Let's start with my training for my first body building competition in 1981. (I got 3rd place, BTW) I wasn't overly muscular. I was a gymnast and hurdler AND 18 y.o., so I basically ate tuna out of a can and oatmeal pancakes and fasted to lose those last few pounds.
I continued to train while in college.
I also earned an Athletic Training scholarship while at college. Graduated from the U of Maryland with a degree in Kinesiology in 1986. (I stayed an extra year) Back then, there were about 46 of us out of 40,000 undergraduate students who did so. We had bumper stickers made that said, "kinesaWHAT?!" Today this major is everywhere and there are no more bumpers on cars.
The fall season after those comedic presentations, tragedy struck. My beloved mother, best friend, travel partner, cheerleader was gone.
She dropped dead while jogging on a treadmill, my father was next to her on his treadmill. She took her last gasping breath in his arms. She always said that's how she wanted to go - fast.
6 years before this awful day, (she was actually released from the hospital the morning of 9/11, I remember being so grateful and thankful that I had my mother - when all those people were searching in anguish for their loved ones), my mother had the heart attack that revealed all of her other problems.
That's us to the right. We're in Palm Beach Florida.
I was speaking at a National Nurse in Business Conference, 2002 or 2003. =====>>>
Since recovering and after cardiac rehab, she did everything that she was told by the standard medical protocols. Even though my family members say that 'exercise' killed my mother, I know my mother died from SITTING=Sarcopenia, malnutrition, increasing insulin levels, SITTING=Sarcopenia and inflammation. But I will agree with this, "exercise will explode an already overloaded & exhausted system". Good Night.
She even had osteoporosis! (undiagnosed until she had her heart attack). No one will convince me differently, after what I know now. She was sick and getting sicker, even though she was going to the gym and exercising in a steady-state cardio, 4 days a week and she ate a lot of grains and processed, "she thought healthy" foods, she was struggling with her blood sugars and like I said, she was getting sicker. She believed what the box says, like "heart-healthy". She was also on Avandia® when this happened. Today there are lawsuits proving that Avandia® was connected with heart attacks. Nothing proven with my mother.
My mother needed a nurse experienced in fitness, to monitor her.
I have guilt about "dropping the ball".
It was too close for me, I couldn't, wouldn't see it.
I thought she was alright. Getting better. But she wasn't. Being Skinny & Being Lean are NOT the same. Skinny is not healthy I know this for sure now. Let's BE HEALTHIER. Healthy is for other people.
The tragedy of what happened to my mother (what led up to what happened really) made me look in a different perspective of the same diet and exercise rhetoric. I eventually found an organization that changed the way I thought about everything I ate and the larger picture of our food mess.
I knew all along that my nana knew what was best about diet and health. The Weston A. Price Foundation cemented my feelings. I began speaking on traditional diets, raw milk and all healthy fats and avoiding long term medications. It's important to me that you notice the date. I was talking saturated fats and Paleo-type eating more than 17 years ago. People thought I was a "heretic" then too. This program was called, "Why Is Everything I Want To Do Bad For Me?"
My mother (Right) Wilma Artis in 1954. Graduating from RN school. She went on to get her BSN, from Seton Hall University in 1959, one of just a few Black women to do so back then. Seton Hall didn't even allow women on the campus. She had to go to the Newark campus. I finally listened to her and went back to school for nursing. Receiving my pin at our pinning ceremony. =====>>>>>
Check out my 20-inch waist, AFTER my son was born!
Nursing opened many doors for me.
Yes, the fitness, health and wellness positions within healthcare and being paid as a R.N. Health Educator was good to me. I still new this is security; NOT my calling.
After only 3 years in nursing, I knew I was NOT my mother. I knew I had to do something else, (no one seemed to have the same sense of humor that I had) I also wanted to do more health and fitness stuff. So I went to a Career Alternatives for Nurses seminar with Donna Cardillo, RN, back in 1996. This is where I first heard the term "Fitness Nursing". I did what many of you are doing today. I looked for work in the fitness industry and even when I still worked in nursing education, I developed wellness inservices as best as I could. I loved that seminar. I learned how much nurses could do. Donna and I are still good friends today. (But because I first heard the term 'fitness nurse' from her, up until 2012, I decided to create my own term and brand, Fitness Nurse Consultant™, with distinct services and positioning.)
