness down to make it simple, stupid fun. There is no gimmicks, no dyes, pills, powders, no stupid fasting or pills. It's just I teach them the simple way to get it done and it's really mind-numbingly simple and then make it fun because you know it's interesting. People say, well, I want to lose weight or I want to get fit, but I hate to run. Okay, I don't care if you ever run a step in your life, unless someone's chasing you with a knife, right.

Speaker 2: 14:33

So what do you like to do? Do you like to dance? Do that. Do you like to do karate? Do that. So it's about just pointing people in the right direction. And it's funny, even though I have my passions as far as Athletically, I like to do obstacle course races, I run a marathon, I. I like to stand up paddle board. None of that is relevant to you. It really is a About you. So where some fitness professionals are the yoga guy or the cycling person, I'm not bad. I'm really the, the Top-down approach me, getting you to take it seriously, understand how and then sending you off in the world to get it done.

Speaker 1: 15:09

Yeah, it's like real simple, like burn more calories than you take in. You know, like mixing some vegetables.

Speaker 2: 15:18

Right. And then, when it comes to fitness, it's you need to have I call it the four pillars of fitness, but you need to be proficient in strength, which is your ability to lift, press, pull and Push against resistance, and that's relevant whether you're picking up kids or you're shutting the trunk or whatever you're doing carrying boxes. Strength matters Cardio, respiratory fitness, your heart and lungs.

Speaker 2: 15:40

It's your stamina, your ability to go, flexibility, you know your body's ability to go through its full range of motion. If you can't do that, you're more prone to sprain, strains and tears. And then, of course, balance training, which is important, because if you don't have good balance, you you fall over, that's it. You fall down, and falling down as a kid is not great, but we balance falling down as an adult whole.

Speaker 1: 16:04

It's terrible.

Speaker 2: 16:04

That's right. Yeah, you know you steer people. Strength, flexibility, cardio balance. Choose foods that help versus foods that hurt. Get quality sleep, remove the cranky people and that's it. That's it.

Speaker 1: 16:16

Yeah, no, I agree. I mean I've been pretty consistently working out for the last God, how many years now, like 35 years of my life. You know, I'm at the age now where I got some friends that are starting to look at some different kinds of shortcuts. You know they have, like prescription testosterone. What's this new? Like diabetes, what is it?

Speaker 2: 16:35

osemic or yeah, so osemic isn't new. It's been used for type two diabetics for a long time, but now it's being prescribed based on weight loss for our own company and while people are having positive results as far as weight loss is funny, I just met a friend who she's lost, I think, 30, 40 pounds, but her side effects from osemic sounded like the same side effects are similar that I had with chemotherapy called nausea, vomiting, inability to eat.

Speaker 2: 17:07

So I don't know, I don't know, it's easier to just feel good and choose a healthier way. And then also there's a direct tie between ozentic and thyroid cancer, which is not something I would sign up for. So any of these quick fixes, you know, is it important to not be obese? Yes, I mean, that's a real deal breaker as far as longevity goes. But the trade-off can you not be obese on your own accord and using your own willpower and knowledge, versus bringing in this extra substance that may also do harm? I think so.

Speaker 1: 17:41

Yeah, so you mentioned chemotherapy and you mentioned that journey. I think that's a big part of your story. I think a big part of the impact you have on other people. I know you've been an author of a couple books, but maybe we can just take a second. I believe it was 2017, you diagnosed with breast cancer and then went into the fight of your life, right?

Speaker 2: 18:08

Yeah, so 15 months of chemotherapy not a good time. So I actually I found the lump seven weeks after a crystal clear mammogram, so there was nothing there. The doctor didn't miss it wasn't there.

Speaker 2: 18:22

By the time I found this lump, it was a sizey lump and it had already spread to my lymph nodes. So when I got the call about a week after finding the lump because I took action quickly the surgeon said hey, fitz, you do have cancer and it's running through like wildfire, so we need to treat you quickly and aggressively. And then we did. It was just the Twilight Zone. It was a nightmare. It was all those horrible, terrifying, scary things. It was brutal. Kimo did not suit me. That was my, I mean. I'll be forever grateful for those drugs, but it really that was the hardest part of treatment for me. I also had surgery. I had 33 rounds of radiation which fortunately for me, weren't so bad. But most importantly was the decisions I made to control. What I could and that's where my three books come is helping people take control of the things they can when they can, to do better.

