's motd Tuesday October 5, 2010 - Slimmons

[Guest guest]

BACK TO

SLIMMONS TONIGHT!

Tuesday, 05 October 2010

Oh, I so loved teaching the

sweatin' classes on our Cruise To Lose. My

friend, , worked so hard designing all

of the tank tops I wore on the cruise. (I don't think

I've ever sparkled so much!) And while I

was teaching, I got to see the faces of my hundreds of

cruisers who were as turned on to exercise as I was.

You know how much I love singing along to the songs we

work out to. Well, guess what? My cruisers were

singing right along with me as we worked out. I'm

telling you, at times we sound like the Mormon

Tabernacle Choir, we sang so good!

Oh yes, we had a great time

sweatin' together on the cruise. But I have to tell

you, I'm so excited about my return to teaching class

at Slimmons tonight! Now, let me tell you a little

Slimmons story.

35 years ago, I rented the building that is now

Slimmons. When I first rented it, the interior of the

building had to be totally redone. Old walls were

torn out and new ones were put in I had to carve a

lobby out front for office space and a waiting area.

And I had to completely redesign the building's

largest room to make it into our sweatin' room.

Before the construction crew got started, lots of wood

and glass had to be shipped in. The architect pointed

out that because all of the materials were so

expensive, it would be a good idea for someone to be

there overnight to make sure none of the construction

materials were taken. Well, I couldn't afford a

security guard so I decided to move into the studio

myself to be on guard overnight. I moved in a

mattress, some pillows, a sheet and blanket so I could

sleep comfortably while Slimmons was being rebuilt.

When I first began sleeping there,

I'd sometimes get a little panicky about the whole

project. I wondered if my new club would turn out to

be the place I'd dreamed of. I wondered if people

would come to dance, sweat and lose weight with me. I

mean, back in the 70s, there weren't a lot of places

for people to go where they wouldn't feel intimidated

working out in front of others. (Especially if they

were very overweight.) And this was an area of need I

felt just had to be filled.

For two-and-a-half months, I dragged my mattress into

the middle of that big room to spend another night in

what was going to become my sweatin' home away from

home. Now I have to say, over the course of those

couple of months, it was exciting to watch as Slimmons

was evolved into the place I'd dreamed of. I watched

it go from being a dark, muddy-colored environment to

the place it is today that I'm so happy being a part

of.

I can remember that very first

class as if it were yesterday. And get this, I had

only one student in class that very first

day, a lady I'll never forget. But a week later, the

number of students had increased to five and before

you knew it, the old warehouse-looking building that

underwent a major facelift was jam-packed with people

working out with me. I even remember the day I stuck

the mattress and pillows into my car and took them

back to my apartment, a couple of blocks away from the

studio. Hey, maybe I'll go spend one more night at

Slimmons, just to bring back some warm memories.

I know many of you reading this message have visited

Slimmons for a workout. So you know what a joyful

place it is for me and for my wonderful

students. I hope that one day your travels will bring

you to Los Angeles. And when they do, I hope you'll

come sweat with us at my favorite place to

sweat...Slimmons!

Love,