VF Moderator introductions

[WWWendy]

I am starting this thread so that VF members can get to know the dedicated moderators of our forum. I couldn't do it without this dedicated group of women, who commit a great deal of time and energy to help keep VF a pleasant place to be.

I'll start this off by introducing myself for those who don't know much about me. I started VF, or as it was known back then "The Exercise Video FAQ" nearly eight (!) years ago. If you want to know more about the history of VF, see this article , written a few years ago. I also wrote my bio as part of that same feature, and although it was written a few years ago, I won't repeat a lot of that information here.

My relationship with fitness and exercise has definitely evolved over the years. You could define it in three phases: 1) Disdain, 2)Enthusiasm, and 3) Frustration & Compromise. My original <a href="http://www.videofitness.com/success/wnk.php">success story</a>, written quite a while ago during my gung ho "Enthusiasm" phase, talks about my transformation from couch potato to fitness enthusiast.

The past five or so years, however, have been full of compromises when it comes to my exercise program. Parenting an unusually demanding child, injuries (mostly unrelated to my home exercise program), surgery and a painfully long recovery, and some health issues such as poorly controlled asthma and serial sinus infections have created a situation where I have unfortunately become a perpetual "restarter."

Thanks to you all and your enthusiasm, however, I always get back on the wagon despite these challenges, and I manage to do enough exercise that I'm able to rebound pretty quickly when I get a stretch of time when I am able to work out regularly. I can't say that I'm at my fittest right now, but I have learned that it doesn't take as much effort as I thought to maintain strength and cardio endurance. I'm sure chasing after a 4 1/2 year old helps! I have recently gotten back into running after quite a long hiatus, and the endorphins I've got flowing from the running are doing wonders for my enthusiasm for all my workouts.

Now I'll turn the floor over to the other mods, so that they can have their say...

[PamelaP]

I'm 39 and live in upstate New York with my husband of 10 years, Rob, and 6 kitty-kids. Before settling here I had lived all across the country, in Washington, Colorado, Illinois, Florida and Texas. My parents and sister still live in Colorado.

My fitness life has been very hit-or-miss. I was an inactive child and young adult, then took up exercise in my early 20s and lost about 90 pounds. Stopped again, gained the weight back, started again, lost some weight, stopped again...etc. etc. The only tapes I had used before my most recent fitness resurgence were Jane Fonda and Kathy Smith.

In early '98 my husband and I really started to take our health seriously and started exercising, usually on the treadmill. Around the middle of the year, I bought the Karen Voight/Elle MacPherson tape "Your Personal Best" and the Kari Anderson/Linda Evans tape "A New You" and loved them both. I discovered VF Thanksgiving weekend of 1998 while doing a search on Karen Voight, trying to find out if she had more tapes. VF really helped fire me up, and before I knew it I had a couple dozen tapes and within a year even went on a Cathe Friedrich trip. Between 1998 and 2000, at my peak I had lost 144 pounds, and at one point I had 310 videos!

Unfortunately my weight loss really started to stall in late 2000, no matter what I did or how much I did or didn't work out. In mid '02 I was finally diagnosed with hypothyroidism (the Hashimoto's variant). That is still more or less uncontrolled right now, and I've also had serious plantar fasciitis and knee problems that have made it difficult for me to work out. That, coupled with a resulting lack of motivation, have caused me to gain back about half the weight I had lost. I'm working on turning myself around again, and hope I'll be able to someday get back to doing the advanced step choreo I love so much.

Wendy asked me to become an exchange moderator sometime in 2000, I think? I subsequently participated in the "PaulaGate" investigation and was asked to become a forum moderator shortly thereafter. It has been an honor to act in this capacity for the exchange and then the forum, since I so appreciate and respect the ideals for which VF stands, and it has made such a big difference in my life.

[Joni O]

I’m the old lady of the bunch at 50. I think I’ve been working out forever. I can remember doing sit-ups and leg lifts every day before highschool, going to the Elaine Powers Figure Salon when they still had those machines that jiggled the fat off you, doing ‘aerobic dance’ classes, doing high impact aerobics until my knees started giving out, fumbling and stumbling with step. Little did I know then that I’d eventually get certified to teach step (but quickly discovered that being the center of attention in front of a class is NOT me).

