MFF Army Debut

This was put in our newsletter today, and I thought it was cool enough to keep forever and ever.

Ladies and gentlemen, the MFF Family has birthed another glistening, glorious unicorn into our midst. Lay down the Twister mat, strip down to the tasteful undergarment of your choice, and let's welcome General Manager Rick Raven into our writhing nest of Ninja love!  

 

What's the Rick Raven Story?

Mine is just the classic story of a Midwest boy who comes to NYC on vacation and never leaves. My first memory is of being rescued by a phoenix and a dragon when my peaceful unicorn glade home was decimated. (Hey, when you're adopted you get to make up your own origin story!)

I spent a lot of time in Kansas City imagining magical worlds I could run away to. I spent time opening several businesses and learning a great deal, mostly by making mistakes. I came to realize my mythical yearnings were telling me I was a big city boy, and when life opened up a window; I jumped right on out. Good thing I learned how to fly. It was coming to New York that led me to achieve the biggest accomplishment of my life: leading over two thousand volunteers in the coalition that won Marriage Equality in New York.

I'm still in love with this city, life in general, and the crazy journeys that we all find ourselves on.

What drew you to MFF's style of crazytown?

The first time I heard of MFF was at the end of an amazing Broadway Bares performance. Judith Light was listing the myriad of corporate sponsors, and the audience held their applause as requested until she said, "Mark Fisher Fitness." Hearing those words, the room exploded into cheers. I had no idea what made this place cool, but that moment never left me. A few months later when I needed to get some serious revenge body, I knew there was only one place to turn.

From the moment I walked through the door, I felt what made the people so crazy about this place. The diversity of people, the commitment we all have towards each other, and the unconditional love of the staff can be seen every moment. I believe with every magical fiber of my being that people should be themselves, and finding a place that helps us all become better while maintaining our unique rainbow swirl was incredibly powerful for me.

What has you most excited about your new gig with MFF?

The people! Unicorns and Ninjas alike are simply amazing. I haven't met a person yet that I don't want to hang out with. I'm stoked about working my own magic to make everyone's experience that much more epic and helping spread the MFF love beyond our current unicorn glade.

Anything else you'd like the Ninjas to know?

Feedback is my apple pie (aka crack. I love anything with apples and cinnamon). I love knowing as much as possible, so don't be shy. Tell me anything. Tell me about your huge crush on BPM, or how you want Amanda to become a DJ; I love it all!

Oh. And the Ninja over my shoulder said I had to add this: I'm Single. ;)

Scared? The Best!

Another email to the Ninja Army deserved a blog spot.

Hey Ninjas!

I am both excited and sad writing this email, as it will be my last N4N email. As most of you know, this Monday was the start of my epic journey as GM of MFF, but I wanted to write this one last letter as a N4N.

This last weekend I had the pleasure of hearing Caitlin Cahow speak. If you don't know who this amazing girl is, go ask Amanda. :) She's a 2x Olympic Gold Medalist who was chosen by President Obama to represent the US during the Opening Ceremonies this year, despite being an open lesbian. As you can imagine this was both an amazing and terrifying position to be in while in Russia these days. It was her speech that solidified what I wanted to talk about today.

We talk a lot about fear at MFF. As Ninjas who have all done Snatched, we "know" that fear is actually our friend. But let's face it: It's easy to "know" something but a lot harder to remember it when we're in the weeds.

I had my own example of this right now. You should see the shock of my friends when I explain I'm now General Manager of a fitness studio. Those of you who know me are aware that I have 0 fitness experience. Now I'm managing a dozen trainers, and 5 classrooms dedicated to people's health hotness. HOLY SHIT. I'd be lying to say it wasn't scary as HELL. Throw on that the fact that everyone here seems so... theatrical, and I always feel pretty "normal" comparatively. Yep. Up the fear meter. Of course it's also totally amazing! What I know is that if it wasn't for my fellow ninjas encouraging me, it would have been easy to chicken out, missing out on one of the best experiences of my life.

Caitlin totally validated this line of thinking when she said, "When you step outside your comfort zone, you open yourself to the most amazing opportunities." Those moments when we're the most afraid, it's important for us to step back and look at what adventure we can embark on by jumping in. If you don't see yourself facing fear... seek it out!

Thank you guys for constantly reminding me to make the big leaps and go for the big dreams. You're amazing. Be scared. Be inspired. Live amazing adventures.

Extroverted Loners?

Not long ago, an observation was made of me that I was a loner. Talking to some of my closest friends about this, they immediately scoffed. In some ways. so did I. I'm a hardcore extrovert. I draw my energy from people. How could I possibly be a loner?

Wikipedia certainly validated my thoughts by describing being a loner as:

A loner is a person who avoids or does not actively seek human interaction or prefers to be alone. There are many reasons for solitude, intentional or otherwise, and "loner" does not imply a specific cause. Intentional reasons include spiritual and religious considerations or personal philosophies. Unintentional reasons involve temperament, being highly sensitive, having more extreme forms of shyness, or various mental disorders, being introverted or prefer quiet over commotion.

This kind of thing doesn't seem to match up with the life of an extrovert in any way. So why was it that I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something to this idea of being an extroverted loner?

The problem lies in the definition, specifically in it only existing as a physical nearness of human interaction. One can be surrounded by people, and even draw their energy from them in an extroverted fashion, while still being alone internally. It is a distinction not in who we're around or the connection we have, but an emotional and mental distinction of separation.

This type of individual might frequently find themselves as a leader. These are people who are surrounded by people, moving them, talking to them, but yet still alone. We've all heard the phrase "It's lonely at the top." The truth is that a leader can listen to and even be moved by everyone around them, but at the end what makes them a leader is their ability to stand alone.

Another example of lone extroversion is surprisingly a solid example of extroversion: the party planner or promoter. They are "in" everything and know everyone, and yet, they must always stand apart. Social? Yes. Extroverted? Of course. A loner? Most definitely.

Some of this tendency for certain types of extroverts to also exist as loners can be their draw towards freedom. I certainly fall into this category. I love people. I need them in my life, and preferably around me. That said, any attempt to control my actions, time or interactions immediately sets me on edge. I constantly get asked who I'm at the bar with. The answer is almost always "myself" even if I have a lot of friends there. The reason is that by separating myself is that I am not tied to their decisions. They want to leave? Great. I want to float around? Great. No harm no foul. I care deeply about everyone I'm around, so I automatically make sure that the situation is such that no one gets frustrated or their feelings hurt.

This instinctive draw some extroverts have towards being alone can also lead to defying other seeming social norms. Loner extroverts don't get tired of people as easily, because they don't lose their "alone time" when around others. For many people this is an anomaly. We can be sitting right next to you and exist in our own world. We do it when we go and work at Starbucks. We want a social area because people enhance our lives and feed our social energy needs. For the extroverted loner, this may actually allow us to increase our focus than when we're alone. We do the same with our friends and spouses as we engage in separate activities while "together." To us, if you're watching the game, and we're reading a book, we are able to enjoy each other's social energy while totally doing our own loner thing. This is completely foreign to anyone who doesn't fall into this category.

The simple fact is that being a loner isn't a bad or a good thing. It's just a way of being. Factored into the rest of your personality, the "way" in which this trait manifests is just as unique as any other aspect about you. Being shy doesn't make you a loner anymore than being personable makes you more emotionally or mentally connected. We should lose the image of the creepy guy all by himself when we think of what a loner is, and instead look at the aspect for what it is, the separation of ones' self from their surroundings, whether by themselves or in a crowd of people.