AGE:  52

PROFESSION:  Realtor

HOMETOWN:  Philadelphia   

COLLEGE:  Bennington College

FAVORITE FOOD:  La Scala chopped salad

FAVORITE PLACE VISITED:  Bora Bora

PLACE YOU WANT TO VISIT:  Bali

FAVORITE MOVIE:  “Being There” starring Peter Sellers

FAVORITE SINGER:  Notorious BIG

HOBBIES:  Nothing sexy…Netflix, Amazon Prime & travel.

BACKGROUND:  I moved to LA after graduating from Bennington College in Vermont in the early 90’s. After a few years , I got a record deal on Electra Records after two local radio stations started playing two of my songs. It was fun hip hop music and as soon as Electra released my first single, “Not the Greatest Rapper,” MTV started playing the video and it ended up selling 2 million records. I got to travel all over the world and it was more than a lot of fun. I had so many unique experiences, including being invited to Neverland to work with Michael Jackson. When the calm finally came, I settled back in Los Angeles and started working in the film industry for Brett Ratner and had an incredible job working side by side with him from Rush Hour 2 through Xmen 3. Eventually I got into real estate and for the last 10 years have worked as a realtor in Santa Monica and the Westside. Quite a few of those actors/musicians that I worked with are now my clients, although due to the many non disclosure agreements, I cannot mention their names. I currently live in Santa Monica with my wife Jenna and my 7 pound maltese poodle rescue, Mila.

I returned to Sonki’s class four months ago after a four year hiatus. I was very surprised and happy that all the same people were still there. I had a few surgeries in 2017 & 2018 and had not done much exercise since. I basically had to walk through my fear of injuring myself, although none of the surgeries were sports/fitness related. Sonki was very persistent about returning each time we saw each other, and finally I had no excuses left to give him. I started up again earlier this year and each week I felt better and better, not to mention the fears I had disappeared. Four months later, I have lost almost 20 pounds, and feel mentally and physically stronger. I am forever grateful that Sonki refused to give up on me.

What is your current routine?  Sonki Fitness on MWF at 6:30PM in Santa Monica, followed up by some sort of cardio on the weekends. I am wonderfully paranoid about not dragging on the Monday class.

What is your motivation to stay in shape?  Each day I wake up and feel good that I am doing something to improve the quality of my life. Plus, being comfortable in my clothes is always a plus.

What is your greatest challenge to staying in shape?  Consistency and making better food choices. However, I now always eat better at night because I do not want the hour of hard work at Sonki Fitness to be wasted. Fitness and nutrition work together.    

What is your key to success?  Never giving up and understanding that it is all about the long game. Success in any area takes time.

What do you like about Sonki Fitness and how has it affected your life?  I love the class environment. The laughter. The general feeling that we are not competing against each other and that we are all showing up, working together to improve the quality of our lives. That keeps me coming back.

What advice would you give to others about fitness?  The first step getting back into it is the hardest and try your best to walk through all the noise in your head that tells you all the reasons why you “can’t.” It kept me away from Sonki Fitness far too long.