Overcoming Alcoholism to Forge a Health Legacy: Gary's Inspirational Fitness Journey at 50+
Feb 13, 2024Season 2Episode 16
Jay Croft
Nothing moves people like a story.
More than mere facts, and more than promotions or advertising, a good story makes us feel something. We relate to it. We want to take action, even if it’s just talking about the story some more.
Here’s an example of how powerful storytelling can be – for people trying to improve their lives and for a gym or fitness studio.
Gary shared his story with me, which I then shared with my audience… and the beautiful way it circled back to him was profound.
If you want to grow your audience and move them to join your club, you can’t talk about yourself all the time. Remember the stories are rarely about you, the fitness professional. Make them about your clients and prospects, help them connect to each other and to the power of healthy living — and you can’t go wrong.
More than mere facts, and more than promotions or advertising, a good story makes us feel something. We relate to it. We want to take action, even if it’s just talking about the story some more.
Here’s an example of how powerful storytelling can be – for people trying to improve their lives and for a gym or fitness studio.
Gary shared his story with me, which I then shared with my audience… and the beautiful way it circled back to him was profound.
If you want to grow your audience and move them to join your club, you can’t talk about yourself all the time. Remember the stories are rarely about you, the fitness professional. Make them about your clients and prospects, help them connect to each other and to the power of healthy living — and you can’t go wrong.
Nothing moves people like a story. More than mere facts and more than promotions or advertising, a good story makes us feel something. We relate to it. We're more likely to remember it. We want to take action, even if that action is just talking about the story some more. Here's an example of how powerful storytelling can be for people trying to improve their lives and for a gym or fitness studio.
Jay Croft:
Hi, I'm Jay Croft of Prime Fit Content and welcome to Optimal Aging, the show about expanding the reach of the fitness industry to more people over age 50. This is a short episode. Just me, no guest. I want to tell you a short story about a man I met recently, and then follow up with a vignette that beautifully illustrates the power of communicating with your community prospects and clients. Sure, made me feel good anyway.
Jay Croft:
This story is about Gary, a man I met last year at the gym. I spotted him as a newcomer to the gym right away. A newcomer to the gym I attend, I mean, so obviously not a newcomer to working out. He's muscular and fit and here's the best part clearly in his 60s. Gary was kind enough to answer my questions about his fitness journey, which included wide open transparency about his struggle in the past with alcohol. In fact, hitting rock bottom was a turning point for him in more ways than one. While he was in rehab, he started thinking about the legacy he was leaving his kids and grandkids, the values he was modeling and the memories he wanted them to have after he was gone, and that's when he devoted himself to living a healthy lifestyle. Today, years later, the results are apparent. You can see a photo of Gary on the Prime Fit Content Instagram page or on my website's blog. He's trim, strong and full of life. He also has a new girlfriend after moving here to Atlanta to be closer to his grown daughter.
Jay Croft:
I wrote about this idea of leaving a legacy for my Prime Fit Content customers who are gym and studio owners serving the over 50 demographic. It's the kind of content I send them each week to use on their blogs and social media and in their email newsletters to show people that they want to work with the so-called older market. By sharing useful, engaging and even just entertaining content, you show your values. You show what your business is all about. I'm going to read the story now and then a short follow up. Okay, here's the original story. How do you want to be remembered? What kind of a legacy are you trying to leave for your children and grandchildren or your friends and community? It's a question facing a lot of people later in life and it can motivate us to take positive action.
Jay Croft:
That's what happened with Gary Stewart about 15 years ago. By the time he was 50, Gary had become a successful businessman and was a former weekend warrior at the gym, on the golf course and on the basketball courts. But his drinking problem had gotten the best of him. And during a session in rehab, Gary was encouraged to think about the legacy he wanted to leave his two adult children and their kids. Gary says, "I dropped the anchor and said I'm changing. It hit me, it was an epiphany and I just said, 'I'm either going to leave a legacy of beating this problem or being haunted by it all my life.' And I decided that's it. I'm never going to touch another drop. I made a commitment to myself. Part of that was deciding to lift a bar instead of sit at one." end. Quote Gary became a regular at the gym, ate a proper diet and packed on a ton of muscle, finding a toehold in his quest for a new, healthy life. When he moved to a new city last year, he was fully confident walking into the neighborhood gym full of strangers and starting there again.