Speaker 1: 19:14

Yeah, I think that's amazing. I want to hear more about how you controlled your own emotions during this period of time. Right, because we're going into COVID kind of shuts the world down shortly after this. Right, you're obviously a very people-oriented person. I know you clearly gain energy from being around other people and the opportunity to announce their races and attend events and speak, and all of a sudden that's shut down and you're sort of with yourself, right, you yourself and your family. How did you continue to stay positive through this?

Speaker 2: 19:49

So fortunately, for the first 13 months of my treatment it wasn't COVID, it was game on. And I went game on with my career. I announced about 30 races a year, 30 rounds, and I do all these keynotes. So I was on a plane out of my hometown in Gainesville, florida, almost every weekend, even though I was violently ill, and not every cancer patient gets this way. But I was.

Speaker 2: 20:11

It was like imagine having a violent stomach bug every day for six months or a tequila hanging over it. It was wild, but I was just determined. I thought you know, a cancer can steal my good feelings and my hair. It's not stealing time with my kids. If they have a show, a ceremony, a sport, I'm going to be there. And also if I have a race or a speaking event, I am going to be there. I'm not letting it steal this from me.

Speaker 2: 20:35

And so we went through drastic measures. When I was in Gainesville, I had IV fluids five days a week. When I left Gainesville, I would get to Buffalo, new York, or Orange County, california. I got IV fluids almost everywhere and I would often sleep on those hotel bathroom floors and at 4 am my alarm would go off and I'd drag myself up and get dressed. And you know the beauty of making this decision to pursue my passions, which that is a must do, whoever you are, is the second I stepped on those stages, every single thing that was wrong with me just disappeared Magically poof. I wasn't sick, I wasn't exhausted, I wasn't suffering. I was just running on adrenaline and joy and thrilled to be connected with these extraordinary people and these wonderful events. So that distraction, that laser focus for me, gave me breaks, because if I didn't go do the thing that I do, all I would have been was sick. So I did get to do that for 13 months and it was extraordinary. It was extraordinarily hard at times, but it was always worth it.

Speaker 2: 21:35

And then so it was March of 2020, where the world shuts down directly after Los Angeles and marathon, which is my biggie. And then I have two more months that came out with the COVID nonsense. So A my husband can no longer come in with me, so where? And I'm a super weenie, so every time they poked me in the chest with that needle, I cried it really helped to have him there or a family member, someone loved me there, and COVID took that.

Speaker 2: 21:59

I don't know why, all of a sudden, this wasn't okay, but I mean, I know a lot of people lost and people have lost with all sorts of illnesses. Right, so it's the flu, it's COVID, whatever. But I was really resentful because I endured chemo, I endured cancer. I kept it going. They shut down the entire world for a respiratory virus. So yeah, and they stole that joy from me. They stole the support, they stole all the good stuff that was going on in my life, and not only me. I read stories of this woman who you know. She hid out during six years during the Holocaust, her family, they hid in a barn and then it's her last few years on earth. She was in her 90s and she's like and now here I am, stuck hiding out again. And she wanted the world open, she wanted to go to a restaurant.

Speaker 2: 22:53

So anyways, COVID's a bit of a source subject for me. I know everybody has their different feelings, but that was fine with it. And you know, keeping passions in our life and our freedom is top priority for me. So boom.

Speaker 1: 23:06

Yeah, I mean, that's a lightning rod of a topic. Clearly, I anticipate that history will not be kind to a lot of the decisions that were made during that period of time. I was looking at pictures with my wife last night. She was putting pictures up on this wall, so she's just going back through her phone and trying to find all these old pictures and you know, you get to that 2020 range and all of a sudden, every picture everyone's wearing a mask. And then you know you're just like the cloth masks that kind of like scientifically have shown that they don't actually do anything.

Speaker 2: 23:40

This is my great source of pride. There are zero photos with Fitzcaller and a mask Zero. And I just thought what a stupid thing to take a photo of a face like that. So never have.

Speaker 1: 23:50

Well, you were in Florida too, I think it was. The government was a little bit different back in Florida than it was in California.

