RIP Jack LaLanne.

“I can’t die, It will ruin my image.” 

This article I read recently while flying American in American Way Magazine was actually really, really good. The impact this man had on physical activity in America is immeasurable.

“Before Jazzercise, before spinning, before kettle bells, Pilates, Wii Fit, Zumba or the Shake Weight, there was Jack LaLanne. The seemingly tireless fitness guru who taught the world how to get in shape for nearly 80 years died on Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, California, due to respiratory failure resulting from pneumonia. He was 96…

LaLanne spent his life encouraging couch potatoes to be fit, helping to jump-start the modern fitness movement while proving that it’s never too late to get in shape. Though a modest 5’ 6”, LaLanne had an oversize personality and the monster heart of a salesman when it came to promoting exercise. From swimming from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf while handcuffed and pulling a 1,000-pound boat at age 60 to slapping the cuffs on again and pulling 70 people in 70 boats for more than a mile through Long Beach Harbor a decade later, LaLanne never stopped encouraging Americans to push themselves and their bodies in search of peak fitness.