Cocktails with KB | Craig Spear
- Dev Team
- 18 Dec 2015
When the invite for cocktails with KB goes out to someone who owns a gym, somehow sitting and drinking a cocktail doesn’t fit. Instead, Craig Spear suggested Kettle Bells with KB. So this month, I wore my tank top and yoga pants instead of a cocktail dress and hit Momentum Fitness for a workout with the guy behind the gym.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
I’ve had a lot of good advice in my day. The one theme that sticks out to me — and I certainly haven’t perfected this — is to live with ease and grace. The way I take that is; we have such a great, amazing life. A lot of times life gets stressful, but it doesn’t have to if we live with ease and take things as they are. See every opportunity as a learning experience and be gracious.
Best thing about what you do?
This is going to sound cliché, but it’s changing people’s lives. We do it on so many levels, not just weight loss or fitness. It’s on an emotional level, on a mental level. We work with people who have decided to go back to school later on in life, and gone on to new careers because fitness allowed them the opportunity to see what was possible. They overcame their fears when they came into the gym and that gave them so much confidence to go on and do other things.
Worst thing about what you do?
Because this is a business, we have overhead and expenses. The worst thing is that we have to charge people. I would love to do this for free. We want to offer people a certain standard of fitness and exercise and that comes at a cost. But we certainly are working on ways to make this accessible to people who can’t afford the brand of fitness that we offer.
What are you most looking forward to in the next year?
I am doing a race called “Escape from Alcatraz” on June 12th. I’ll be swimming with sharks in freezing cold water away from an island that people broke out of, riding my bike through one of the hilliest cities in the world and then running (only) 18 km.
What’s your favourite weather?
How can you beat a beautiful, warm, sunny day?
What’s your favourite memory tied to that weather?
I have so many. I used to live in Bali and I had beautiful sunny days every day. I helped build an orphanage in Africa and we had beautiful sunny days there. I completed my Ironman and it was a beautiful sunny day. I practice gratitude every day and sometimes people pick things that are specific to just them, but a lot of times I’m grateful for a beautiful sunny day. In the most important times of my life, there have been beautiful sunny days.
You have two full days off, no work. The sky is the limit. What are you going to do?
Two full days off of work? I am going to run, and ride my bike. I am going to go somewhere I’ve never been. I love history, ancient land- marks; the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids, Stonehenge, Machu Picchu. How about I spend a couple hours in each spot? I’ll be like in that movie Jumper. I would go to all of those places in two days!
What’s your mantra?
I have a couple of mantras. There’s a quote by Steve Prefontaine, a middle-distance runner from the States. His quote was, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” I try to live by that; every day is a gift. What can you do with that day? What’s the most you can make of it? Another one is simply, “Every day.” Every day is a day to improve yourself, to grow as a person. You need to look for opportunities to grow every day.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
I have a big sweet tooth. I love sweet and sour candy: cherry blasters, fuzzy peaches, Sour Patch Kids. When I’m really stressed, those are my go-to. I get into the sugar.
What’s your idea of perfect happiness?
Freedom. Freedom to do what I want, when I want, however I want to do it — to be with who I want to be with, work with the people I want to work with. I love being able to make my own decisions, not being confined to any kind of rules. That’s why I became an entrepreneur. I’m able to create my day and I don’t have to answer to anyone. Sometimes that means I can take a day off when I want, or travel when I want. To me, happiness is freedom.
How has the fitness world changed in the last 15 years?
There are always trends in the fitness world that are constantly changing. 15 years ago, people were using a stepper, and doing step class or high-impact aerobics. Crossfit didn’t exist back then. People are always looking for new, innovative ways to move, which is one of the great things about the industry. But a lot of times, those ideas are geared towards one small group of people; people who are already active, people who aren’t intimidated by fitness. Their minds have been made up, they’ve been fit and active their whole life. What needs to change is that companies, businesses and individuals need to look for innovative solutions that people aren’t intimidated by: shared activities and experiences where it’s not just running on a treadmill or lifting weights. There is a big culture of competition: How much can I lift? How fast can I run? But it doesn’t have to be about that. It just has to be about moving your body. That’s how I would love to see the industry move forward.
LIGHTNING ROUND:
WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT THESE DAYS? Momentum George Street
BEST GIFT YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED? When I was a kid, my parents gave me a football helmet
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR COFFEE? I don’t drink coffee
FAVOURITE BAND TO WORK OUT TO? Outkast
FAVOURITE SOLO ARTIST TO WORK OUT TO? Drake (right now)
A BOOK YOU PLAN ON READING? The Four Agreements by Don Muguel Ruiz
HIDDEN TALENT? I can stand on a stability ball. (Editor’s Note: He proved it, and didn’t fall, and then did squats, and did a 180.)
THE FIRST THING I DO WHEN I GET HOME IS: Go on the computer, check my email
BEST WAY TO DECOMPRESS? Watch Ray Donovan (Netflix)
IF YOUR LIFE WERE A SONG, WHAT WOULD THE TITLE BE? “Lean Back, Roll Out, Walk it Out”
FAVOURITE HOLIDAY? I like New Year’s Eve. I like the fresh start.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU’RE ALONE IN YOUR CAR? How grateful I am for the opportunities I’ve been given.
WINDOW OR AISLE? Aisle, more leg room.
BEATLES OR STONES? Stones
BAGEL OR CROISSANT? Bagel
FAVOURITE TV SHOW GROWING UP? A lot of kids watched cartoons on Saturday, but I watched Home Time with Dean Johnson. I loved watching them build stuff and my grandfather was a carpenter. The other one was the New Yankee Workshop with Norm Abram.
WHAT IS SOMETHING NEW YOU LEARNED THIS WEEK? I still have a long way to go to master this ease and grace thing.
WHAT “MOST LIKELY TO” SUPERLATIVE WOULD YOU BE MOST HONOURED TO RECEIVE? Make a difference in the world
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