Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Mardi Gras parade part II

Yes I know it's a while back now but am just now getting thoughts back together again!

I'll keep it brief :)

After the small matter of applying metallic gold body paint to every surface of our bodies (seriously, the only parts not covered were beneath underwear and that's it!) - a mere 3 hours in the make-up artists' workroom - it was off and out into the parade marshalling area for some dedicated pre-parade fun!

Or so we thought...

Apparently the gold paint, even sealed as it was by half a can of hairspray each (check out that carbon footprint!), was not to be touched by mere mortals. God-like we were whisked through the thronging marshalling area crowd - awash with colour, clamour, cleavage and costumery - but not allowed to touch another living or inanimate thing. Tough work when our shimmery forms were so appealing to the many photo-taking revellers that really make pre-parade so much fun normally!

So, left near our chariot (a converted table-top truck with wooden panelling and paintings of horses - really quite good actually!) we were to remain aloof from those who would come and look with their hands rather than their eyes. Yes we've all done that before.

The music pumped and the parade-goers partied to the warm-up routines of the different floats jammed into a Sydney backstreet near the parade start. So much fun to be had! It really is one of the best parts of being in the parade - soaking up all the atmosphere beforehand, with a few thousand others who have all dieted, worked out, sewed and body painted their way to fabulousness!

After another 3 hours of standing in costume (and working out every available move I could muster with my gilded 'discus') it was time to rev up the road onto the parade route. To the adulation of tens of thousands of spectators, we mounted our chariot and bunny-hopped onwards. We four golden Olympians (discus, javelin, bow and arrow and torch-bearer) stood toward the head of the massive Team Sydney float and attempted to do them honour with our masterful gesticulation with spray-painted replicas. What fun!! Look, suffice to say there's only SO many ways someone who's thrown maybe 2 discii in their life, can pretend to throw two taped-together plastic dinner plates - but you get my drift.

The crowd roared and cheered, the music swelled and the road to the finish line seemed to take a millennium. Amidst calls, whistles, shouts, the flurry of Team Sydney choreography around us - it was a sea of sights and sounds. What a rush being amongst it all, the attention of it all!! Cameras flashed, we lurched on and the night reached its crescendo as we passed Taylor Square - all hot and dripping with gold sweat!

I won't go into detail about the aftermath once we reached parade end, nor the aching feet or the gold paint in eyes - the elation of the evening was more than enough to keep me going for hours to come :)

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Website update!

Look out on the Life Active website for new additions :

* Improving posture is as easy as One, Two, Three, Four


My method for helping anyone improve their posture by bringing attention to four simple points in the body. Forget gimmicks, straps, arduous hours in and out of heels - this is where it's at for more lift, better confidence and appeal!

In three parts, from sequential issues of DNA (Nov09, Dec09, Jan10) - read in order but allow yourself time to do the exercises in each before the next section.

www.lifeactive.com.au/articles/index.shtml  and follow the links at the bottom.

* April is all about Fitness!!


With the April DNA now out, I've concentrated on some myths and some insights into fitness. What is it? Why is it so desirable? How do I get me some??

All will be answered in a bit of a challenging magazine article.

For those not getting DNA, I'll post extracts soon. In the meantime, get in with some fitness basics and testing at:

www.lifeactive.com.au/articles/fitness tests.shtml

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Mardi Gras season posting #1

Well what a crazy two weeks it’s been here in Sydney as the Mardi Gras season whisked upon us like some tumultuous technicolour tornado, whipping up a frenzy and leaving a wake of devastation (and underslept partygoers) in its wake.

This year seeing the Mardi Gras street parade and the MG after party separated by a week, brought many a raised eyebrow. And extra party or special event to attend! I actually quite enjoyed the idea of a “carnival” or “Festival” feel within the longer MG Festival. There was the opening ceremony (parade) culminating a week later with a closing party and official afterparty (Toybox).

Let me start with the parade J

Look, arguments over political meaning, relevance, cost, convenience blah blah aside – it still is one of the most colourful and fun events to grace the city streets in the year ! And with thousands of parade entrants rumbling down over a kilometer of parade route, in front of tens of thousands of crowd members (and hundreds of thousands of total viewers) – the gyms and parks of Sydney were al but jammed in the weeks leading up to the event. What a joy to behold! I sincerely hope they are all back there this week keeping up their good work (and their fabulous shapes!).

I got a chance this year again to be in the parade, as part of the Team Sydney float.

Team Sydney is the group of gay and lesbian sports and athletics clubs. Covering both social and competitive levels, it includes teams like the Wett Ones (swimming), Freezone (volleyball) and the Frontrunnners (running club). And look, I couldn’t be more in support of them! (Other than to be in one of the clubs which I should probably look into – ok so I was only introduced to TS this year officially!). A lot of people get scared off team sports and athletics in high school as they are made to feel awkward or uncomfortable – especially in competitive sports where sledging lends itself all sorts of nasty names and comments unfortunately flung across the field. That these guys have formed or joined the teams of Team Sydney is a great beacon to those who would like to be more active, but need more variety than just joining a gym or running around their neighbourhood park.

That besides the point – Team Sydney recruited 4 of us from Golds Gym Sydney to man the “chariot” in the 180-person strong tribute to sports and athletics throughout the ages. The brief – well, besides the costumes being very brief in initial planning! – was to have 4 golden “Greek Olympians” representing the ancient beginnings of formalized sports. There were 4 of us, two boys and two girls, each representing a particular activity: javelin, discus, archery and the Olympic torch run.

In the planning phases we were to be statues, imitating our particular sports in recognizable poses. Laurel wreaths were to be adorned, above glittering metallic gold bodies and classic “Greek style” skimpy clothing (the point was raised that Olympians used to train completely in the nude, however the idea to be completely accurate to form was immediately vetoed in favour of a more “family friendly” approach!).

With days to spare before the parade … each of the teams that were marching had organized their own co-ordinated dances and costumes to represent their own sports following on behind our “chariot” (a ute with wooden panels of horses and chariot wheels). Cheerleaders and flagbearers were to be followed up with Harlem Globetrotteresque basketballers. Our own little truck-top contingent was arranged to meet for full body painting on the afternoon before – hours of gold makeup application and preparation to ascend the parade route in gilded style …