There's a lot in this newsletter, including opening remarks by Alex Ash, some New Year's resolution thoughts, details about our LAB holiday party, and an interview with LAB member and retired Ironman CEO/athlete Andrew Messick. We also share the results of a very important poll: What's your favorite holiday movie? There's an Italian dessert recipe you have to try, and last but not least, a pup of the month. There are also a lot of quotes designed to inspire us in the new year sprinkled throughout. Let's start with a quote from one of our modern thinkers about celebrating the new year:

HOLIDAY QUOTE #1

"I like to go to parties where I know everyone. How are you going to have fun with people you don't know?"

- Mary-Kate Olsen

THE STATE OF PLAY

By Alex Ash

What kind of people train at THE LAB? That's a question I get a lot. Some expect me to tell them about all the ultra high-performing athletes we work with. Others think we focus on people who need rehab. Some presume we work more with men than women, more women than men, young people than older people, people with dogs, people with cats, people who love singing show tunes. You get the picture. I could say that the answer is none of the above. Or all of the above. Cause it is. We don't have a "type" and are grateful for it. But what I do tell anyone who asks: The common thread that runs through our membership is PLAY. Soccer, pickleball, skiing, running marathons, ballroom dancing, whatever people do at Burning Man - you're all in here training with us so you can continue to PLAY out there. Doing what you're passionate about. This might sound heretical, but to me, play can be more meaningful than work, and just about every other part of life. With so much going on in the world? If you think about it, play demands we be the best version of ourselves, and the best version of us as we go out in that difficult world helps us navigate it with less stress and more grace. Kids know this; they just want to have fun. But play is how they learn too. Problem is, as we grow up, the responsibilities and hardships of life often contribute to us losing sight of the importance of play. And almost paradoxically, we have to work harder to get back to a freer and more expressive state of play - and our true selves.

At THE LAB’s core, we aim to help our members re-discover their highest form of play, and through that, living with more purpose and meaning. As you reflect on your past year, and your resolutions or intentions moving forward, I encourage you to reflect on what you might add or remove so you have a more playful 2025!

HOLIDAY QUOTE #2

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

―Albert Einstein

Not bad, but Al's no Mary-Kate. Tis the season. Whatever that means to you. For a lot of us, tis the season of family gatherings, of eating too much, of decorating the tree too much with all those cheesy ornaments you should've thrown away in the 90s. Of fighting crowds (or Amazon) to buy lots of stuff that's supposed to make people happy...

HOLIDAY QUOTE #3

"Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.

Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!"

- Dr. Seuss

...For some, tis the season to reflect back on 2024, and based on your reflection, spark changes in your 2025. Play more? Strive for greater financial success? Perhaps run a first marathon - or your 60 gazillionth, if you're Mike Swan. Swallow your first live goldfish, listen to more live music. Take a sewing or auto repair class or try that trapeze thing in that park on Haley Street. (Won't see me there.) What about getting more sleep? Even though we at THE LAB have deep skepticism about most health trends - and sleep is on, like, every health influencer's top 10 list these days (one of the Kardashians sleeps, like, 14 hours a day) - evidence hints that the species homo sapiens (that's us) have been practicing this sleep thing since our origins, so maybe it's more than just a passing trend. We'll see how it all plays out.

The above babbling on about new things to do in 2025 could double as a New Year's resolutions list. But then you all have your own. Or, 2024 was so good you're just gonna keep on keeping on! Cheers to ya! But what about resolutions for your time at THE LAB? How can you make your 2025 here the best it can be? Here are some suggestions:

TRAIN MORE CONSISTENTLY

So fundamental you already know it. Still. Each time you skip training is a missed opportunity to get better. And no one likes missed opportunities. Did you invest in Bitcoin? See? Don't screw up again. Just get here, even if you're having a bad day. Actually, especially if you're having a bad day. At THE LAB, we specialize in bad days.