Speaker 2: 23:58

What do we call it? The freedom state?

Speaker 1: 23:59

The freedom state. Yeah, so all right. So you write my noisy cancer comeback, correct. So were you. When did you? Because that was really like, oh nice, yeah, there it is. I don't want to say a memoir, but that was. It was really your experience, right as it was happening. Right, it's a memoir. So were you, were you thinking about this as it was happening and taking notes, or is this something? And what's the idea to write this comeback?

Speaker 2: 24:29

Yeah, so it's interesting because at first, when I was diagnosed, I thought I would love to keep this private. I'm a private person, public in my public life. Yeah but you know there's always people on social media saying I've got Mono zoomers revenge.

Speaker 2: 24:40

Everybody needs to know, Not a shareer, an oversharer. So if there were anything else, I would have kept it private. But I knew I was gonna show a bald and people were gonna ask and I knew I wasn't gonna wear a wig. So I had them, you know, announced, made this awkward video, said hey guys, bad news, good news I got cancer, I'm gonna be fine, I'm gonna show up as expected. No pity, you can rue for me. So that was number one. But as I started treatment and I started actually suffering and getting sick and everything was going wrong, I just decided fitness is about health and happiness. Fitness is not about suffering and misery. And for me to reveal all the nonsense I was going through wasn't of any benefit to anybody else. It was just gonna worry them or give me pity, which is gross for me.

Speaker 2: 25:25

I recoil with that. So so I wasn't telling anyone what was going on behind the scenes, so you know, first of all, there started to become this real interesting dynamic of trying how do you manage this career with IV fluids and the illness and the travel. There was all sorts of crazy things going on. And Then weird start things started happening with me and it got so weird that I started thinking, oh, this is so funny, like you got to have a sense of humor about it and I thought, well, people would get a kick of one day after I'm fine, and they can no longer pity me, I'll tell him.

Speaker 2: 25:57

I didn't know if it was. I thought maybe I'd write up, do a little video or something funny. And then. So it was funny and interesting. And then, as I realized how the good decisions I was making with those mental health and my physical health, how they were Really powerful and impacting my results and my outcomes, I thought, well, I would be derelict not to share this information. This is, this is the type of information that you know well, I didn't want to be part of this stupid cancer club, but now that I am, I can actually help others through it. So that's how noisy was born and, uh yeah, recalling everything wasn't hard at all. I probably was. I would say maybe august of 2019.

Speaker 1: 26:39

So five months into treatment, I decided to To to write the book and when, when the book was released, were you I'm assuming you were on, you were on the, the, the well-rode to recovery, right yeah?

Speaker 2: 26:54

already in remission. I, you know I actually the last part of the book is my last day of chemo and A little celebratory stuff after that, and then the book was published, I believe in october.

Speaker 1: 27:05

So I had to wait to finish treatment, to finish the book and uh, yeah, yeah, I mean, well, I mean I you know I think you said it, I read something you said we're one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and you know, I, we, I think we've all had people in our lives, and obviously yourself, and how devastating a diagnosis like that can be and the results of it and the mental toil it can play, and I I would assume that your book is just it's like it gives people who are going through this an opportunity not to just laugh but also to be like yeah, I'm not alone, this is something other people are dealing with and she's okay, I'm gonna be okay, right.

Speaker 2: 27:47

Absolutely, and if they use the tools I provide, they definitely are more likely to be okay, you know. So, number one, it's not called my noisy breast cancer book, I mean so, or mess breast cancer, come back. So I did have breast cancer, but what I found is what unites us cancer patients is far more Sure by just so. This is targeted to prostate and brain and leukemia.

Speaker 2: 28:07

And god, you know the. The similarities are pretty uncanny, but yeah, it's, I don't know, I don't know. I it the thing that makes me most happy. I mean there are a lot of people saying, wow, that was an incredible journey and oh, that's funny, or whatever. But I love the most that there are so many people going through cancer care right now and and they're gifted in my book, so I'm sure there are some people buying the books for themselves.