I found VF when I was doing an internet search to find out if there actually were more workout videos available than Firm Volume 1 and the Charlene Prickett shows I had taped off the TV. Wow! A whole new world. Other people that actually did videos and were into fitness and exercise! It was so much fun meeting WWWendy, Aline and some others at the Firm Mall Tour in Washington, DC soon after. (Yes, that’s me being quoted on the Firm Crosstrainers.)

Long story short – I became a vidiot, met lots of other VFers on VF Road Trips and at fitness conferences (after planning the first two Firm trips and backing out because I was ‘afraid’ that all VFers were perfect and I wasn’t – duh, no one is). Wendy invited me to be a moderator – when – ’98, ’99?

My favorite instructors are Christi Taylor for cardio, and Cathe for strength (although I really like Slim Series too). If you read at VF about “doing a Joni O” that means trying a new workout, hating it after just a few minutes, yanking it out of the player and throwing it across the room - although throwing is optional. (It’s amazing what some people remember about you when you post!) I'm - ummm - a little picky.

So, other than that, I’ve been working in the advertising/public relations field for 29 years, been living with my SO for 10 years, changed my first diaper at the age of 44 (his first granddaughter; there are 3 now) and my life is run by 3 cats (of 12 years). VF is my release! It’s the only place I can share my passion for fitness with people who ‘understand’. I’ve seen it change and grow a lot since I’ve been here, but I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot more people that way – in person and in cyberspace. I’m proud to be part of the moderator team here because VF has been an important part of my life for a long time, and it's one of the biggest reasons I’m still fit at 50!

[Daphne M]

I’m (just barely) 44, married to a very funny guy named Norm, and I have 2 kids, one in 2nd grade and one in 3rd grade. I work full time in Washington, D.C. and I have a killer commute that often aggravates me. The only good thing about the commute is the built-in excuse it provides, as in: “oh darn, I’d love to stay and do another set of those v-pikes on the stability ball, Cathe, but wouldn’t ya know it, I’ve got to get to work.

I’ve been a regular exerciser since age 19. I had a crush on a guy in college who was a runner and I thought he’d notice me if I started running too. Well, it was a shallow tactic, but it worked. I dated that guy for 3 years. But I’ve been a runner for most of 25 years. I found that I liked myself better when I was active and exercising. I’ve done a mix of other activities since then, including lots and lots of aerobics. I never wore leg warmers, but I did wear a (shudder) thong.

My first record and/or video workouts were Jane Fonda’s. My roommate and I used to do donkey kicks together with Jane. We would pause the record (lift the needle) and sip some beer, snack on a chip, then go back to fire hydrants. Nowadays, I would call this a circuit workout.

One way and another, I’ve stuck with exercising. I found VF six or seven years ago. It was life-changing. Working out had been an essential part of my life for almost two decades, but that part of my identity was slipping away as my babies, job and husband took up all of my time. Exercise videos allowed me to workout again! It required getting up at 5 in the morning to do it, but I found myself super-motivated, just knowing that I had a place to come to discuss my workouts afterward.

I like a variety of workouts, but they have to be challenging to keep my interest. Either interesting choreography or plain old intense. I’ve returned to my running roots and have trained for three marathons, but only gotten to run one. At this point in my life, I have more than 110 workout videos/DVDs, but I find myself using the same 15 over and over again, usually strength workouts. I do most of my cardio at spinning class or running outdoors on the roads. I miss my cardio videos, especially Christi Taylor, Cathe Friedrich and a couple of others, but I seem to be in a more “athletic” phase right now.

Wendy asked me and a few others to help moderate VF about 5(?) years ago, right before she had her son. At that time, the duties were a lot different: VF was a smaller community, the software allowed little control over the forum and sometimes we had days when everything crashed. Moderators couldn’t delete or close down threads and there were frustrating times with trolls who posted really vicious and untruthful things about a few VFers. It was like the wild West and we tried to keep the saloon welcoming. Sometimes it worked better than others. The software has evolved a lot and so has VF.

We moderators have different moderating personalities and views and that's a good thing, in my opinion, because I think we represent the diversity that is VF. We discuss things that are in the "gray" area and usually strike a good balance. Mostly, we moderators respect each others’ views and try to live by Wendy’s original vision for VF.