But it still didn't feel right because I didn't need my license to do what I wanted. I digress.
I began working independently and found contract work with companies and hospitals and developed and performed various health & prevention programs. I made good money! Even traveled to the Bahamas and other vacation resort places to speak!
Yes, I was a 'beauty queen'. I just wanted to try it. I didn't win. But I didn't get last place either. It was a Mrs. NJ Pageant. Today I am divorced.
I have a funny Miss Congeniality story. Donna Cardillo writes about it in her "Falling Together" book.
Started to get noticed by nursing organizations and companies. Went on the road and spoke on stress, fitness and health. Primarily spoke to nurses and other health care professionals. Didn't call myself a "fitness nurse" yet. Wasn't sure where I was going yet. Doing everything. Started to submit articles for publication.
Great opportunity to pull out the comedy schick again.
I loved this evening we had. All were RN performers.
I continued to speak. Below, I spoke to nurses on how to "Shape Up at Work".
The room was packed.
Eventually one of the hospitals that I contracted with, hired me on a per diem basis then part time. I was sent to learn this NJ State Health program on osteoporosis and nutrition and exercise for bone health for seniors.
Soon other area hospitals wanted in. I was hired to develop and teach classes at a few hospital's "health awareness centers". Charlie, the PT below, was great. But it was 'yours truly' who developed the class and taught it and assessed the participants.
They hired me to do this. So, it was their program. That's why my name isn't mentioned.
I helped women of all ages increase their strength, lessen their fear of falling and feel confident about their performing activities of daily living. Helped to maintain their independence.
I only like to work really, really hard for myself, so when I went out on my own 'officially', I decided to teach real yet 'fun' and educational inservices. I targeting health care facilities. But the truth is, I'd talk to 4 rats in a sewer, if they'd listen (and pay)! I spoke anywhere for money.
I was a "speaking whore". And I loved it.
Hired (a company) someone to build my first website. It cost a total of $4,000.00 in 2000. Started producing my own events and even produced 2 exercise videos for osteoporosis prevention (buffbones.com). See the cover for it below. I had 500 VHS copies made and busted my butt, I mean really hustled, to sell all of them. Below, that's me promoting my new "Bones of Steel" osteoporosis prevention exercise video and Deb Dobies, Dietitian Extraordinaire (assisting me) and at that time, Pat Bemis, RN, newly head of the National Nurse in Business Assocation (NNBA). We were in Las Vegas or Cancun? Today the 'Jest' for Fitness & Food site is no longer up. It was a great run while it lasted. I just was doing too many things.
I was spread way too thin. Focusing on one thing wasn't easy. Isn't that what "focus" means? One thing?
Kept speaking on health issues and working for area hospitals on a contract basis. One hospital actually sent me for training at Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC after I researched a company that certified dance movement therapy for breast cancer survivors. It was called the "Lebed Method". Highly recommend this course. I taught the course that is featured in the flyer below. Again, since I was paid for my work, the class belonged to the hospital, so again my name was not mentioned in the flyer. The ladies in this class connected and enjoyed the movement. The morbidly obese were also able to enjoy the benefit of sustained movement without fear of injury or embarrassment.
Forgot to mention that I was also teaching kickboxing and other group exercise classes. My body couldn't handle it any longer, so I took a Pilates class, I loved it and then soon after became certified in Pilates. I had the initials RN, Pilates Instructor behind my name. What happened? I just started teaching Pilates. More classes than I could handle. No one where I worked, in fitness, cared that I was a nurse. Just that I was "certified" in Pilates. I do NOT do this today. I still didn't call myself a fitness nurse at this time.
