by Lisa Richwine
PASADENA, Calif. — At 53, live music fan Ken Lawrence felt his ability to get on the dance floor was diminishing and he wanted to do something about it.
Lawrence started hiking and lifting weights. Then he joined an online community called “Whip It … Into Shape,” a group of Generation X music fans who work out to get or stay fit by attending all-day outdoor festivals. In 14 months, he lost 47 pounds.
“I want to be a guy who’s living his best life on a dance floor or at a concert until he’s 80,” he said.
The “Whip It” group is named after a lyric from a song by the 1980s new wave band Devo, which was founded a year ago by Southern California native Melissa Kirkpatrick.
The 43-year-old wanted to improve her fitness for festivals that involve hours or days of standing, walking and dancing. She thought there might be others like her who are bonded over a love of 80s music.
“I wanted to create a group that was accountable for staying fit,” she said. “I told everyone at the beginning that I was not a fitness professional, and that I just wanted to be their friend and we would do this together.”
Kirkpatrick started the group on Facebook, where she serves as cheerleader for her more than 350 members, detailing their progress and creating themed workouts and health challenges.
The Duran Duran-inspired “Hungry Like the Wolf” challenge encouraged healthy eating. “Add It Up,” named after a song by the Violent Femmes, called for weight lifting every two or three days.
To motivate each other, members post photos of themselves at the gym, often in band T-shirts. Others share ’80s-themed workout playlists and inspirational words.
“Sometimes, a stranger on the internet telling you that they believe in you is all you need to hear to motivate you to get out of the house and go to the gym, go hiking or go to a yoga class,” said Lawrence, who has posted photos of her scenic hikes in and around Los Angeles.
Kirkpatrick said he “set an example of being positive, and everyone embraced that.” Small victories were appreciated, and no one was judged for skipping a workout.
cruel world
This spring, the members of “Whip It” geared up for the annual Cruel World Festival, a showcase of ’80s alternative rock, post-punk and other music. Performers include Morrissey, Siouxsie Sioux, the Psychedelic Furs and Simple Minds.
This nearly 12-hour endurance test takes place on three stages spread across the grassy golf course next to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Bands’ sets overlap, causing some fans to race between stages to hear as much music as possible. Many attendees reported walking more than 20,000 steps in a day.
“The stages are really far apart,” “Whip It” member Rachel Bowe said of some of the day’s physical challenges. “It’s really hot. And I’m a woman who’s going to be standing all day.”
Bowe, 53, said she exercises five days a week because “I don’t want to stop enjoying my hobby.”
“Whip It” member Heidi Naegle of Michigan felt her fitness decline after she was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and was told to stop running. She adjusted her workouts and began physical therapy in January, with a clear goal: to be able to run for hours at the Cruel World Festival in May.
“It definitely worked,” Neagle said. “I hiked all day in the Cruel World and I felt relaxed and didn’t need any medication.”
Nagel said he likes that the “Whip It” members embrace people of all fitness levels.
He said people who were teens in the ’80s grew up when schools emphasized organized sports rather than physical activity. Those who were interested in music often didn’t exercise or socialize with classmates who played sports.
“I was a goth kid,” Naegle said. “We didn’t do that. It would have interfered with my clothes and my makeup.”
In the “Whip It” group, “we all come from different places and we’re all trying to do the best we can,” Neagle said. “Everybody celebrates.”
According to Lawrence, his improved fitness allowed him to dance for nine hours in Cruel World.
“If I had done the same thing a year ago, I probably would have been hospitalized,” he said.
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