[SuzanneM]

I am 42 years old, married, and have two boys ages 18 and 20 (just like Melly!). Both of my boys are in college, and sigh, I miss them. I am a high school career counselor at our local high school. I’m a makeup guru and can shop until I drop. No MAC counter (or Hershey bar, for that matter) is safe from me.

I have been doing some sort of exercise since I was 20 years old. My boys grew up knowing that mom had her “exercise time” and don’t mess with it! I can remember tuning in at 6 a.m. to the “20 Minute Workout” show. Okay, I’m not sure what kind of actual workout I was getting, but it was, er, something. It is amazing to me how much fitness had evolved over the years, and I have loved the journey. From Joanne Greggins, Kathy Smith, running, Firm Volume 1, Cathe, Spinervals....... to today – what an adventure.

I found VF by accident. I had always felt alone in my little exercise video world – not knowing that there were others out there who had the same passion. I was recovering from surgery for a herniated disk in my neck, and did a web search for exercise videos. I found this site called “Video Fitness”, and the rest is history. In fact, my first VF experience was doing an exchange with a VF’er, who has turned out to be one of my very best friends.

I can honestly say that my life has changed since I found VF. I’ve met some wonderful people – many who have become very dear friends. I have found others who share my passions and understand the excitement of a new workout. I’ve attended several fitness conferences, and am always awestruck when I meet the instructors. And, probably one of my biggest fitness challenges, was being chosen to be in a Spinerval workout in June of 2003. I don’t think this opportunity would have come into my life, had it not been for VF and some of it’s members (you know who you are). I have a new appreciation for anyone who trains for an athletic event. Wow.

I have been a moderator for about 5 years. I think our group is a mixed bag of likes/dislikes, and we work well together. I tend to be an intensity buff, and maybe some day that will change. Or not.

[Joni O]

In case you're wondering why this thread is closed, the moderators are opening it so they can post their bios and then closing it again. That will keep it strictly a moderator introduction thread that can be easily followed and kept on the forum for future reference and new people to read.

[Judy SP]

I'm 46, married to my soul mate (second marriage for both of us) for 6 wonderful years. We share our home with Smokey, Samantha and Max, children of the feline variety. Smokey & Samantha are brother and sister (9 years old) and Max is the spunky, new kid on the block (1 yr old). My husband has a wonderful daughter who has given us a beautiful and bright grandson who is 51/2 years adorable (how time flies - he's in Kindergarten!). We live in a suburb of NYC. I used to work in the information technology field for a Wall Street firm but this August walked away from it to begin working as a teaching assistant in an elementary school and go back to grad school for my MS in Ed. There's not much spare time these days but when I have any, I love babysitting for our grandson, reading, gardening, knitting, crocheting, cooking and baking.

I've worked out to videos since the mid-80's (lots of Jane Fonda) as well as to TV shows: Joannie Greggains, Bodies in Motion....I've worked out fairly consistently, with a year's hiatus due to torn cartilege in my knee, surgery and a very, very long rehab. I found VF in 1998 when my tape collection consisted of Jane Fonda, Gilad's Step & Tone and Cher's A New Attitude. Thanks to WWWendy and the great folks at VF, not only do I have well over 100 videos) but fitness has become interwoven into my life. I've expanded my fitness horizons since I found VF. I even started running at the age of 43 and ran a 5K (the Race for the Cure) in Sept. 2000! My favorite instructors are Christi, Cathe, Patrick, Rob and Andre (give me a dancy step tape and I'm in heaven) but I love having a variety of tapes from which to choose. I have also found some very special friends at VF and really look forward to get-togethers to see them and meet other VF'ers.

I haven't been able to spend as much time at VF as I'd like for a number of months now. Changing careers was pretty all-consuming, I currently don't have access to the internet at work and I go to school in the evening and have homework again these days! What that means to me personally and as a moderator is that I check in with the moderators to see if there is anything that needs "watching" or discussion, try to post at the Strength Check-in weekly to keep "connected" and if there's any time after that, read the GD forum. I'm not able to post much at all, even on "fun" threads - I miss that but I should be able to post a little more on school vacations.