The Gladiator's Apple

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So, did I tell you about the time I met Spartacus? No? Well, I’ll get to that in a minute but, before I do, tell me if any of these names sound familiar; Gary Grant, Casey Purpus, Drew Brooks, Michael Simms, or Eric Tomooka? How about Emily Meine, Jackie Orr, Henry Reynolds, or Alex(andra) Roberts?

If you’re involved in the 52-billion-dollar fitness industry whether as a gym owner, a trainer, an influencer, or what-have-you, then you really should know those names and I'm about to tell you why.

In 1981, I had been out of high school for 2 years and was trying, unsuccessfully, to find myself. Though I was enrolled in Ventura Junior College, I had zero interest in anything NOT martial arts, cars, or girls… in that order. I had been studying various forms of martial arts since I was 7 and my dream was to open a martial arts school. Of course, my ultimate goal was to be discovered by Hollywood and become the black Bruce Lee but Oxnard, California, at the time at least, had a distressingly low number of talent scouts within its zip code. Like…, none. 

 
Recognizing my obsession, my mother had promised to help me open a martial arts school as long as I was in college, and true to her word, she did. That meant, anytime I was not in class feigning interest in some inane attempt to teach me something I was convinced I already knew; I was at my kickboxing school honing my craft. 

 
Oxnard is literally built around a naval base, so SEALs, Seabees, and other military personnel began enrolling in my classes. One day, one of the regulars showed up for class and casually mentioned that there was going to be a martial arts demonstration at Ventura College. Of course, I already knew about the demonstration, after all I was still ostensibly enrolled there. However, knowing about the demonstration and wishing to participate are two entirely different things. While I genuinely love teaching, having hundreds of hyper-intellectual eyeballs peering at me was decidedly NOT my thing. I politely pointed out that I would rather be boiled in oil but before I could drop the mic, he replied something to the effect of… well, grab a big ol’ pot cuz I already signed us up! Insert “Fuming” emoji HERE. 

 
Most martial arts demonstrations back then were clearly defined examples of what NOT TO DO if you plan to survive a knife or gun attack. Basically, the assailant steps forward (why, he has a gun, but okay?) in a completely rehearsed, robotic manner and allows the trained fighter to parry and either disarm him or reign 35 unanswered blows upon his, strangely non-reactive, person. We, however, decided to go with a more realistic account of what could happen if the attacker came armed with a weapon AND a brain to essentially provide a rebuttal to the pervasive narrative. A cautionary tale, if you will. 

 
That all changed about 10 minutes before our demonstration was set to begin when a Chinese gentleman left the floor after his demonstration and began berating one of my, Mandarin-speaking students about taking classes from the “hak gwai”. I couldn’t understand the entire interaction, but I knew what that phrase meant and, judging from my student’s reaction, how it was intended. At that point, we decided our demonstration would be full-contact sparring.

 
We put on protective gear and I went nearly full out against 3 separate combatants, only switching when one tapped or opted out. About halfway through our allotted time, we paused, and I invited the Chinese gentleman to join me on the mat, he declined. I then asked if he’d prefer to spar with the student that he’d berated earlier and, he declined that as well.

Though the organic nature of the demonstration had completely cured my stage fright, the public at large hadn’t faired so well and was clearly unnerved by the realities of non-choreographed combat.

 
The gym was all but silent as we bowed, packed our gear, and left the floor.  I knew right then this would be our last demonstration. 

 
As we were walking past the bleachers, I spotted a guy approaching me, thinking he was a member of the faculty who was about to start in on me over the demonstration, I braced for the onslaught, instead, he calmly introduced himself as Joe Bonaduce.  Now, in my defense, I had not watched a sitcom in like 7 years at that point so, it didn’t quite click until he said he was Danny Bonaduce’s father.  

 
I remembered hearing that the kid from the Partridge Family was a black belt, so I figured the guy was legit. After telling me how much he enjoyed our demonstration he segued right into how he is producing a martial arts film that will star his son and he wants to know if I’m interested in coming to Hollywood to work on it.  I immediately replied “Yes” but explained I was still in school and would have to take a leave of absence.  We spoke for a while longer and exchanged numbers.

 
To be honest, I was still a bit awe-struck when I called him a few weeks later and half expected him to yell “psyche!” and hang up. To his credit, he was just as personable on the phone and, after we hung up, I quickly made arrangements to stay with a friend who had recently moved to Van Nuys. Once everything was set, time slowed to a crawl until after nearly 5 months of butterflies and no sleep, off to Hollywood I went… sort of. 

