Bruce Almighty

By August 8, 2016Mindy

Right now, I am on a plane flying back from another amazing conference experience. My cup is full for sure. The attendees were warm, receptive, and eager to soak up all that I threw at them. And it was a lot. BOSU Kids, Schwinn Cycle, Body Weight Bootcamp, , Fluid Strength, Tabata Bootcamp,Best of Bootcamp and Bruce’s and my lecture: The Behavior Change Secret. Bruce also had two other lectures – Transitioning to a Plant Based Dietand What Can I Eat. Bruce’s lectures were packed and we sold so many fruit and veggie T’s, tanks, and hoodies. How over the top, off the charts fun it is to see people walking around Reston, VA with our fruit and veggie T’s! We love it!

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I would have never dreamed of this life. 12 years ago, Bruce and I were a loving, traditional couple raising three super cool kids. Bruce worked an 8-5 job where he had to commute an hour each way to work and I traveled on the weekends making my mark as a fitness presenter. We felt many times like passing ships but it worked for us, at the time. For years, I would suggest to Bruce that he quit his job and come on over to the fitness biz side with me, but at the time, my job didn’t pay anywhere near what we needed to raise 3 children in Northern Cal.

All that changed 12 years ago with some very good luck and much hard work; Bruce reconsidered. He took a major leap of faith and we created FitFlix Productions. Bruce was the behind the scenes guy; you know, the negotiator, the sales force, and the booth manager at shows. It was a match made in heaven. We used to kid that I was the monkey and he the organ grinder.

Being in business together got us thinking about the impact we were making in the industry and if we were really making a difference. We dove into research on Plant-Based Eating and Behavioral Change. Bruce started reading anything and everything he could on the subject of diet. He completed both the E Cornell course and got his Holistic Nutritionist certification. And he started speaking at conferences on the benefits of a Whole-Food Plant-based diet.

In his first couple of years, he got mostly great reviews – mostly. There were some who thought he was a little too passionate, too my way or the highway in his delivery. I never missed one of his lectures; you see, I wasn’t one of those who thought he was over the top. I loved that he was bold and, at times, brass. However, I also knew that it is not the loudest who are heard. It is the ones who are inclusive, inviting, and speak (as I would remind Bruce) with open hands, and not closed fists.

In the past year, Bruce has honed his speaking skills and has transformed into a leader in Whole-Food Plant-based eating. I have never seen so many people want to talk with a speaker after the session was over. He has lines at the booth and countless emails after every show. I had just this past weekend a woman stop me on my way to my session and with tears in her eyes and pronounce that Bruce saved her husband’s life with the information and suggestions from the past year’s lecture.

I have watched my husband completely transform his life and the lives of so many. Bruce has always been a wonderful man but now he is more than that. He is sharing his gift of knowledge and passion. Not because he is getting paid to do so, but because he HAS to share his knowledge. It is a calling and that gift that HAS to be now paid forward. I am in awe of his reach and endless energy to share anything and everything he can with anyone who asks. He is now lending a shoulder to countless men who were or are in the same shoes as Bruce with prostate cancer and who are just like Bruce – scared to death that death is so tangible.

Bruce is still the negotiator and the booth boss. But by finding his voice, his calling, and his purpose he has touched so many and is truly changed lives. After each of his sessions, I ask him how it went; he stands ear to ear beaming and bursting. That fills me head to toe! I cannot tell you what it is like to see my someone, who is already super great, to get even better. Every day, I see this man who I love with all my everything, grow and flourish. This is truly my greatest gift that I could ever give to the fitness industry. It is not what I bring to the industry but rather, that I convinced Bruce 12 years ago to take that leap and join me. I am so much better at everything that I do because of what Bruce has taught me. My cup is full.

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