HR Buffnstuf

It weird how things you think and talk about sometimes have a tendency to pop up suddenly again in the oddest places.

In the last week or so I wrote about my workout philosophies and routines, and also about how Saturday mornings used to be when I was a kid with competing network lineups of cartoons and other shows aimed at kids. I mentioned Sid and Marty Krofft shows like HR Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost as staples of my generation’s kid experience.

Yesterday the lovely Anna showed me a feature story in our local paper entitled “Lords of the Gym”, talking about the nature of the fitness center’s culture and how there is a hierarchy of members in places like that. I could totally relate… they range from the “Resolutioners” who crowd the gym in January and are gone by February to the “Gym Rats” who are there everyday for ridiculous amounts of time and apparently have nothing else to do. This story was more about the people in the gym that are regarded by other members as very knowledgeable, who work out smart and with good form and etiquette, who are well respected and are often asked questions about exercise and nutrition. Every gym has a few of those. They aren’t necessarily the biggest, buffest or most cut people in the place… it’s more about their dedication, approachable personality and frendliness. This was reprinted from an article in last month’s Los Angeles Times.

One of the people the author cites as an example of a “Gym Lord” is none other than… Sid Krofft! He’s called “The Mayor” and other endearing nicknames at a workout facility called Easton Gym in L.A. He’s been a member there since 1958! At 77, Krofft has been working out for over 50 years, exercises two hours daily and eats a diet entirely of raw foods.

Here’s a link to the full article. Krofft is just one example the author uses, but I thought it was funny how I was just talking about him and wondered what he was up to today… and there he is in my newspaper!