SPA DAY AT THE LAB

It doesn't have to be a training day for you to come in and have a great LAB experience. You're a Monday, Wednesday and Friday person? Come in Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. And do what? A relaxing 15-20 minutes in the sauna, sweating out toxins, almost literally - though not literally, AKA figuratively - melting away anxiety. After, NormaTec sleeves feel cozy on these chilly days and prolong your relaxed state of grace. Do the mediation cards. Didn't even know have em, did ya? Or, all the cool folks are doing contrast therapy these days (sauna, plunge, sauna, plunge, ad nauseum) but just cause they are doesn't mean you shouldn't! Or for the complete package, do all of the above after your physical therapy appointment. The more you recover from training, the more you can throw yourself into the rest of your 2025. And maybe you'll even sleep better. And play more. And buy Bitcoin. And party with people you don't know.

DO A VO2 MAX TEST

The VO2Max test will establish a baseline of your cardio fitness which will help you track your progress for your new cardio program. Wait, what new cardio program? The one you're dying to start in the new year. If adding more cardio training is one of your new year goals, talk to our training staff.

MORE PLAY TIME

Wanna start running races, climb mountains, or play in a hoops or hockey league? Talk to Alex, Jeff, Adrina or Sauce about updates on your training. We're here for you.

As if to contradict everything just written, here's Oscar Wilde:

HOLIDAY QUOTE #4

“Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.”

— Oscar Wilde

PLAY DATE:

THE LAB HOLIDAY PARTY

You probably already know that THE LAB holiday party is on January 16 at 6pm at, once again, the Community Environmental Council's Hub. There will be food, music, and cheer. And this year something pretty sweet: Local winery Kunin Wines will join us and pour some of their fine vinos. Isn't that awesome? A big thanks to LAB member William Hefner for that, because Kunin is his wife's project and he volunteered the winery's time and resources. Cheers, William!

Who's invited to this event? All LAB members and their plus ones. And while we love having kids come to most of our events at The LAB, they're not on the guest list for this one. No dogs either. Not to put kids and dogs on the same plane. And no one's saying one's better behaved than the other. Or cuter. Just that the Hub is a dog-free zone and for our holiday party, kid-free too. I need a way out of this, fast. How about a quote?

HOLIDAY QUOTE #5

“I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring..”

– David Bowie

LAB HOLIDAY HOURS

Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Closed New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day

IRONMAN2

INTERVIEW WITH LAB MEMBER ANDREW MESSICK

Jeff K: Thanks for taking the time, Andrew. Let's start at the end. You just retired as CEO of the Ironman Group?

Andrew: Yes.

And just retired from competing in Ironman races as well, right?

Right.

Has to be a coincidence?

It was time. For both.

How long were you CEO of Ironman?

13 years.

How did you get involved with the company?

I had a lot of experience working internationally and working in the business of sports.

Specifically?

From 1996 to 2002, I lived in Amsterdam, London, Calgary, and Sydney. I worked in management consulting at McKinsey and Company, then a big consumer conglomerate that sold cosmetics. Then I worked for NBA International as Senior VP and I was President of Sports at AEG.

So based on your work experiences, you were recruited?

Yes and my love of endurance sports, which I'd been doing a long while before I started at Ironman.

What was your mandate as the new CEO?

A family had been running Ironman, and doing so as a true family business. Just 12 employees. All their Ironman races were licensed to other businesses. They didn't try to make the most of what the company could be. Then they sold it to a private equity firm, which hired me to remake it into a global brand. We went from a team of 40 to 700 employees. We took back all licenses, created operating infrastructure, marketing, tech, data bases. We put races into Latin America, Asia, Northern and Southern Europe. We went from having races in 20 countries to 60. It was a time of very rapid growth. We took the family business and made it into a billion dollar global corporation that eventually was bought by the Dalian Wanda Group.

What was your role as CEO of Ironman? Did you work in an office or did you go to races?

