RONJONES.ORG: "WellPRO Dan Mackey"

“Today, I’m going to make a difference in someone’s life.”
--Dan Mackey’s Morning Mantra

“The Gym” in Ventura, California…is it the last great gym in America? It just might be. After decades of gyms and fitness, I’ve never seen anyplace like what has affectionately been known in the bohemian beach town of
Ventura for 38 years simply as—The Gym.

I’m a life-long athlete and have been in the health and fitness business for over a decade along with competing internationally as an endurance athlete. As a Wellcoach, I’m a healer—doing in minutes what many clinical services can’t do in years to improve health. Yeah…I know a few things at this point. And you know what? There is always someone that knows more and something you do not. The challenge is will you listen when the universe brings you the message? Enter Dan Mackey. In 60 minutes, this man changed my life forever…beyond what I even could comprehend as I stumbled out of his gym somewhat dazed and confused not by the physical workout…but by the depth of his wisdom and his spiritual ability to know what I needed to hear at that exact moment in time (the finer points to which I’m still just starting to realize). The rest has been, and will continue to be, my history…forever changed by an hour of fitness chat in a small gym in America…or was it really fitness we were talking about after all?

My corporate client Scott told me to check out his local gym. He described an older place with the essentials down on Ventura’s old Main Street; it was called “the gym” or something like that…funny name for a gym I thought. Ventura, California…what a cool place…all the best of what vintage California living used to be—and still is in Ventura. Voted by one national magazine as the best place in America to live if you want to be physically active outdoors. Ventura has it all—the sand, the surf, the trails, the weather, the cool beach culture, and of course—The Gym. I rolled down after work trying to find it. Driving right by a couple of times, I saw a very small sign in front of some mirrored glass. At first I thought I might be a bar—but the old school bar was next door complete with its interesting array of the afternoon characters. I pulled around back to a small stairway going into a single door to make sure it was really a gym. The place did not look very inviting to me. I felt apprehensive…sort of out of place. Was it really a gym? Should I walk in and expose myself to who knows what? I wavered…then something told me to let go and enter. That short moment of truth forever changed my life in 2006…for the best.

As I entered the mirrored front door of The Gym, I was met with mellow ambient light spilling in from the skylight and classic rock wafting through the air like the smell of a good summer cookout. I was immediately in sensory overload—but this time not from the usual “box gym” blast of dozens of TVs, music I usually don’t like, and a busying array of high-pressure corporate rules and product sales—the senses activated were pleasant and calming to my soul. My Zen switch went to ON. A few people were taking care of their own business quietly going about daily workout regimes. Some of the crowd (all three of them) was older. Some looked like they had been there for decades—which I later found out was actually true. After a few moments, the friendly staff person wandered over. I gladly paid the nominal workout fee, and then instead of diving into a vicious set of iron or intervals, I spent the next ten minutes or so just wandering around, thinking, and most importantly…feeling. It was one of the coolest fitness experiences of my life—and I hadn’t even touched a dumbbell yet!

The Gym has an incredible energy like no other I’ve experienced. Much of the equipment is old—really old. I make a point of “old” not to criticize, but to respect because this stuff works better than much of the new equipment I’ve tried over the years. What amazed me was that there were things in The Gym that I had only seen in photos or read about—and some things I’d never seen or heard about at all. A cornucopia of old-school fitness gear like specially made cable handles with thick decades-old rope weaving through carefully bent metal tubing, Olympic plate floor racks that actually spin so you can easily bring the plate next to you for use, “handmade” wood trayed dumbbell racks, and much more. A history of fitness Nirvana! I was in heaven. Make no mistake, it’s definitely pro equipment—but handmade by people that knew what they were doing. And for anyone that doubts, it has stood the test of time for decades and still remains in faithful service.

I don’t think many gyms like this exist in American anymore—if any. The Gym is mellow, comfortable, a neighborhood place where fitness friends meet—for decades and not just through a trial membership. It’s a simple place. Very straight up. Fee entanglements? Ha! If you want to join, it’s $160 for three months, $220 for six months, or $375 for twelve months. No dues, initiations, or other hidden fees. Pay the simple fee and workout—that’s it. Try to find a gym like this today in America! They don’t make them like this anymore! And the coolest part that first night I spent at The Gym that really let me know this was truly a one of a kind left over from a previous era? I was instructed to turn off the lights and shut the door on my way out if I was the last one to leave. So I stayed. Simply working out—but really working within to feel the spiritual energy of this special place. I left that first night in a pleasant sweat and sense of throwback calm. As I walked out into the cool beach town chill and healthy fresh air feeling so alive, I turned off the lights and softly shut the door behind me knowing that there were still people in the world that believe in good instead of bad. I’ll never forget that feeling of floating out of The Gym on my first visit…so pleasant it still brings a relaxed smile to my face.