 
What I didn’t realize was that lower-budget productions like these often run out of funds, sometimes even before filming starts, and, as luck would have it, I quickly found myself stuck in Van Nuys with little money and no job. Optimistic genius that I was, I had closed my martial arts school before leaving for Hollywood because I was certain that I’d been “discovered” so, with no reason to go back to Oxnard, I decided to stay and pursue my dream. 

 
My first job in LA was at Holiday Spa in Hollywood, from there I transferred to the Encino location where I met and became friends with people like Gary Shandling, Michael Biehn, John Holmes (yes, THAT John Holmes), and high-end clothier Rick Pallack. I even met a guy named Bill Mckinney who, while better known as one of the mountain men in the film “Deliverance”, was also in my all-time favorite film, Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee so I knew I was where I needed to be!

 
To supplement my income and get my foot in the door, I began working on low-budget productions with Sho Koshugi, David Heavener, and the like. I had a small part in “Mask” with Cher and an ill-fated part in “Into the Night” with Michelle Pfeiffer and Jeff Goldblum, so I almost wasn’t starving.  On one production, I met a guy named Ray Notaro who owned a boxing gym called Left Hook in Canoga Park. I’d been missing the opportunity to spar so he invited me over to his gym to train with some of his fighters.

On my first day there, I’m warming up and Sylvester Stallone walks in and starts talking to Ray.  Apparently, Baa, Baa Blacksheep actor Robert Conrad had been looking to set up a boxing match between him and Sly but Ray had simply laughed it off, telling “Bob” to just shoot himself and save himself a beating.  Probably sound advice.

 
I’d worked my way up to the Morning Manager position at Holiday Spa when, out of the clear blue sky, the Regional Manager, Mike Checo, accused me of stealing 20.00.  No ambiguity. No uncertainty.  Just, “You took it.” He then tried to play both Good Cop AND Bad Cop by saying, that if I simply returned it and admitted to taking it, he wouldn’t involve the authorities.  It was all I could do, not to reach across the table, at that point, so I invited him to call the cops and I left.  A couple of weeks later, I saw a manager from a neighboring location who told me they’d found the "missing money" the very same day but somehow forgot to call me and apologize.  Whataya know.

 
Around the time I was leaving Holiday Spa, someone mentioned there was a new gym opening up down the street and that I should go speak to the managers as they were hiring. I don’t recall how I got the interview but when I arrived, I thought for sure I was at the wrong location. This place was upstairs, in a swanky, Ventura Blvd. office building with zero free parking. 

When I walked in, there was no carpeting and workers were still putting the finishing touches on the interior space, but this was like no gym I’d ever seen. Extremely modern high-tech industrial… if there is such a thing, and there were these odd-looking machines with large glass cylinders attached.  The General Manager, Vinny Berniski, walked over and introduced himself before taking me on a tour of the facility. 

 
He explained that those odd-looking machines with the cylinders were actually “weight” machines with the resistance electronically controlled by adding or reducing the amount of water in each cylinder. They were designed to expedite workouts by allowing the user to do one set of each movement, and the premise was this. Start with the cylinders empty and decide how quickly you want the cylinders to fill. Begin the movement and push the thumb-actuated button to begin filling the cylinders with water. As the cylinders fill, the resistance increases until the user can no longer perform a repetition. 

 
The user would then push the button that allows the water to drain from the cylinders while continuing to work until the cylinders are empty. (NOTE: The machines are featured in the Rocky 4 training montage on YouTube if you’re curious) It was quick, functional, super trendy, and the perfect ultra-exclusive lure for the big fish they were trying to catch.

 
By the time construction was complete, members could not wait to get in and be seen sweating next to the who’s who of the San Fernando Valley.  Encino was always more than just the home of the Jacksons, but with Sly and Arnold mainlining the new fitness paradigm directly into everyone’s psyche, Matrix One gave Encino panache. 

The trainers at Matrix One were an eclectic group, besides us likely being the first gym staff with a shoe sponsorship, (remember Kaepas, they had the little plastic inserts you could swap out to match your outfit?) we were all chasing greatness elsewhere.  Some of us were modeling and doing film work on the side, others were more musically inclined and seeking their break but, personal aspirations aside, in 1983, we were the FITNESS ROCKSTARS who inspired the film “Perfect” and clients were lined up and paying hundreds per hour to be trained by us. 

The way the training was structured, with trainers working the floor until they acquired a client base sufficient to leave the gym payroll and become private contractors, meant the gym was benefitting from memberships as well as from the trainers. 