Oh, I went to the races. It was a really hard job. Putting on events is hard, especially in 60 different countries. Dealing with communities, bureaucracy, public roads and water ways, closing roads, weather, typhoons, fires, different currencies and languages and cultures. So much can go wrong and take down an event. As CEO, I was always on, always there. The Ironman event in Hawaii, more than 2000 people from all over the world do that race. They train so much for so long - I know, I did it - and spend a lot and sacrifice a lot to travel, and if the weather or anything goes bad, it's heartbreaking. We did everything we could to make sure our races happened.

But rewarding too, watching these athletes fulfilling their dreams?

Watching them succeed is so rewarding. I love races, athletes, being a part of it all. My job was a dream, because I was also an Ironman athlete, so I knew them on that level too, what they put into it to be there. Such a great group of people. Doing an Ironman is the challenge of a lifetime. John Collins who started the Ironman races, he said do an Ironman and you get to brag the rest of your life. It's a really small group of humans that have the drive and will to do something that hard. To lead that company was a real privilege.

What's the best part of the races for you?

Being at the finish line watching people cross. Completing their goal means so much to them. Ask people who've done Ironmans, they remember everything about that day. That's how significant it is to them.

What prompted you to retire?

Like I said, it's a tough job. Had to live in Tampa, travel 3 out of 4 weeks a month, away from my family. Also, the company went through a tough time during the pandemic. Our 2020 revenue sank 85%. Then spent the next few years just trying to survive. How to keep it intact, not lose operating capabilities in all the different countries where we have events. You need native people who know the language, culture, police, fire, etc. We had no revenue at all during that time. And it took a few years for us to slowly build it back. But we did it. And after that, I didn't have the energy to do it for another 5 years. And, as I said, I was hired to make Ironman into a global brand, and we did. I felt like my work was finished.

Do you keep in contact with any of the athletes?

Oh, 100s of them, yeah.

You said that it wasn't a coincidence that you worked at, and competed in, Ironman races. What's your sports background?

I ran track and cross country at Santa Barbara High, then played rugby in college. But I always loved cycling. After school, I went to work as I mentioned, traveling around, and didn't have time to train much in my 20s and 30s and got fat and drank too much. But when I was forty, I really wanted to do an Ironman, so I started training. Knowing what it takes to train for and finish an Ironman certainly was part of the reason I went to work at Ironman.

Swim, bike, run. Which are you best at?

Cycling. Though later on probably running. I taught myself how to swim by reading a book called TOTAL IMMERSION. Basically, how to find your stroke.

How many Ironmans have you raced in?

I finished five and did about 25 half-Ironmans.

So how did you get involved with THE LAB?

I started in 2022. I had arthritis issues in my left knee. I couldn't even ride a bike or run. I had no range of motion. I'd never seriously strength trained or focused on loosening hips, be able to have functional ability, which contributed to my knee problem. So I was making great progress, feeling dramatically better, I could cycle and run again. And then while skiing I tore the ACL in my right knee. At that point, I knew I was going retire from Ironman and from competing in Ironmans, but my goal has always been to do the big one, the Kona Ironman race which is the world championships. Also, Kona's the first Ironman race, starting back in 1978, so it has history and importance to me. So after my surgery, I said, I got a year and five months till October 2024, the date of Kona, to rehab and get in shape, so pinned that date. That's what the last 16 months were about. Not having setbacks, not overdoing it, and getting in good enough shape again.

And you did it.

In October of this year, I did it.

Time?

14:20:27

A few more quick questions: Favorite Santa Barbara trail to run?

I grew up very close to the Cold Spring trail, it was backyard. It's in my heart.

Favorite cycling route?

Gibraltar.

Where do you swim?

Los Baños, with the master's group.

Favorite Holiday movie?