Since that day in 2006, I’ve learned a lot about The Gym, and The Gym has taught me a lot as well, but not about something as superficial as lifting a dumbbell or doing a core crunch, but about life itself. The Gym was founded back in 1970 by Dan Mackey. On my second visit to the gym in fall of 2006, I met Dan while working out with client friends Scott and Alf. After I gave the guys a great physical workout, Dan gave us all an even better “mental” workout. I left that day with my head spinning! Who was this old guy of small stature? He didn’t look like a trainer by today’s standards. He was older. Dressed in simple jeans and jacket. Not big and bulky—and definitely not loud. While soft spoken, Dan was confident. He spoke with great clarity and deeply about the body, training, mental concentration, and in reality, life itself. The guy got into my head and would not get out! For weeks, I reflected on small things that he said that seemed much larger. I couldn’t quite follow him and wasn’t sure exactly what he was getting at…but I understood enough to know I needed to talk to this guy more and soon! I saw him once more just briefly and asked if he minded me conducting an interview from a historical perspective about his work and The Gym. I’ve had an interest for years in Muscle Beach and the history of fitness and thought Dan and The Gym would be a nice piece to research and write about. Dan humbly agreed. I knew Dan used to be some sort of body builder back in the day. It would be cool to talk about fitness history a bit. I looked forward to the interview. We went our separate ways that afternoon—sort of.

Life speeds by in corporate wellness. The pace is intense. America is falling apart from the inside out as in our human capital is rotting from obesity and sloth. I fix as many as I can each week always leaving more tasks that still need to be done. As with everyone I know—life is very busy. Weeks went by all the while me thinking I need to get back with Dan so I can settle down my brain and fully understand what he planted with me in that one previous hour of our initial conversation…weeks then turned into months and the months piled up into a year.

I got an e-mail from Scott right before New Year’s in 2007. Dan Mackey, world class fitness trainer and nationally honored body builder had died on his way home from his final day at The Gym. My heart sank. I knew. I had blown a golden opportunity to explore someone very special. For days, if not weeks, I was devastated and became angry with myself, my overscheduled busy life in the fast lane that at times knocks me down away from “connecting” to people the universe can just drop into my lap upon a casual visit in a strange town. But guys like Dan don’t just leave…their spirits stay long after the former world-class bodies leave us. Legacies are supposed to live. Would it end up like this? Negative, being mad at myself, mourning a loss? January 2008. I was at yet another Crossroads—this time not on my familiar bike or while in a cross country race, but as wellness pro, a writer, and a person doing my best to heal America. Dan was not finished with me quite yet…he still had a lot to say to me and my life despite his physical words to me that day being in the past tense.

Word came through my friend Scott that Dan’s daughter Shawn Freeman would be continuing at The Gym and taking her father’s legacy of positive energy and fitness forward. I had a realization…the interview must go forward but through Dan’s daughter. The message must be heard and preserved…and my own questions still needed to be answered! Dan believed the universe provided to a person what they needed. After posting Dan’s obituary on my website with some respectful comments on how he changed my life, Dan’s other daughter Dani contacted me from South Carolina. She had found my tribute to her father on the web and was touched by my comments. It was a clear sign to me that I needed to contact Shawn…days later I had confirmed a future interview about Dan Mackey’s life and The Gym.

In April 2008, I finally sat down with Dan’s daughter Shawn and current owner of The Gym. I had to start by telling Shawn “my story” about her Dad which was that he changed my life in just 60 minutes during our first (and ironically our last) real conversation together. Entering the corporate side of wellness in 2004 pushed my schedule into an even more frantic pace. I began missing workouts—too many. I went from basically years of 5-6 hardcore workouts a week down to 3-4 with much less intensity. I was at best just holding my own and definitely not improving anymore. Was it the beginning of the end? For a lot of people it would be. It might have been for me too had it not been for Dan Mackey that one evening in his gym. In the midst of conversation, we got into exercise and about all the people not doing it. He made a quick comment that he basically exercised everyday and had most of his life. You know what’s interesting about visionary people? How much they can say sometimes with so little. It’s weird. It was a quick comment—loaded with spiritual depth at the perfect time in my life. I know Jack LaLanne. He told me he hasn’t missed a workout—in over 50 years! He works out seven days a week. While extreme, he’s Jack LaLanne, so I let it go at that. But then Dan added his own twist—he just did something—anything—but made sure to get some activity even though it was not the two hours per day workouts of LaLanne. I’m world-class at simplifying complex health and fitness issues so people will actually do them. This made perfect sense to me. I love LaLanne—but there is no one like him. Even I can’t begin to match that guy; however, maybe I could use the Mackey Method of “doing something daily” to coach my own self back into a more regular exercise routine.