 
As private contractors, trainers could pay the gym $500.00 per month to train as many clients as they could fit on their schedule, and recognizing the potential, it wasn’t long before management began hiring trainers and encouraging them to become private contractors almost immediately. 

 
It was awesome to be young and making your own schedule. It seemed normal, like that was the way a 23-year-old’s life was supposed to be.  Most Friday nights after work, those of us who didn’t have plans for the evening would sit and ride the stationary bikes while watching Miami Vice together. 

 
Retrospectively, I think I always knew our situation was different. I remember looking around at the people on those bikes, thinking how special it was to have that group together, at that time, enjoying our lives. 

 
One day I arrived at work and, when I got off the elevator, there were the telltale signs of a film crew in the hallway. It was not uncommon to have film crews, news crews, interviewers, and their subjects walking around the gym. Though the space was relatively small, especially by today’s standards, it usually wasn’t that big of a deal to keep training as long as we were quiet. 

 
I always arrived about a half hour early to train my clients, so I walked over and sat against a wall to watch the filming for a while. Seemingly, as soon as I sat down, the crew broke for lunch and an older gentleman in a suit and hat came over and sat on the floor next to me.  A few seconds later, someone brought him a plate of food and we struck up a conversation while he ate.  

 
We laughed and talked about fitness, where each of us was from, and the perils of being Jewish… him, not me, and the whole time I was preoccupied with trying to figure out why his voice sounded so familiar. 

 
A while later, when he’d finished eating, he stood up, brushed whatever crumbs were on his suit off, and said, “I didn’t catch your name?”.  I laughed when I realized we had been talking for almost 30 minutes without ever exchanging names.  I told him my name, and for the first time, I was able to see his face head-on.  He must have noticed the look on my face because he smiled as he extended his hand.  I’m sure my hand must have been shaking on its own at that point, but he grabbed it anyway and said, “Tjader, I’m Kirk Douglas, it’s been a pleasure talking to you!” Then he tossed me the apple from his lunch and walked away. Such was my life at Matrix One.

 
Unfortunately, as anyone who’s spent any time in the limelight will tell you, you’re only as good as your last hit, and with Hollywood being the land of copycats, a small, one-trick pony gym where you must pay to park meant that, sooner rather than later, you’re going to be relegated to footnote status. It did not take long as roughly 2 years in; we began hearing whispers that the gym wasn’t doing very well. I had noticed a fair bit of tension in my personal dealings with management but hadn’t really given much thought as to why.

 
A short time later, I was killing time, probably being a nuisance to the front desk staff, when 2 guys in suits walked in. Vinnie welcomed them into his office and closed the door behind them.  A couple of minutes later, Vinnie emerged and asked me, Gary Grant, and I think, Drew Brooks to join them.  I remember the ominous feeling on the short walk to Vinnie’s office, like a trip to the electric chair.  So much so, that I began rifling through my mental Rolodex to think of what I’d done… this time.

As it turned out, the 2 guys were representatives from The American College of Sports Medicine and they wanted us to design the curriculum for what would become a personal trainer certification course. 

I’m not certain but, I believe I was the only member of our original crew to have actually studied kinesiology, exercise physiology, etc., and, though relieved that I wasn’t going to be fired, at least immediately, I was also highly suspect of their motivation.  I viewed their request as little more than a pay-to-play scam that would force trainers to pay them for a “certification” to do something we’d been doing, and doing well, all along. The flip side was, that as much as I felt it to be a pure cash grab by ACSM, I also knew a certification process could prevent just anyone from coming along, claiming proficiency, and possibly hurting someone. 

 
Once we agreed on the parameters, I relented, and the meeting progressed. We were asked to standardize the verbiage for each movement, categorize and identify main, secondary, and support muscle groups for each movement, highlight notes on the performance of each, and then develop a series of multiple choice, true or false, and situational questions based around that verbiage.  In return, Matrix One would have the exclusive rights to use ACSM accreditation in their advertising for a certain length of time, and the trainers who developed the course were to receive free accreditation and free continued education certification as long as we took the tests.  

This was unequivocal and, besides the aforementioned safety concerns, the sole reason I agreed to participate.

Before the meeting was over, one of the reps took all the trainer’s names and phone numbers so they’d be able to verify their participation when we called for certification. We all shook hands and they left.

 
Unfortunately, no sooner had the door shut than I found myself completely on my own. Every once in a while, Eric Tomooka, who’d been hired shortly after the meeting to replace Drew on staff, would stick his oddly- shaped head into the office, laugh at my suffering, and walk away.  Thanks, rat.  

