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| Rock climbing with Chris roughly 2006 |
Most of the folks who know me and/or have followed our Lifestyle Challenges and such here already know I'm into various other pursuits and have a specific interest in health & fitness, but there were a few surprises, I suppose, and it generated a handful of questions and comments, so I though I'd use this post to expand on some of those things and drop in some personal photos of some of those activities.
The text on the website:
In addition to his music world, David has many other interests, from physical to intellectual. A lifelong athlete, David places a high degree of value on health & fitness (and has competed in distance running, combat sports, and extreme sports) as well as mind sports (specifically, abstract strategy games like Chess and Othello, which he plays daily). He still continues to take classes via Open Culture, EdX, & other platforms - with an interest in music, ancient literature, philosophy, & science - including classes via Oxford, Harvard, and Berklee College of Music....and made a failed attempt at the pull-up world record years ago (completing 44 when the record was 50 in the early 2000s).
Play David in Othello at eOthello.
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| That time we were snowboarding & shit got sideways..... |
Distance running is something I haven't done since my teen years, but am going to leap into again for a short period just for the challenge. As of this writing, my fiance' and I are preparing for a 50k ultramarathon late '26 or early '27 (assuming my body allows it - haha!)....but at 61, I haven't competed in any combat sports in years (though I still sporadically train). Ditto extreme sports (though you can on rare occasion catch me playing around on a skateboard). But those were fabulous experiences that (like the other items on this post) I'm happy to chat about in greater detail if anyone is interested.
The health & fitness is more well known. I'm a lifelong gym rat and have experimented with diet for as long as I can remember - swinging from raw vegan to raw paleo and more. My current (for the past couple of decades or so) is a quasi paleo approach that prioritizes proteins & fats, minimizes carbs, and while no longer exclusively raw, my rule of thumb is basically "if it has to be cooked to be fit for human consumption, do not eat it".
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| Still using my old skateboard gear! |
Mind sports are not new to me, but I don't know that I've ever mentioned it publicly (though I've posted Chess and Othello board shots on social media sporadically). I love both games, but am not much of a chess player. Othello (pure binary logic) I do a bit better at, and welcome any readers here to not only learn the game, but to come play me online at eOthello. Its a great community and has introduced me to people all over the world. As of this writing, I've played with (and conversed with) people from not only across the US, but also Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Israel, Iran, Japan, Panama, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand....and many more. So don't be shy - if you play, come on over and find me! Just look up SkinnyDevil!
Continuing education is also fun and rewarding. Open Culture went online in 2006 and EdX in 2012. I've taken a couple of classes each year since Open Culture went live. Some of these classes are simply lecture series while others are actual classes with interaction, assignments, and the like. I highly recommend it to everyone.
I've been able to delve into many interests, from philosophy to ancient history to myths & ancient literature to economics to, of course, music....and much more. I've outlined some of the recent (as of this writing) classes at this post....from lecture series on Ancient Israel to Oxford's "Aesthetics & Philosophy of Art" to revisiting Leonard Bernstien's Harvard series "The Unanswered Question".
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| "Cage fight" sometime in the mid to late 1990s. |
And yes, I wasn't joking. In the early 2000s, the world record for pullups (continuous, no rest) was about 50. I attempted to break the record a couple of times, but my personal best only got me to 44. I still do pullups and dips in my workouts, typically doing sets of 10 for multiple sets.
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| Teenage me flying through the air on a Yamaha 250 |
I will expand on my diet and exercise in a short e-book that I hope will be available by next year.
These activities I find enrich my life greatly, and I would urge you - if you find yourself "stuck" in routine or similar - to explore in whatever way suits you. Playing music has taken me many places and given me occasion to work with amazing people, but my other interests and endeavors have given back similarly.
So get out there and explore!
Future AMAs will cover other recent questions, from the Fender debacle to AI in the arts and more!
f you value my work and want to support it......contact me for lessons (guitar, electric bass, ukulele, social drumming, songwriting, etc) or feel free to leave a tip (one-shot or monthly):
Monthly support: https://www.patreon.com/skinnydevilmusic or https://www.paypal.me/skinnydevilmusic (Pay What You Will)
One-shot support: https://www.paypal.me/skinnydevilmusic or www.venmo.com/David-McLean-47 (Pay What You Will)
http://www.skinnydevil.org
http://www.sdmlguitar.com
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