Gym Culture and Developing One’s Own Sense of Style

In the gym today, a realization: Whenever I go to the gym—doesn’t matter what gym…any gym I’ve ever been a member of—I always feel like an outsider. I think of the insiders as all those big, buff, tan guys with fresh haircuts, and complicated facial hair walking around with a protein shake of some kind, and their female counterparts. They all seem to be great friends with all the gym trainers, and great friends with each other. They are always the most vocal people at the gym, and you tend to overhear some of their conversations, but care so little about their lifestyle and opinions that you tune out. This is all going on while the semi-fitness people (like me), and the people just trying to keep their heads (and bodies) above water go about their business mostly in silence (except for the occasional: “are you still using this?” or “can I work in with you?”). Below: an "insider" takes time to say hi to the camera between sets

The above observation got me thinking that there’s really this whole “gym” culture: the tanning beds, the style of dress (well-fitting, but kinda cheesy clothes), short, perfect haircuts (possible “frosted tips” on guys’ hair), the feeling that they’re headed to a dance club later, maybe a seashell necklace, the techno music, and—in all likelihood—the American sports cars parked outside. Once I thought about that whole little subculture, it led me ask myself when in life do most people first start trending toward their own style? For example, have the nerds you see on the street dressed nerdy since childhood? Did their parents dress nerdy? When did the guy who you can tell gets his hair cut every two weeks start cutting his hair every two weeks? When did the guy with all the piercings and tattoos start going down that road? High school? Is it safe to say the guy or girl you see with a great sense of fashion has always had an eye for what looks good, or is it something that one develops gradually?

To take a not-so-confident crack at the question in bold, I’m going to say 11 years old. This is because I noticed a distinct difference between my classmates sense of style between 5th and 6th grade. In elementary school, it seemed like most kids, like me, wore whatever the hell their parents, grandparents, whoever bought them for birthdays and holidays, and let the chips fall where they may. I remember wearing a solid green sweatshirt (no hood) and a matching pair of sweatpants (no pockets) to Friday Night Skating as a 5th grader. A completely ridiculous outfit. At the time, I neither thought “these clothes are cool,” nor did I think “these clothes are ugly.” I just thought: “These are clothes. They are in my drawer, and—to my knowledge—they are clean.” I think most of my classmates did the same. (disclaimer: Either Richie Swedberg or his parents must have had an amazing sense of fashion, because he had a sweet pair of parachute pants in 5th grade)

Then came Junior High.

At this point, I definitely recall some trending starting to occur: Pat Schmidt grew some long bangs and did the “skateboarder” look….Corey Ford starting rocking the “bowl cut”….most guys started wearing baseball hats way up on their heads, so their bangs would hang out in the front. Bottom line: kids, for the first time, seemed to start caring and making conscious fashion decisions. A few years later Jeff Lyman showed up to high school with a long dark coat (or should I say ‘cloak’?) and a ponytail. Andrew Hard, donning a Bulls Championship 1991 T-shirt with an Orlando Magic hat turned to me and whispered, “Hey Lyman, what happened to the sweat pants and crew cut?”

Anyway, I’m going with 11.

Reality TV Show Idea

I would like to make a pitch to the networks and cable channels for a great reality show (Mark Burnett, take notes). It would be called "Rivals" and would feature pairs of actors from 80s movies who squared off against one another on screen. They would all live in a house and each pair would team up for the various challenges. One team would be eliminated each week, thus showing which set of rivals have truly repaired the deep rift between them. Then, the final pair would have to face off against one another to relive the magic moment of their movie, only this time it would be for real! Don't tell me every 28-42 year old wouldn't watch this show.

Here is the lineup

PAIR ONE


Ralph Macchio who played Daniel Larusso in Karate Kid I-III

and



William Zabka who played, amongst a number of great 80s rival roles, Johnny Lawrence in Karate Kid


PAIR TWO


Sage Stallone who played Rocky Balboa Junior in Rocky V

and


Kevin Connelly who plays Chickie, the bully who picks on Rocky Jr. in Rocky V. Now, I recognize that Kevin is a pretty big actor at this point, being on Entourage and all, so he may not want to take part in our project. Thus, I feel we could use Hayes Swope who plays Chickie's pal (photo not available).

PAIR THREE


Jerry Levine who plays Rupert "Styles" Stalinski in Teen Wolf

and


Mark Arnold who plays Mick McAlisster




PAIR FOUR


Gabriel Jarrett who plays Mitch Taylor in Real Genius

and


Robert Prescott who plays Kent Torokvei.





Those were all I had time to come up with for now. Please comment with additional pairings so we can fill out the house.

Fullerton Sux

In a recent phone conversation, I was reminded of how terrible Fullerton Avenue is as an East-West artery. During even moderately heavy traffic times, the street is clogged at Lake Shore Drive and every six-corner intersection all the way to the expressway -- Clark (with its no-left turn), Lincoln (at Halsted), Clybourn (at Ashland), and Elston (at Damen). The last example is suprising, seeing as Elston is normally the fastest way to get through the near-northwest side of the city. Nevertheless, Fullerton's suckiness manages to steal all of Elston's superpowers, and the intersection right by Mid-town Tennis, just north of the hot dog bridge is one of the worst. Have you ever even attempted to stop in at that Popeyes? I wonder how they get any business when it is nearly impossible to access the drive-thru.

Fullerton sux so bad at this intersection that it has the city looking for drastic solutions . There are like 7 differently timed lights and that random triangle out in the middle of Damen, so that you might have to wait for an extra light after clearing one. Even the satellite image from Google maps shows a reasonable traffic jam. F-You Fullerton.
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