 
Without email and the other conveniences we enjoy today, it took a solid 8 months of after-hours work, phone calls, and revision meetings to finally get them a finished product and, when it was done, I never heard a single “Thank you” from anyone involved.

 
Of course, by then, the shine on “the happening” that was once Matrix One had long since dulled and a few months later, the gym would close for good. The trainers were still keeping in touch and seeing each other at other gyms on occasion so, when Gary Grant called me saying he’d tried to take the certification course and they’d (ACSM) tried to charge him, I was incredulous. 

 
I’d completely forgotten about the certification because I was busy with more film work by then, but Gary and I also knew ACSM had taken everyone’s name in the initial meeting and should have had a record of everyone associated with Matrix One. 

 
I called the guy I’d been speaking to for 8 months to ask him to add Gary’s name to the list but instead, I was funneled to a woman who, after hearing the deal we’d struck barely a year prior, only kept repeating “we have no record of that.” When I continued to ask for the guy I’d been talking to, I was initially told he was busy but then the next few times I called, the same woman told me he didn’t work there! 

 
So, was he fired? Did he quit? Can you contact him or the guy who came with him to verify what I’m telling you? Nope. Nope! NOPE!  Zero help, zero attempts to help. 

 
One of the previous owners of Matrix One had begun contacting trainers about a new gym he was opening along with Kathy Smith and the only stipulation was that we had to be certified.  Given the issues we were encountering and ACSM's blatant disregard for the agreement we had, there was absolutely no way I was going to pay them to take a test I myself had written.  

Luckily, at the time, I was in a position to simply say “F – you people” and go about my business. Others such as Casey Purpus, Henry Reynolds, Todd Smith, and Alex(andra) Roberts all said they ended up paying for the certification.  I later happened upon Drew Brooks and when I asked him, he said his experience was exactly that of Gary Grant and myself and he’d told them to F-off as well. 

 
Years later, in 2017, I would plan a move to Colorado and would need that certification to get a job because there was no film work, and no one knew me out there.  I sent an email (see stream below) to Walt Thompson who was the President of the ACSM at the time.  I let him know exactly what had transpired, when, and who was involved on my end but could not remember the names of my contacts at ACSM.

 
He responded by essentially calling me a liar and saying the Director of Certification at the time was a she, not a he (even though I never once mentioned speaking to the “Director of Certification” unless the “we have no record of that” woman was that person, in which case, yes, she was indeed a she.)

Oddly enough, he also wrote that they (ACSM) didn’t introduce the concept of personal trainer certification until 1996 so either he’s confused and meant 1986 or he’s a blatant liar who pre-sold 10 years of certification fees.  I emailed him with the additional information he requested (minus my contact’s name), but never heard back despite his proclamation of being “happy to pursue this” for me and my subsequent attempts to make sure he did so.

 
As for me, I still love personal training. I love being there for others and watching their transformations as they unwrap the gifts that are health and fitness. I continue to learn and expand my knowledge base so I can be more proficient, and I still practice what I preach because you should never trust anyone who doesn’t take their own advice. 

 
Is there still bitterness at the way we were lied to and cast aside by the America College of Sports Medicine?  One hundred percent.  Not only was it wrong and completely justified my initial misgivings about working with them in the first place but, more importantly, in the long run, it also robbed the industry of a birthplace and those who were there of their rightful place as pioneers within that industry. 

For me, being a personal trainer is an honor.  It's a vocation where people trust you with their most valuable commodity.  Performed well, it's up there with the great human callings because, at its core, it's helping those around you live happier, healthier, more productive lives. 

 
I may not love the fruit the tree is currently producing but I know the roots are sound because here are the names of those who planted the seeds.

Gary Grant

Casey Purpus

Drew Brooks

Michael Sims

Emily Meine

Eric Tomooka

Alexandra Roberts

Rob ???

Jackie Orr

Henry Lee Reynolds

Kenny Olsen 

Todd Smith

Morty Kehler

Christine ???

David Burr

George Lebrun

John Wilson

Tracy ???

Robbie Caravetta

 
Apologies to anyone I have forgotten or names I’ve misspelled, please know you are no less important. 

NOTE: I would be remiss if I did not mention Brian Moss of Better Bodies in NY and the Matrix One facilities in Westwood and Beverly Hills with people like Lee Nichols, Johnny G., Vinx, Lorenzo, and Bess Mota. 

