A quick update for the New Year so far! Guest on Wellness Warrior Radio & Interviewed by Project Mayhem Bodies

     I was a guest on Wellness Warrior Radio with host Diane Kazer and her producer Darren McDuffie.  It is long interview actually, but they had some very good questions and had done their research, so it was an easy and fun interview for me.  Diane Kazer is a certified nutritionist with a holistic-approach, an athlete (soccer), and a former figure competitor who is based out of Orange County, CA.  Diane definitely places health above aesthetics, but believes you can achieve both!  We actually have a lot in common:)  They mostly asked holistic-health related questions, travel-fitness questions, (since I'm also an airline pilot), and a few modeling questions.  You can listen to the podcast here by clicking on this link:

http://wellnesswarriorradio.com/fitness-model-diet/fitness-model-diet-health-longevity/

     I also was interviewed by Project Mayhem Bodies and as their newest contributor.  You can check out the interview here at this link:

http://projectmayhembodies.com/interview-with-a-fitness-guru-max-wettstein/

     In other news, I'm glad we all survived another crazy month of holiday madness and are on the other side of it all.  I've been flying the jet, writing for Four EL magazine, training, but no modeling yet during 2014.  I've also been training with my oldest daughter Bryce quite a bit, who just took 3rd place Amateur in the Vans Girls Combi Classic 2014 bowl skating contest, and needless to say our whole family is super proud of her as not only does she work hard for it, but our whole family does.  Also the surf has finally been up!

Max catching a few...

Salt of the Earth

Despite dabbling with (inherently vain & narcissistic) modeling for the past 12 years, I've always had a innate repulsion to pretentious, elitist, flashy people.  Hence I never was willing to move to Hollywood, never willing to give up my (Blue-Collar) occupation as an airline pilot to pursue the talent industry full time and still drive an old, dirty Toyota pick-up littered with dog hair.  So I had an absolute blast producing this 'Salt-of'-the-Earth' series of photos.  I'm not claiming to be so humble or down to Earth, but it is a characteristic that I've always been drawn too.  If nothing else it was a fun, family project and got us out exploring off-the-beaten-path shot-locations.  And yes, I make fun of people who drive BMWs or Range-Rovers too haha!

Preventing & Treating Skateboarding Injuries

All athletes are prone to injury.  Skateboarders are no different.  The irony is, many times skaters do not think of themselves as athletes & the classic sense, yet are sometimes more at risk given the ‘extreme’ nature of what they do.  Whether it is airing out of 10’ bowl or ollie-ing a staircase, the penalty for failure at the very least is impacting a very hard surface and coming to an abrupt halt, expressed by Newton’s law of Force = Mass x Acceleration, where the concrete always wins.  Yet many skaters, (who tend to have youth & plenty of ego on their side), do not warm-up, stretch, wear protective equipment, or cross-train with other forms of exercise, in order to improve strength, joint-integrity & flexibility.  No other elite athlete would train or compete with such personal neglect.

                Most of us skate for fun and couldn't care less about competition or elite performance – this is true.  However, no matter why you skate, getting injured SUCKS, especially if you can’t skateL

The intent here is not to sound preachy.  Skateboarding has always been about non-conforming & expressing individuality, and is certainly not considered a mainstream or conventional sport (though this perspective seems to be rapidly changing in our society).  In fact many of us came to love skateboarding because there are no coaches and no rules or because it was an outlet from ‘normal’ team sports.  Indeed skating is as much an art form as it is a sport.  This is not intended to be a political discussion, or about the obvious protective benefits of wearing helmets and pads – we wouldn’t waste your time!

This is about INCREASING longevity as skater: Taking care of your body & your joints so you can skate longer & pain-free.  Injuries are inevitable if you skate long & hard enough, but you can take steps to prevent most of them, minimize their severity and recover more quickly.  In fact, skating is an amazing full body, functional exercise, and a path to a fitter, healthier mind, body & soul.

What can you do?  Much of it you know already, especially if you ever played other conventional sports.  LISTEN to your body.  Put in the time.  Pay your dues, and your body will love you for it.  Your joints, tendons & ligaments will be STRONG when you need them to:

I Sk8

     What?  A grown-man and father...an airline Captain who skateboards?  A bit juvenile you say?  Not around these parts.  Not around SoCal, especially Encinitas California, perhaps known as the epicenter of vert & transition skating.  Did I mention my neighbors are Tony Hawk, Andy Macdonald & Cara-Beth Burnside?  Did I mention the 2003 X-Games half-pipe sk8 event was held 5 minutes from my house, the same park where Shaun White learned how to skate?  My daughter goes to school with Mike McGill's daughter.  My CPA neighbor gets his mail everyday, barefoot on his skateboard.  When we're not surfing (or working), we're skating.  Did I mention we built a wooden skate-bowl in our backyard?  Yeah, I have a really cool wife, and she skates too.  Skateboarding is pretty much a family affair and a way of life around here.  It certainly doesn't soley define us and we're not that good, but its become a passion that bonds our family together.  Actually I should speak for my self - my daughter is that good, considering her age, and I am her coach.  In fact she is ranked top 12 in the world in women's bowl-skating.  But enough about her...

     ...Why am I so ADDICTED to skating?...and yes I meant addicted:  Skating is FUN and it is full-body, functional fitness that involves the 'FLOW' psychological factor, meaning it keeps one completely immersed in the 'present moment' as it challenges just enough to heighten one's awareness & focus while still preserving fun-factor and triggering a massive surge of reward neurotransmitter dopamine.  Dopamine is the same neurotransmitter released when one indulges in chocolate or to be more explicit & literal, when cocaine is snorted, which triggers an instant flood of dopamine...lasting for about 30 minutes. 

Learn Something From Your Kids: Get Outside & PLAY!

...Learn how to be active and PLAY again!  Learn how to get out of your chair, get off the sidelines and truly move your body for sport and FUN again.  Get out there and join your kids and get more involved at their level.  What's the alternative?...Continue to stiffen up, atrophy and LOSE what you're not using.  Bond with your kids.  Maybe its a bit much to ask you to actually play their respective sport with them, so how about getting more involved by coaching or assisting their practices?  Or helping them build a tree house or a BMX track in the backyard?  Teach them how to plant a garden or do yard work together - chores rock!  What's that?...You bond with your children by playing VIDEO GAMES??