So, you think everyone who works out looks like Jillian Michaels? You think that an average Joe like you could never scale a rock face or bench press 200 pounds? Wrong. Here’s the proof: people with amazing athletic talents disguised as average folks, just like you. Meet them at a cocktail party and you’d never guess they can stand on their heads or tango like Valentino, but they can – and they do. Their message to anyone who’s listening: You can, too.
A torn rotator cuff muscle requiring surgery and months of physical therapy might keep some people down. Not Scott Swank. The mild-mannered, seemingly stereotypical IT nerd bided his time, not only regaining his former health, but surpassing it to earn his second-degree black belt in aikido in January.
Incognito: Senior software engineer for Vegas.com
In his element: At Southern Nevada Aikikai, a dojo under T.K. Chiba, teaching and practicing aikido three to four times a week. Now approaching his third decade in the sport, Swank loves how it teaches you to vanquish an opponent by controlling his body posture and movements. “It doesn’t work in the obvious, ‘I hit you in the face’ ways,” he says.
In his fridge: Pretty standard fare, consumed mindfully. “I don’t eat huge meals. I don’t eat a lot of desserts, don’t drink a lot of soda, don’t eat a ton of meat. I try not to be stupid. That’s about it.”
In his words: “If I wasn’t doing something I like, I wouldn’t make it there four days a week.”
Paralyzed at the age of 14 when he fell 70 feet from a cliff in Idaho, Bill Eddins knows a thing or two about being underestimated. Always an active kid, he started doing wheelchair sports within two years of his injury, and hasn’t stopped since.
Incognito: Adapted physical education teacher for Clark County School District and leader of the Paralympic Sport Club of Las Vegas
In his element: Plays competitive paralympic basketball, works out three times a week (mainly cardio, such as hand-cycling) and is trying to cut back on high impact sports to save his joints from years of football, skiing and weight lifting.
In his fridge: Juice Plus, a blend of nutrients and vitamins from fruits and vegetables. “I try to eat more of my calories before 6 p.m., because … it’s a little easier for substantial weight gain to happen for people who don’t use many muscles below the waist,” he says.
In his words: “(Fitness) starts on the inside. It doesn’t matter what your abilities are or aren’t. You feel better when you’re active. I think too many times, we try to say, ‘You have to go get a club membership.’ Maybe you like bowling — then do that five times a week.”
At just under 5 feet tall (“Four-eleven and three-quarters!”), and as someone who prefers listening to others over talking about herself, Mi Ann Bennett could easily be mistaken for mousy. Oh, what a mistake that would be …
Incognito: Freelance accountant and bookkeeper, and anthropology student at UNLV
In her element: On a dance floor, where she takes tango lessons two hours a week and participates in dance events twice a month; or, in a yoga studio, where she practices twice a week. Not into intense cardio, she loves the body control, the discipline of tango. “It’s about how to move your body in space gracefully, mindfully, but loosely,” she says. “It’s a dance, so that’s not easy to accomplish.”
In her fridge: Acai berries, chia seeds, green powder, bananas, fruit. “I don’t eat a lot of sweets. I don’t eat fast food. I do eat out a bit, but when I do, it’s good restaurants. I like sushi.”
In her words: “Try things. You could surprise yourself. … Find things to do that fire your imagination as well as your physical body. It doesn’t have to be glamorous, but the physical part is necessary. The joy of movement brings benefits to your whole life.”
At 58, Robin Picardo had an entire, cancerous lung removed. Scared and numb, she stumbled into Suzanne Barnes’ yoga class at Lorenzi Park senior center and learned to feel again. Twenty years later, and still cancer-free, she hasn’t spent a week without yoga since.
Incognito: A former Las Vegas tour guide who now volunteers for animal rights groups
In her element: Teaches six vinyasa flow yoga classes a week at various studios around town, on top of taking four classes and practicing on her own in her home studio. “I do yoga every day, all day,” she says. “After animals and people, it’s the thing I love most.”
In her fridge: Fresh, organic, vegetarian fare. According to Picardo, it’s easy to stay healthy if you buy wholesome ingredients and cook at home.
In her words: “Just show up. Enjoy what you’re doing and don’t worry. Your body will respond, and things will begin to change in your life. … Whatever is enjoyable, do it, but move.”
So different are Xavier Wasiak’s weekday and weekend personas that when the two collide, it’s almost embarrassing. As a newbie in commercial real estate, delivering pizzas to pay the bills, he’d hope not to get sent to a client’s address. Now, he says, “When my climbing friends see me in work dress, they’re like, ‘I don’t know that guy. Who is that?’”
Incognito: Senior vice president of the industrial group at Grubb & Ellis
In his element: Working his way up the face of a rock formation in the mountains around Las Vegas. Besides spending some 100 days a year rock climbing, Wasiak also runs, works out with weights, dances tango with his fiancée and practices yoga. “I fell in love with the adventure aspect of climbing — the unknown ending … the problem-solving aspect of it,” he says.
In his fridge: Meat and vegetables. “I stay away from wheat, pasta, bread. We’re not total maniacs or extremists, but we have to watch out for sure.”
In his words: “I’m just an average Joe. I have no extraordinary talent or gene. If you’re doing things you love, and you’re doing them because you love yourself, then the obvious outflow of that is you keep doing them and get better.”