Speaker 2: 28:30

When I go speak there's a lot of people say I want to read your story. But most of the messages come in say my dad has brain cancer. Can you get them your books? My brother has this. And so then the feedback comes from somebody who didn't even buy the book from themselves, that who says this really helped me through it. And this is why and I just Uh, I I'm never someone who's going to go back and say thank goodness I had cancer. It really it was meant to be baloney. I am not that girl and I am not that dumb, but I have figured out a way to make lemonade and certainly, if it's, if I'm able to help other people, there's, there's some good value to it.

Speaker 1: 29:08

Yeah, no, I, I, that's. Uh, I'm glad you said that because you know, I think clearly anybody's not going to be like yeah, I'm glad, I, I'm glad I had to go through this so that I could help other people. But you did have to go through it and you were going to have to go through it regardless, so might as well help other people.

Speaker 2: 29:23

That's right. That's right. Yeah, as many people would say right away. You're so brave and I didn't volunteer for this. I'm doing my best here, trying to survive cancer.

Speaker 1: 29:35

And and then more recently Uh, it is a little bit of a different book, but on the same subject you just released your health, your, your healthy cancer. Come back. Yeah so that's.

Speaker 2: 29:45

I'm crazy excited about. Uh, and this one was inspired because after about midway through my treatment and you know, chemo really had reached crazy havoc on me. Even having said that, my doctor at some point it was my final round of the super main treatment. I had six of those. I took about five or so months and he said, fitz, you've done so great. And I said, why are?

Speaker 2: 30:09

you saying that I have not done great. He said no, you've done so great, I'm so proud of you. I said, dr Gordon, I have been violently sick for months. My hair's gone, my eyelashes are gone and my eyes have changed colors. My fingernails are ripping off. Everything's gone wrong. Why are you saying I've done great? He said listen, fitz, I'm not suggesting you haven't suffered. What I'm saying is, if you were not so healthy and fit coming into this nightmare, you would not have been able to pick up and travel all around the country and do the things you would have done. In fact, you likely would have been hospitalized for more than just that one night. You likely would have spent a month in the hospital and maybe had a feeding tube which may have led to infections. So not seeing you haven't suffered, but your health and fitness has paid off. So that was a real wow moment for me, even though I was kind of paltry and sad, but I had still continued to do the best with food and exercise I could when I could.

Speaker 2: 31:00

And then I had surgery and after surgery, at some point I got it released to go back to the gym and actually lift. So I go in there and I sit down on the machine and it's about the same time my mom demanded. She said you need to eat. You look like you're an ushwit. So I was like okay, I know, thanks, mom.

Speaker 1: 31:18

Does your mom have an accent or did you just?

Speaker 2: 31:21

No, I threw that out.

Speaker 1: 31:22

You know Okay.

Speaker 2: 31:26

So she was upset and frustrated and scared for me. I get it, but I knew I looked the way I looked. I was scared and bald. And anyways, I go into the gym and I put in the pen where it used to be and I'm gonna lift the same amount I'm used to lift. Nothing happens when I push, and so I eventually have to lower that weight and I think I find out I've lost 80% of my strength, which, whoa, that's a lot.

Speaker 1: 31:51

That's a lot.

Speaker 2: 31:52

So you know that was a big moment for me. That's exactly where this book was born, because I think most people, seeing what has happened to their strength, might have run out of the gym, got in their car, ran home, cried covered up in bed and never gone back, because it's just so upsetting, right? But having that wow moment, I just thought, okay, well, I know how to build my body back up. This is what I do, right, I've got a game plan in here and I'm gonna get it done and I did a little over a month or a little over a year after finishing treatment.

Speaker 2: 32:23

I ran the Boston Marathon. Yay for me. However, at that very same time, I paid for my peers. You know, it was one of those things where I thought, oh my gosh, there are millions of people out there who have either lost a ton of weight or gained a ton of weight or they've lost muscle mass, they've lost mobility, they've lost balance, they've had amputations, they have colostomy bags.

Speaker 2: 32:45

There's all this stuff going on and there is zero quality books out there trying to help people through it. All the doctors and the nurses will say exercise, eat right through treatment. And there's endless studies that prove if you exercise and eat quality foods during treatment you are more likely to hit remission and less likely to have a recurrence. So powerful studies say you should, but no one tells them how, and so I decided F that I'm gonna teach people how. So that's where this book was born and it holds the hand of a cancer patient from the day of diagnosis, takes them through chemo, radiation, surgery, all the stuff. And there's a huge section it's called everything exercise, with hundreds of photos. You know there's regular photos.

