I absolutely love the fitness world and feel more at home there than in any other arena. It is dynamic, filled with incredibly interesting and talented people, and fosters a tremendous amount of motivation, determination and inspiration. Through my immersion in fitness circles, I have come to the realization that fitness-minded folk behave and speak differently, and have a very different perspective on life from those who are not involved in fitness. There is an obsessive determination which comes across consistently which I do not find in regular individuals.

Fitness people DO NOT GIVE UP. They will work tirelessly at reaching their goals, whether they be new athletic achievements, weightlifting records, or contest goals. They are beasts in the gym, working through the pain of intense workouts that would make most people walk away. They have a language of their own which I now know fluently and feel completely comfortable speaking. They experience frustration and anxiety when they are unable to get to the gym. Plastic and glass storage containers are their standard dishware, and they know all too well what it is like to eat meals in cars. Fitness people find it very difficult to eat meals in restaurants and strike their non-fitness friends as being ultra-picky.

The differences between fitness and non-fitness people become glaringly obvious at big fitness events such as the Arnold Sports Festival, when bodybuilders, fitness enthusiasts and athletes of all kinds descend on Columbus, Ohio and bump elbows with middle America. Fitness people look like real-life superheroes, beautifully muscled, spray tanned, and wearing body-baring outfits which the average person would not even consider wearing out in public. To put it bluntly, fitness people are spectacles, walking wonders, and incredible sources of inspiration. It is truly an honor to be included in this amazing community.