Behind the Cover, with Jillian and Jack. BY CHRISTIAN ADRIAN BROWN
FIT LIT Body, Mind and Quill
ABOUT THE COLUMNIST
Quadragenarian fitness model, lifestyle coach and bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Feast of Fates, Christian A. Brown received a Kirkus star in 2014 for the first novel in his genrechanging Four Feasts till Darkness series. He has appeared on Newstalk 1010, AM640, Daytime Rogers, and Get Bold Today with LeGrande Green. He actively writes and speaks about his mother’s journey with cancer and on gender issues in the media.
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FEBRUARY / MARCH 2021
Without a doubt, my two favorite fitness personalities—one modern, one classic—have to be Jillian Michaels and Jack LaLanne. They come from wildly different eras and social climates. They are dissimilar in many ways. And yet, at their core, they share an aspect of military charisma and command. You want your life to change? Start changing it. Grab your sneakers and get moving. What’s so unique about these two is that it’s not just a persona they exhibit, it’s a personality trait. There’s a part of their genome or psychology that’s programmed to push forward when most of us quit. And the authenticity of their drive is infectious, to the tune of inspiring millions to sweat, grit their teeth and challenge their bodies, minds and spirits. Because I’m not a television-watcher, I was actually introduced to each of these celebrities, and authors, through their literary body of work. Jillian has been responsible for writing (or having had ghostwritten) multiple books on the metabolism, various workouts, maternity, and dietary advice. Many of her articles I’d read in the break room while I was a fitness manager at Goodlife, years and years ago. Later on, I collected her books for both continued learning and entertainment. Her no-nonsense charm surely affected my own development and honed my brand of coaching, which is in a similar vein to hers. I practice what I preach and I don’t preach snake-oil promises or quick fixes to health. You want to lose weight, you most likely need to move, excessively and regularly. She never seemed to follow the diet trends, which swing like a pendulum from feast, to famine, carbs to no carbs, and
