When I was told I should take a water aerobic therapy class at the YMCA that is attended by, and designed for, mostly seniors in their 60s, 70s, and 80s,"I expected an image of a very slow class. The class that Kelvin Joiner leads at 930AM on Mondays and Wednesdays, however, dispels most of these myths.
In fact, with his
mixture of very strong rocking songs, and his engaged, highly motivational
attitude, Kelvin is a rock star sensation, as he leads his classes into call
and response chants with as much passion (and less threat of damnation) than a
fiery southern preacher.
Speaking to some of
the seniors in his class, they almost unanimously praise him. Mary Spamos credits Kelvin’s class for "making her feel 17 again." Denise
Dill had “just about given up on water walking classes at the YMCA,” due to
what she considered to be lackluster instructors. “But Kelvin brought me back.
He doesn’t treat us with kid gloves; he pushes us to go as far as we can go.”
His classes are consistently the most popular "water walking" classes
at the YMCA. When he substitutes for another class, he brings people with him.
When he misses a class, it's a very tough act for his replacements to follow.
In fact, his classes
feel much more like the "oldie nights" that young, local hipster DJS,
like "The Duke Of Windsor" or "East Bay Oldies" held at
Kitty's. Perhaps this is because the mostly senior citizen clientele knows how
to rock, dance, a little more, than quite of a few of the young hipsters I meet
while clubbing. Kelvin does not make the same assumption most younger people
who work with seniors do, he doesn't assume automatically they are slow: “You
can’t be healthy unless you’re enjoying yourself. I try to get people to enjoy
moving their body whether on water on land.”
Nor is the class’s
population restricted to seniors.
Younger clients with disabilities also find Kelvin’s classes to inspire
them to stay healthy. Cricket Bailey loves
the water because “she can do things in it like jog, and even dance, “ that she
generally can’t do on dry land. In a country that tends to glamorize youth
and vigor, people like Kelvin help glamorize the pool therapy class in a way
that makes it one of the most happening disco nights in town (even though it
happens in the morning).
Kelvin Joiner started
going to the new Oakland YMCA when it opened in 1987, and started teaching
there shortly thereafter. Until this year he had primarily lead land classes in
stationary bicycling, aerobics, and weight training. He began teaching the pool
classes earlier in 2008 only as a substitute, but his popularity has kept him
doing it. In fact, he has even quit his day job in the computer industry at
Stanford University to devote more time to his work as a personal training His
class may not be everybody; one or two have complained that he’s a little too
loud, or a little too fast. Luckily the YMCA offers other classes to
accommodate these folks as well. You must be a member or guest of the YMCA to
take these classes. For more information, contact. oakland.ymca eastbay.org ORwww.oaklandymca.org -
(510) 451-9622. For information on Kelvin’s personal training classes, contact
kjoiner@hotmail.com
(Author's Note. From 2007 to 2010, I was able to land some paying gigs writing journalism for The Oakbook, and a few other publications. I took it as an aesthetic challenge, to write "simple" stories for a a general audience after making a career out of writing for more specialized and 'sophisticated' audiences. Unfortunately, Oakbook shut its doors a few years ago; the paying gigs dried up, and these articles are no longer available on the web. I repost this one article for several reasons. I think it raises important points about several crucial functions of music in our society (which of course I could get into more deeply, upon request), and I also need "writing sample" to refer to--to show the range of writing--when applying for jobs, even if pursuing a career in journalism is at least as quixotic in and of itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment