Mari Winsor R E M E M B E R E D
B Y L A U R E T T E R YA N PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY of MARI WINSOR
“Why me?” she thought, and then she realized, “Why not me?”
M
ari Winsor, celebrity fitness personality and icon in the Pilates industry, was diagnosed with ALS in 2013. It would be life altering for anyone to receive such news. This could have been devastating, especially for someone whose life’s work was so established in the fitness and health industry. However, Mari, with her warrior spirit, turned this news into a new opportunity. She recognized it as an opportunity to reach more people—to support them in continuing to move and be positive in whatever capacity they were able. Mari spoke of seeing the movie, The Pride of the Yankees, a 1942 American film. It is a tribute to New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, who died of ALS at age 37 only one year before the film’s release. Mari remembered that, even as a child, it saddened her greatly that there was no cure. Today, almost eighty years later, there is still no cure.
66 | AUGUST 2020
ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, people may lose the ability to speak, eat, move, and breathe. Medication and therapy can slow ALS and reduce discomfort. (The ALS Association) Born on March 11, 1950, in Marshall, Michigan, Mari grew up to study modern dance at Michigan State University. After college, Mari moved to New York City, and then eventually to San Francisco to dance, choreograph, and teach. In San Francisco, her choreography caught the eye of Huey Lewis, who hired her for his music video for “Heart and Soul” (1983). In 1984, Mari headed to Los Angeles, just when music-video production was at its height. She was a featured dancer in music videos such as Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” (1988) and in such films as Moonwalker (1988), Salsa (1988), Road House (1989), and The Flash (1990).