Jay Croft:
Now, wanting to leave a legacy is a powerful human drive for many people. We can all relate to that, right? It can manifest itself in several ways, such as leaving a financial estate to your heirs or creating an endowment to support education after you're gone. It can mean setting an example for others and spending time with the people you love, particularly those who will benefit from your life lessons and how you overcame challenges. Those can include health and fitness. Research is solid that playing with grandchildren is good for both mature adults and the kids physically, socially and emotionally. That's partly because you're encouraging the kids to have physical habits and to interact with older people and to share laughter and love, but also because you're moving and smiling yourself. It doesn't have to involve something as serious as an addiction or rehab, and it doesn't require spending as much time at the gym as Gary likes to do. He advises newcomers, "start slow and stick to the fundamentals. It takes time, so go slow and clean up your diet."
Jay Croft:
Years ago, Gary's crisis forced him to reevaluate how he wanted to be spending his time and how he wanted to be seen by those who looked up to him. Since he made some changes, e verything is better for him and the people he loves. Gary's now 66 and he said, "or me, I just decided it was going to be family, friends, fitness and golf all of that I made it packed on how I was going to live the rest of my life. Okay, that's the conclusion of the content that I sent to my Prime Fit content subscribers, and I want you to notice what is not in it Any promotion for Gary's gym or any gym or studio or trainer.
Jay Croft:
The story is not about them. It's about Gary. The story resonates because people relate to Gary and his desire to improve his life and relationships and health at this point in life. The photo I provided clinches the deal. He's real, he's relatable, but it's shocking to me how many fitness professionals will distribute member profiles or success stories that focus on themselves more than the true subject of the story. Please avoid that temptation.
Jay Croft:
Now, before I share that coda I mentioned, a few words about alcohol and substance abuse among mature adults. Decades ago, it was baby boomers who introduced widespread use of illegal drugs into the culture, and that growth of drug use continued as prescription medication became its own epidemic among middle-aged and older people. The US National Institutes of Health says, "Substantial evidence suggests that substance abuse among older adults has been under-identified for decades. The aging of the baby boom generation creates a new urgency to effectively identify and treat substance use among older adults." End quote. And in 2020, about 6 million older adults in the US alone met the criteria for alcohol abuse. According to a report in the journal Addiction. Older adults don't metabolize alcohol and drugs as quickly as we did when we were younger, so what we could handle earlier in life can become a problem later. Plus, many find themselves living alone and become socially isolating or drifting without much purpose later in life, after they stop working and the kids are gone.
Jay Croft:
Exercise can be a helpful part of recovery, along with 12-step programs, counseling and medical and family support. Dr Claire Twark wrote for the Harvard Medical School, " Many patients with various substance use disorders have found that exercise helps to distract them from cravings. Workouts add structure to the day. They help with positive social connections."
Jay Croft:
Now back Gary for that kicker. I bumped into him a few weeks after our initial interview and before I could thank him again for his candor and his time, he insisted on thanking me for sharing his story. He said he had received a lot of positive feedback from friends, family and strangers, including a young man at our gym. Gary said the 20-something man who is obese and trying to establish new fitness habits for himself thanked Gary and called his story an inspiration. The young man himself had recently quit drinking. He's sober, working out, slimming down and feeling good about his life, and I want to tell you that made my day right there for Gary to share that with me. The idea that something I created helped at least two other people live better lives and who knows how many others might have taken similar inspiration from Gary's tale or other material I've shared with gyms about optimal aging, which they then share with their communities.
Jay Croft:
Now, this is not about how awesome I am for telling Gary's story. It's not even about how awesome he is for living it. It's about the power of storytelling to connect people, to motivate them and to validate their dreams and desires, regardless of their age, fitness level, race or gender or any of those other things. If we can find ways to connect people to our businesses and to each other and to healthy habits like exercising regularly and eating right, then we can't lose. Remember, connect and share more than you promote. It makes you a valuable source of information and perspective that will grow your audience and your business. So please keep sharing stories, whether they come from me or anywhere else, because really nothing moves us like a story.
Jay Croft:
Thank you for listening to Optimal Aging. I hope you enjoyed it. Please subscribe, leave a five star rating and write a review. Also check out my affiliate sponsor, Life Priority Nutritional Supplements, owned by former World Series Champion Greg Pryor and his wife Michelle. Life Priority products support joint health and immunity, improve energy and sleep, and lots more of interest to fitness clients over 50. So follow the link in my show notes and get started with Life Priority now. And yes, full disclosure I do get a small financial reward if you purchase through the link. Learn more about how I can help your business grow at PrimeFitContent. com or send me an email at Jay at PrimeFitContent. com. I'm also on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, so contact me anywhere and join me next time.