On New Year’s Day 2007, I set out to exercise for 30 days in a row for at least 30 minutes a day. No bullshit excuses. I was going to do it or die trying. I didn’t care what it was, but I was determined to get “30 Days OUT of the Hole!” (Ironically, on New Year’s Day 1987, I began exercising on a daily basis and completely changed my life. 2007 marked a full 20 years of dedication to my wellness lifestyle with regular exercise.) Now I was hurting…limping if you will. I needed something…30 days. Funny thing about behavioral psychology, it even works for the coach! Research shows it takes about 21 days to initiate a new behavior. While the behavior takes about six months to be permanent, you can recalibrate in about three weeks. I’ll admit that my first two weeks of exercising daily without any of the normal BS excuses was absolutely miserable! I hated it! Regardless, I'm a "crafty" Wellcoach and have many strategic tricks. One is public declaration. I told everyone on my website and all my clients I was going for 30 days out of the hole. Many days during that first month I might have bailed out had it not been for my public promise to everyone. I could not lie because my whole bottom line as a Wellcoach is to tell people the truth about health and fitness. Damn my honesty! But then guess what? At about three weeks something just clicked—daily exercise for at least 30 minutes became part of me again. It’s what I did. It’s what I and others expected of me. While not easy, I knew I would do it no matter how tired or lazy or busy…just do something…that was all.

The Mackey Method of just “doing something” was working. One month rolled into two then three and finally I just realized I might as well keep going! While going hard daily for seven days a week indefinitely is never something I recommend to clients, Dan’s “just do something” method works for me and my personality. Why? Because it’s better for me to de-stress with an easy walk than to just do nothing and stew about life’s problems (see “get off your own shit” comments below!). I exercise daily for stress management more than fitness. Ironically, I still lost five pounds in 2007 and improved fitness even though about a third of the time my workouts were just easy walking on the bike path or neighborhood.

My in-depth interview and conversation with Dan’s daughter Shawn and current owner of The Gym provided many answers to months of questions I had about her father. Philosophically, Dan was a very deep man who held a PhD in Philosophy…a rarity for someone in the “fitness” business. Shawn described him as more of a life coach than a master trainer. He was actually both—training professionally back in the 1960s long before the industry had developed “personal training” as a profession and helping people to improve their lives through fitness and time spent at The Gym. Physically, Dan was quite accomplished. He started as a small kid that couldn’t even make the high school football team then went on to be a Heavy Weight Golden Gloves Boxing Champion. Dan was also an accomplished American body builder in the same circle as body building legends like Vince “Iron Guru” Gironda and Dave Draper. Dan Mackey was truly a significant part of American fitness history. The prototype equipment developed by Dan for The Gym back in the early 1970s went on to become nationally manufactured equipment by Polaris. Many of Dan’s original equipment ideas and designs can now be seen in gyms across America.

Dan Mackey became known for this “life” and training mantra: “Find, Focus, Flex, and Feel.” While on the surface it sounds like thinking about what muscle you’re working to body build, remember that Dan had a PhD in philosophy, so there was far more to his mantra that gym work. What he was really speaking about was a person being able to live inside of their bodies instead of living outside of their bodies i.e. in their own shit. Basically he meant this—stop whining about all the crap and drama going on about your life. Come into The Gym or your workout, forget about the “external” issues clouding your vision and keeping you away from focusing in the moment and focusing on your own body—from the inside. If you can leave the drama outside and all the crap, find your inner self, focus internally, flex your body AND MIND, then you can actually begin to feel life itself at the highest level. So with Dan, it was never about just working out and flexing muscle…it was about “flexing life.”

On May 14, 2008 will mark 500 days in a row of consecutive exercise for at least 30 minutes per day for me. Thanks Dan. Those 60 minutes one evening in 2006 with you were some of the best I ever spent. Thanks for your work, your life, your passion, and most importantly, your belief in the good in people. Your lesson and advice to us to: “Find, Focus, Flex, and Feel” was never just about flexing in muscle isolation…it was about life outside of the gym and beyond the workout. I should have known. When you told me to “know what muscle you are working” it was never about body building and physiology…it was about focusing and connecting and being in the moment no matter what the activity. You said a lot with less. I’m listening and will continue to pass it on.

“Be careful of what you ask for in life because it will show up.”
--Dan Mackey

So if you ever have the opportunity to visit the California beach town of Ventura, make sure you have the honor of a workout at The Gym. Pay a few bucks, say hello to Shawn and the regulars--some young and some old, leave the drama at the door, and enjoy a great experience that will go far beyond the physical benefits of exercise and Olympic weights. Oh…and one more thing…don’t forget to turn off the lights on your way out.

Special thanks to Dan Mackey, Dan's daughters Shawn Freeman and Dani Ammon, and the many friends of Dan that helped contribute to the energy of this article. Legacies live…let’s all remember to “Find, Focus, Flex, and to keep Feeling” Dan, his life’s journey, and our own internal sense of living and well-being through life-long fitness and health because America needs it now more than ever.