Speaker 2: 33:30

But then you know, if you cannot stand, here's all these exercises you can do in a chair. If you're stuck in bed, okay, here's all these exercises you can do in bed. If you're sick, like me, and you need to take five showers a day because you're sick, here's dozens of stretches you can do in the shower. So it's thorough. Talks about exercise at all stages, nutrition, complimentary care, quality rest, how to deal with your family, how to allow your community to support you. So it's thorough and it's working.

Speaker 1: 34:04

How's the response been?

Speaker 2: 34:06

Incredible, in fact. My greatest source of pride right now is oncologists are purchasing it in bulk for their patients.

Speaker 1: 34:16

Fantastic.

Speaker 2: 34:17

Brilliant cancer minds are saying I need my people to have this and so I'm thrilled it's doing fantastic. And then there's the companion journal, which is, you know, a place to put your scans and your diagnosis and all your cancer details, but then use it as a cathartic place to put your fears, your faith, your family, friend, the funny stuff. You know what celebrity do you look like, bald? For me it was Crazy Britney Spears. So I mean, I got a lot of funny feedback.

Speaker 2: 34:45

Grace Jones thought, really, but yeah, they would say you look like Crazy Britney. And I thought, all right, and yeah, like what have you nicknamed your tumor? And then the back 100 pages of this is a daily log journal for your exercise, nutrition, hydration, sleep and then strawberry moments, which are the best parts of each day. And I just want to encourage everybody no matter what you're going through, the house burns down, you've got ALS, whatever you get struck by lightning, something great happened that day and it really matters that, even amongst pain and suffering, you focus on the good things that exist in your life, because they're there.

Speaker 1: 35:26

So I mean I know this is just such a huge part of your life and you're an inspiration, and I mean just how affirmative that you know oncologists are now buying this book and bulk to give to patients. It just shows that this is something that they clearly clearly agree with. But I'm assuming you want to be defined by more than the cancer background, right? So when you speak, when you're at these events, how do your topics chosen? What are some of the topics that you find are most effective when you get in front of large groups?

Speaker 2: 36:00

So when I'm hired I custom make presentations for my clients. You know there's never a one size fits all solution and each corporation is different. So you know, whether it's Disney or Tropicana or Office Depot, or you know American Massage Therapy Association, they all have their different needs and usually they come at me and they say, okay, she's got a health and fitness background, or she's been through hardship. Or I was just recently asked to do a presentation on community, which I love to get really excited about. I just want to hadn't delivered before, but the reality is, is communities?

Speaker 2: 36:36

are very important to overall wellness and wellness of an organization and my running community, my endurance community, makes great exhibit A's to prove the value of community. So I was in Chicago with the American Massage Therapy Association and it was one of those presentations where everybody was laughing and nodding and cheering and it meant so much to me. It was a brand new presentation for me. So you know, there's some of these fixing your life of fitness or a health during hardship those are my go-to things that I can do all day. But community, that was a new one for me. And you know, when you're standing on a stage and people are cheering halfway through you're thinking, oh, thank God, this one went great too, cause it's new, you never know.

Speaker 2: 37:24

So yeah, it's always really customized to the client I'm dealing with and you know I use my background and expertise and experience to knock them dead.

Speaker 1: 37:34

Yeah, I love it. So you know, community I've been, you know I've done some of the OCR type stuff and I was involved in CrossFit, which you know I don't know if it's almost embarrassing to say it out loud, but I did that for like eight years and there really are these communities, fitness communities around. I mean I know I was never really into the Spartan community but a couple of my friends got really into it. I mean they were traveling all across the country going as many events as possible and I've had some time, a chance to speak with Joe DeSena a little bit, and you know I was kind of in the space for a minute. Is, when you say communities, that the kind of community you're talking about building?

Speaker 2: 38:12

Well, I mean just anything you know for those massage therapy association people, or whether you're a neurosurgeon or I don't know, you're the garbage collector is the alone, we can do so little, together, we can do so much.