I taught just about all my Pilates classes to minorities. I wanted to expose this wonderful way of exercising to folks who may never experience it. (I charged from $2.00 a class to $15.00 a class/ person)
The 'fitness nursing' bug was spreading. I started getting calls from writers to be interviewed about 'fitness nursing'. I could only described it to what I was currently doing. It didn't mean that that's what it was meant to be. Today my definition of 'fitness nursing' is entirely different. I eventually went on to call myself a Fitness Nurse Consultant™
While attending a workshop to get credit for one of many fitness certifications, I sat there listening to the presenter and said, "I could do this". The next thing I did was apply. I had to submit a DVD of my answers to the questions and my teaching style.
Soon after, I was approved to teach/train people to become Certified Personal Trainers nationwide. I taught these certifications on the weekends and still taught my own programs that I developed through my company.
I know my motto is, "Don't exercise to lose weight!" People would ask me how do I stay motivated to exercise. I get paid to do it.
During this time, I met the love of my life. And what he said to me once was, "You're such a Hot Little Minky!" The name stuck. I've been called 'Minky' ever since. When we looked it up on the internet, we found an urban dictionary with the definition: "A particularly sexy woman (over age 50)" I added the over age 50 part.
A Minky is NOT a Cougar! I started a "Minky" brand. I wanted to help women over 40 (now 45-55) with weight loss, trimming down and eating less. These women learned about traditional diets, healthy fats (saturated included) and resistance training. I think things were going well. Not as fast as I hoped, I just needed to get more focused, right?
Above is the original drawing my Honey drew for me. You can see to the left, the final logo.
I started working as an Elite Personal Trainer at a high end club. They found out about my prior comedy club performing days and asked me to perform shows in their lounge. Yes, this club (gym) had a bar.
Finally, I started calling myself a 'fitness nurse'. But I was still lost in what I wanted to do. This is evident by all the side hustles I started and stopped from 2008 till just even some months ago. See my business cards below. I went on to call myself a Fitness Nurse Consultant™. I wanted to help other nurses develop, design and market their own Signature Fitness programs/services. I Poo-Poo'd.
Here are some examples of business cards I used in the past years. Some of the ventures were more successful than others. Didn't realize how LOST I was after my mom died. I kept trying to find something to fill that void. So I created many new businesses and told myself that I was 'keeping busy'. Maybe they'll give you some ideas of what to do or what not to do. I hope you learn something, even if it is what NOT to do. Go ahead and laugh if you want. I have. And I continue to laugh at myself. Some days I just crack myself up. It's all good...
(Remember, phone numbers, e-mails and websites on the following cards are NO LONGER in use)
Lori 'Minky' Radcliffe, CFN, TMC, I, AM, MOR, FUN
Founder, Creator The CaliSoberFit Life
CFN - Cannabinated Fitness Nurse
420 Second Mock Coach (The Mock Coach)
A "Look GOOD ENOUGH" philosophy
Waist to Height & Vitamin D Diva
IAM MOR FUN - With or without the initials!
This was my very first sign-up. Look at all the attendees I got.
I had to turn staff away! I was so psyched-up! This was back in 1995. I was always interested in employee wellness. It was so much better than talking about fire extinguishers, new policy and C. Difficile.
Then, the General Fitness Nursing logo:
Fitness Nursing booth at a NJ State Nursing Convention in Atlantic City, NJ, in 2008.
<<===This is NOT Minky in this picture! Just me in the article.
I recommend John Spencer Ellis' courses & Marc David's Food Psychology course. I read some of it monthly. I always went back to it.
I started doing private clients and rented space (brick & morter) in Deal, NJ.
(I changed my Fitness Nurse Consulting business name about 4 or 5 times).
I still managed to get "written up" in a good way. I really enjoyed being interviewed for the article below and discussing my new found food philosophy.
You can and do have opinions that matter and people want to hear how those opinions you have that can change their lives and improve their health.
Still I felt incongruent with my message. I also felt restrained under the "licensed nurse" umbrella.
INCONGRUENCY is your sure sign of constant stress and discontent!
Today, I only print off 5-10 cards at a time of the card I'm using. None of these are in use any longer. I'll admit my marketing was way too much information. I was a scatterbrain!
BELOW is my very first business card.