These people were no less instrumental, and I only went with the Encino location because of the fact that it was the Encino location that created the industry’s curriculum. Whether that was for better or worse, I’ll leave for you to decide. Either way, I THANK YOU ALL, it was a pleasure knowing and working with you.

This is dedicated to the memory of Gary Grant and his funny, tippy-toed, walk. We miss ya Buddy. 

IF INTERESTED SEE EMAIL STREAM BELOW

Email stream to and from Walter Thompson @ ACSM from 2017

Hello Mr. Thompson,

               My name is Tjader Harris and from 1982 to their closing I worked, first on staff then as a personal trainer, at a facility called Matrix One in Encino, California.  In 1984, representatives from The American College of Sports Medicine showed up and asked us to help them design a curriculum for what would become a personal trainer certification course.  There was only 5 of us at the time, Michael Sims, Casey Purpus, Gary Grant, Drew Brooks, and myself.  I was the only one with any kinesiology in my background so I was entrusted with the project along with Drew Brooks and Casey Purpus.  (Gary Grant) 

We were asked to standardize the verbiage on every conceivable matrix we could think of then develop a series of multiple choice, true or false, and situational questions based around that verbiage.  In return, the gym would be able to use ACSM accreditation in their advertising for a certain length of time and the trainers who developed the course were to get free accreditation and free continued education certification as long as we took the tests.  This was not hearsay, this came directly from an ACSM representative that was sitting right across from me when he said it.  

Unfortunately, Matrix One closed the following year and I began working in the film industry.  A couple years later, the original owners of Matrix One opened a new gym in West LA called Mezzoplex.   They began calling the original trainers and when Drew Brooks and I called ACSM about getting our certification test we were told that they had no record of any such agreement and that we'd have to pay for our certification.  As you might imagine, this didn't sit very well with either of us and since we were both doing the majority of our training in our client's homes and gaining new clientele via word of mouth, we both opted not to get certified - which brings me to the reason for this email.  

If you checked my website, you may have surmised that I've done fairly well over the last 35 years despite my lack of certification.  I've been able to stay fairly local (I now live and work primarily in Orange County California) so I guess you could say I haven't strayed beyond the bounds of my reputation.  However, I now find myself faced with a move to Denver Colorado and though I've had a few job offers in preparation, all hinge on me having the proper accreditation.  Mr. Thompson, I'm not asking for anything that wasn't already promised to me.  Would the ACSM trainer certification program have been just as successful without our input?  Probably, but the facts are that they reached out to us, we did as they asked, and they cast us aside.  That's not right.  It's been 35 years, I hope you can see your way clear to fix it. 

Sincerly,  

His response….

Dear Mr. Harris:

I have been a member of the American College of Sports Medicine since 1978 and was heavily involved with the certification enterprise since that time becoming the chair of the certification committee early in the 1990s.  It wasn’t until 1996 when we first introduced the concept of personal trainer certification.  Can you provide me with the name or names of those from ACSM you discussed the certification?  In 1984 the director of certification was a she, not a he.  I am happy to pursue this on your behalf but need greater details about who from ACSM you had this or any other discussion.

Best wishes,

Walter R. Thompson, Ph.D., FACSM, FAACVPR

President, American College of Sports Medicine

My response…

Tjader Harris <rockjock634@yahoo.com>

To:Walt Thompson

Tue, Jul 11, 2017 at 4:01 PM

Mr. Thompson,

                   Thank you for getting back to me.  At the time I attempted to get my certification I did have the names of both individuals who came out to meet with us, it was same two men each time but I can't speak their standing within ACSM.  Obviously, we had no documentation of the trainers agreement or we'd have utilized it at the time.  Apparently no one thought it necessary but if you check your records, I believe Casey Purpus did pay for his certification at the time so the activation date of his membership should help validate what I'm telling you.  I don't know if Drew Brooks ever got his certification, Gary Grant is deceased, and I don't know the whereabouts of Michael Sims but Steven Kates was one of the co-owners of Mezzoplex and I believe he was aware of Matrix One's advertising deal with ACSM so I may be able to get in contact with him if necessary?

Also, if you need to verify that ACSM did, in fact, utilize our services I can possibly get you in contact with Emily Meine who was the receptionist at Matrix One at the time.

Eric Toomoka who was hired to replace Drew Brooks and possibly Drew Brooks and/or Michael Sims if I can find either on Facebook.  

I realize this may seem like a fair bit of time and aggravation for what is essentially a 300.00 certification but it's not about the money, it's about getting paid for services rendered.

Thank you for your time and let me know if I need to source the contact information for those I mentioned.

Tjader Harris

NO RESPONSE