Speaker 2: 38:26

And so not only utilize our resources to enhance our own lives, to enhance the common goal. How do we dive in a little more and be a better part of that community? So yeah, I mean the exhibits, the examples and the endurance community are fantastic and I particularly I love the fact that. You know, when people think of running they think of this skinny or lean guy or gal and the big, the tank tops with the big holes and the shorty shorts, and maybe that's a good. You know small percentage of the running community. But when I stand on the stage at a massive running event there's maybe 10% of the athletes look like those speedsters and then the other 20% seriously look like anyone you would see at Walmart at 3 am. They are every walk of life, every fitness level, every body type, every socioeconomic background. They are different and interesting and then the same right, and so many of them wear shirts that say I hate running and they kind of mean that in the back of their heart and some of them may just walk exclusively.

Speaker 2: 39:29

So not everyone in the running community runs. But why are they there? They're there, sure they wanna take care of their health. Perhaps they're running for their community, to raise funds for a new ballpark, or they're trying to support their favorite cause, you know, mental health awareness or diabetes or et cetera, but they're all like the best part of society. There are people trying to embedder themselves or the groups around them and I'm such a motley crew cause so many of them people that, again, you would never guess even ran a step ever. They get together and they pick a race across the country and they share trains or they board planes and they share hotel rooms and they go do meals together and adventures. And you know, okay, you hate to run, fine, show up and walk a 5K, you can still be part of the hubbub. And they're all wearing matching outfits or silly costumes. I mean it just when it comes to community, the endurance people, really, you know, they add so much quality to their life and it almost has nothing to do with running, even though it does.

Speaker 1: 40:37

No, I understand exactly what you mean. I so, like I said, I was involved in the technology side of the endurance space. So we worked with Iron man and Spartan and Tough Mudder and all the marathons and so one of the guys I worked with who became a close friend great guys Mike Riley. Mike Riley is oh he's a good friend.

Speaker 1: 41:01

Yeah, mike Riley, the voice of Iron man. He's been doing it for 30-something years. Love Mike. But you know we would be at restaurants and people would come up to Mike and recognize Mike with you know, like the MDOT tattoo on their calf or whatever it is, and I mean you would see people almost in tears speaking with him and we would talk a lot about it.

Speaker 1: 41:23

And it isn't even the event.

Speaker 1: 41:26

It's the fact that so many of these people set the event as the goal of this thing they want to accomplish in life and in many cases they're changing their lives to go after this particular thing. I mean, iron man is a whole different beast, right, I mean to be able to accomplish one of those things is just an unbelievable feat. But you know, it's like they work and they put all the time and the effort and the energy and the nutrition and the sacrifice and then it's like they accomplish that event and it's like it's just such a fulfilling moment and I think in a lot of these people's lives I would assume, you know, as you're doing a marathon or a half marathon or a 5K, you know so many of these people have set this goal for themselves. Maybe they were obese, or they were unhealthy, or they weren't getting off the couch, or pre-diabetic or whatever it could be. And then they set this goal for themselves, they work at it and they accomplish it, and it means so much more than just the race right.

Speaker 2: 42:16

Absolutely, and that's the whole thing. I mean, nobody signs up for 26.2 miles or 13.1 unless it means something to them. So you know, what I wish, as I stand on my stage looking over these 20,000 people, is I wish I knew what all their reasons were. You know, cause they each have these precious stories saying again, it could be health and fitness. But you know, have there been several grandparents You've said I lost my grandchild this year, or you know whatever. Yeah, I mean, it's just so touching and it's meaningful, and that's why they're willing to do all that work to get to point B. And then it's my job, when they're there, to you know, if you're trying to PR, trying to win the race, whatever, okay, it's my job to crank you up, but then it's my job, for those people who are feeling anxious right, they're stressed, they're nervous is to calm them down and remind them.

Speaker 2: 43:07

Hey, you know what cancer is scary. War is scary. Walking or running XYZ miles with a bunch of really cool people not scary. You have done all the hard work. This is athletic adventure in your life. Today is supposed to be fun. That's why you're here. You're instantly a part of our team, our running family. So have a good time, respect yourself, hydrate and have some fun, and when you come back to that finish line, I expect you to celebrate yourself. I mean, nothing's worse than people who come to the finish line with a grouchy face looking at their watch. I think you've missed the whole point I've missed the point.