My company, back in 1997, called 'Jest' for Fitness & Food. My father drew the logo. I asked for the dumbbell to be in the front arm and the grapes in the back arm. Oh well, the price of "asking a favor" with family and friends when it comes to your business. But he loved doing it, so I used it anyway. It took him about 3 months to do it. Thanks Dad. Whew.
If you don't want to take forever getting your business off the ground, pay someone to get certain jobs done for you. "Shoestring budget" doesn't mean 'everything' for free.
(I still own the domain name buffbones.com, now I see people using the term 'buff bones' all over the internet. For the right price, I'll sell it)
2020-2021
I changed back from my Nobody-like state, by laughing again, moving with some resistance and medical cannabis. Also some other side "personal" rituals like getting as much natural Vitamin D and getting some sun exposure during May-October, here at the Jersey Shore. Doing freelance work and starting a "practice" has enabled me to do this.
When you're tired of doing other 29 y.o. people's "health routines" and want to assemble "your own personal Health Rituals" for a lifestyle... let me know by getting on my email list for now.
{Discretionary policies of my new club will not allow popular social media posts. No FB, No IG, No YT, No TW.}
Summers OFF! (This pandemic year of 2020-2021, maybe you had the summer off too!)
I LOVE what I do! Do you?
Today, 2023-2024, Minky is still a Heretic. BUT, things are "good enough" for me. I say, "Sure." and "Of course..." more often when listening to people. Everyone needs validation. I try harder to listen today.
I have called myself
A "Vicetarian", and
"The Waist to Height Diva"!
My latest exercise program,
"The 420 Second Workout". Are all incorporated into how I live now. I live a CaliSoberFit (CSF) Life. Exhale. That's it.
I still have unorthodox opinions.
I've tried a lot of things.
I just started promoting by new venture to help EX-Athletes (muscle memory) to stop drinking, lose the wine/beer belly, and avoid skinny fat diabetes. Live the CSF Life. Just cannabis and some consistent, resistant exercise. But You do you. You bring and promote your way of losing/maintaining your waist. I just make suggestions on this and how and if cannabis will help you. We discuss this on The 420 Second Mock Coaching on my YOU TUBE CHANNEL.
This new weight loss & waist maintenance living works around the "other side of the Munchie" and I only do 420 seconds of exercise at a time. No sarcopenia nor sitting VICE ever!!!
It helps if you APPRECIATE muscle!
Click 420 Second W/O logo for more information.
 | ||||||
MINKY IS A "PERSONA". THIS PAGE IS KEPT UP FOR MY HISTORICAL ACCURACY & Reminiscing.
Below is a picture bio and interesting pics, just scroll down. I was a kid of the 70's and my best fun was during the 1980's
{Graduated H.S., went to & graduated from college {best years of my life}, performed stand-up comedy, experimented with all
things entertainment, had a baby, became a single mother on welfare, AIDS broke out and 11 friends died... and... shit got real}
In the 90's, I went back to school to try something new, then I had some fun... in that order.}
Most of my entrepreneurial work was in the 1990's & 2000's.
Soon after, I was 12 Years a Nobody. {The search for relevance}
Over the years, I've had many jobs. I'm a professional misfit... Just follow the green footsteps of my picture CV and credentials
of some relevant life experiences & for my "another one bites the dust" thoughts.
As a former athlete, competitive body builder, then fitness & diet FIEND (no "r"), I know what works for me to maintain
my weight homeostasis. You need to live at least 50 years to know your body. Live at least 80 to know if you lived well.
(In a "healthy" sort of way)
I like to tell my success diet stories. Which means after a weight loss, it is maintained forever. Wouldn't you be proud of
maintaining your recent weight loss? - AND Young people want to listen, right?
NOPE. They don't want to hear from me nor you. Well, I say...Fuck 'em. We know what we know. Let them find out for themselves.
After all, "What do my parents know anyway?" I used to say that. So did you.
Let's just talk to one another. Do you feel this way? Nobody's Listening?
Women, and men, ironically, over 50 is when you know the most, it's the time you also know your limitations. But most people
don't want to hear about limits. (When I lost 30lbs in 30days, I knew my limits) I feel that you can say what ever
health/diet story/tip you want. Nobody's Listening anyway, so don't worry. They already know. ;)
I encourage you to use past wins to get, "GOOD ENOUGH", "LOOK GOOD ENOUGH" in low stress ways.
I'm starting to see and feel the need for 55 and over housing developments...
Here are 3 constant areas in my life. Levity. Resistant Movement. Cannabis. What are yours?
(notice I didn't list food/eating/diet)
Nevermind, just follow the green footprints...
In this photo above, it's my mother on the right and her older sister on the left. My Poppy (grandfather) in the middle with "his girls".
Can you guess where we got the love of the sun from and chillin' at the beach? The color photo is of my family. It has to be over 25 years ago. I only know this because my son, the kid in the pics to the right, is well over 30 today. Wow. It feels like yesterday. As "they" say. ("They" being my grandparents.)
My grandparents in the pics below were near the age I am NOW! They all were styling and not ready to slow down at my parent's wedding. My mother, with my Nana and Poppy and in the next pic, my father, with my Nana and Granddad. BOTH sets of my grandparents lived well into my 30's. So, I knew them well. They were not sickly in a bed, during their last years on this earth. They NEVER lost their sense of humor, sarcastic and raw, that's the way we liked it. No bad, complaining of life, I never heard any. They just got old (88-90), something gave out and they died.
My son knew them too. I was truly blessed knowing them (both sets of grandparents) as long as I did.
My Poppy used to always say, "Any day above ground is a good day!"
One of my "Healthy Smelthy" Rituals - REMINISCENCE Therapy/ Validation Therapy too.
My family, like yours, was very funny. We were never that stressed.
I grew up watching my father watch Benny Hill and listening to Richard Pryor and Redd Fox. And my father has a distinctive laugh. I loved hearing that laugh. That calming feeling of relating to that and remembering that, lowers my stress hormones. (In other words, raises my stress resistance!) I don't care if you think it's bullshit. It works and has worked for me for many years. I'll give you examples on The Nobody's Listening Show.
You can use photos to feel good too - Look below... That's my mother's parents, my grandparents, Poppy & Nana, below. Next to them, little girls at the beach, are my mother (on the left) and her older sister. (1938-39)
Some early seeding for my love of the beach, old folks and aging with dignity, humor and even some arrogance.
1993 - Mom & Dad 1962 - Mom & Dad 1993 - Minky & Dad
I couldn't believe I was actually getting paid for speaking on MY STRESS reduction seminars, created by me! I was also traveling all around, all expenses paid!
After spinning my wheels and the death of my mother, I was feeling pretty low. I was a mess for OVER 12 YEARS. I WAS...
Please get on my email list! I promise not to abuse it.
I use in-person, email, mail, text, phone and unpopular, local social media sites. I respect your privacy.
Minky, CFN
Until I get this new list started, please email me directly:
Minky at Nobodyslistening dot wtf
O.K.! Enough reminiscing... Below is a cartoon summation of Minky.
"A picture speaks...", you know the rest!
Well, thanks for visiting. I hope something here
inspired you to do, or not to do, something.
Like - tell someone who might benefit.
No weirdos or extremists please.
People like you are just fine.
This is a local newspaper write-up (most recent I could find) on community colleges and providing entry level nursing education. As an RN and Educator, I taught these classes on and off for over 25 years. Today I may still "test" students. I hope that my students and the residents I worked with remember me as interesting or who made them laugh about subjects that weren't always so funny to someone "outside" the field. I hope it relieved their tension and anxiety. Which is always my goal. When I do this, I feel I do my best. What I am good at doing? Levity has to be in everything I do.
BTW - I also filmed a commercial for this community college. I sucked at it. So many takes for me to get it right! A few people saw it on cable tv. Including my almost 90 y.o. father. He thought I was good, of course.
*The information and photos on this page are best seen on a lap top or desk top screen, NOT phone.*
Personal Family Values...
TM
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