Speaker 2: 43:41

Hands up, smile, and I will always make sure a champion gets a champion's welcome and that's a forte of mine. But really, the people I get excited about are the people further in the pack, because those elites will tell you every single time it is so much harder to be a seven-hour marathoner than it is a two and a half hour marathoner. It's time on your feet. It's time inside your head trying to convince yourself to keep going forward. It's time with the elements, whether it's super hot or super cold or super wet. It's you versus you, and when people come through I'm bonkers over them. I want to make sure every last one of those people, including Dead Last, feels like they won the race. We're so proud of them and you know I get down on the ground and there's lots of sweaty hugs and I just fall in love with you all In a heartbeat. All of a sudden we're holding hands and I'm smooching people I don't know and I'm so grateful for it. You know people are the best.

Speaker 1: 44:39

Yeah, I was looking at your list of events you've called I did the San Diego half marathon, so I don't know, maybe there was an overlap, maybe there was. I'm not sure how many years you've done that, but I know you're a mom. You have two children, right, I do too. I have two girls. Actually, I think I read on your website your son's name is Parker, correct. My daughter's name is Parker. Yeah, I like that name. Anyways, I would be remiss if I did not talk about the morning mile. Oh, thank you. Yeah, so maybe you could tell me a little bit more about that, or tell the listeners a little bit more about that.

Speaker 2: 45:15

Yeah, so the morning mile I launched in I think it was 2011. It's been a while now, but it's a before school walking running program that gives kids, gives children, their families and the faculty the opportunity to start every day, every school day, in an active way, with fun, music and friends. And so the kids show up, they get 30 minute window before school. They can come out and walk one lap, grab the backpack, go to class where they can come out and stay the whole 30 minutes run or walk or do any combination, skip trot. No coaching, no choreography, it's just a free space and we keep track of their laps and as they progress, we reward them for distance accomplishments. And you know it's funny.

Speaker 2: 45:58

There's some other programs that say, well, only girls or only boys? And since I am, as I told you earlier, addicted to mass impact, I think why in God's earth would we not disallow someone from coming out to walk or run on the field, right? So I want every kid out there and their family and their faculty. The bus drivers do it, the principals do it and we make it fun and you come at your own pace and do your own thing, go at your own pace, you can hold hands with your BFF and chit chat the whole time. We don't require any mileage, you know. So there's some programs who say you're only going to do 26.2. Hooray. And for me I say I'll just keep going. Right, we're going to do it every day.

Speaker 2: 46:38

See what you come up with. We have elementary school kids who have blown past 700 miles in one school year.

Speaker 2: 46:46

Again no coaching, no choreography, no complication. We just make it a fun. Y'all come and we reward them, we unleash them and they do incredible things. So I have the morning mile in over 400 schools worldwide and my goal before I die is to have it in every school in America. So please, please, help y'all. Go to morningmilecom If you would like to help get more kids moving in the mornings. You could help get your favorite school started. Or if you're a business or a generous individual and you would like to fund these schools. It's inexpensive and the one-time sponsorship fee lasts an entire lifetime. It never needs to be removed or renewed. So morning mile is the thing I wanted my tombstone one day. It's that important I love that Well.

Speaker 1: 47:30

I appreciate you coming on the show. It's been absolute delight speaking with you. You've lived an unbelievable life. To this point, You've done so many amazing things. I think you've impacted probably more people than you even realize and I appreciate you coming on and talking.

Speaker 2: 47:46

Wow, thank you so much for having me, greg, and it sounds like we're on the same path. I hope you will show up at one of my starting finish lines one day so I can give you or receive you.

Speaker 1: 47:55

I would love to. I'd love to. I got to get your schedule and I'll set myself a little goal of training and coming out and doing another event. I honestly, I used to do them pretty frequently and I don't know what it is. It's the whole COVID thing Just threw everything off, like we went from working in one office every day and being around people to like pretty much work from home, home office, and then you're like that excuse is done with You're done it's terrible, I know.

Speaker 2: 48:21

I know, I know.

Speaker 1: 48:22

Yeah, I'm with you. Hey, you're a little bossy. Yeah, thank you, just kidding. I appreciate it. We'll talk soon.

Speaker 2: 48:32

Bye guys.