Elf

HOLIDAY QUOTE #6

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

—George Eliot

TRAIN WHILE TRAVELING

You know how you go on a trip, miss workouts, (but get in a lot of play!) then come back home, find out you lost some gains, so hit your training hard to make up for it - and wake up the next morning so sore that you miss your next 2 training sessions. If that sounds familiar, consider using THE LAB's travel workout program. Train while traveling. No gym needed. You can do body weight exercises in your ski lodge, Quonset hut, Elon Musk's spaceship - wherever you're calling home at the time. That way when you come back to train you've held onto at least some of your fitness and, fingers crossed, won't get quite as sore. Talk to your favorite trainer about our travel workouts.

YOUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY MOVIES

We asked many of you: What's your favorite holiday movie? Guidelines are, it doesn't have to be about Christmas or Hanukkah; it might just take place during the season, like "Die Hard." Or even just be a movie you watch every Christmas season. The only auto-disqualify was any Hallmark Channel "movie." The results indicate that, if it were a contest, Elf would win, no recount needed. Anyway, here's the tally:

ELF

Lisa J.
Sauce
Antonio F
Alex A
Maggie H
Morgan B
Mike S
Doug F
Andrew M

DIE HARD

Dave O
James S (Though watches Love Actually on the plane home to London for Christmas to re-Brit himself)
Dax G

THE GRINCH - THE MOVIE

Michael B
Adrina L
Vijay S (his family makes him watch it because they say he's a "Grinch")

LOVE ACTUALLY

Nelson P
Lennon T
Kristen K. But also The Holiday. And Elf
Monique O
Alexis W
Alicia B

A CHRISTMAS STORY

Jeff R
Patricia C
Deneen D
John D

HOME ALONE

Joe H (because he watches it with his grandkids)
Jesse C (though also loves It's A Wonderful Life)

CHRISTMAS VACATION

Carly D. (But also The Family Stone)
Marissa J. (But also When Harry Met Sally)
Scott W
Mike W

FAMILY STONE

Shane B

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Pesha W
John S (Also the original A Christmas Carol)
DeAnna O
Jeff K

WHITE CHRISTMAS

Xorin B

Glenn B

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET

Jim S
Truman D

MISCELLANEOUS

Alejandro F: Gremlins (He needs to do some explaining)
Jill I - How The Grinch Stole Christmas (the original cartoon)
Dave C - Family Man
Jack F: Polar Express
Tom P - Bad Santa
Hannah L - The Santa Clause
Nick P - Feast of The Seven Fishes
Marcus E - Doesn't have one. But watched Rudolph and Frosty as a kid
Janice M - The Holiday & Love Actually

If we didn't get your favorite holiday movie, so sorry. Judging from your responses, seems people like to laugh and cry happy tears during the holidays, not sad ones. Time for another quote, one that's simple and beautiful...

HOLIDAY QUOTE #7

“Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.”

–Anne Frank

NEWISH TV SERIES THAT DON'T SUCK

Have some down time during the holidays? If you have Paramount + (or don't mind paying for it,) you're in luck - especially if you like spy thrillers and stories about good 'ol boys who work in the oil business in the same badlands as "Friday Night Lights."

First, check out The Agency. It's slick, cerebral, and artfully made. The first episodes are directed by Joe Wright who's spent most of his career adapting literary novels into films (Pride and Prejudice, Cyrano, Anna Karenina, Peter Pan, Atonement.) Michael Fassbender stars and is as intense as ever. Jeffrey Wright and Richard Gere are in it too. We won't tell you anything about it because even a short synopsis can be a spoiler. Go in cold.

In the same sphere - sorta - there's Lioness, more of a theme park ride than a cerebral thriller about the people (Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, and a bunch of dudes with massive muscles) who work in the dark places of the world doing the darkest jobs using the biggest guns. The show's creator, Taylor Sheridan, also created Landman, which stars Billy Bob Thornton who's made a living playing cynical figures you root for - Bad Santa, being a fine example.

THE SANTA BARBARA HALF MARATHON

Some LAB members, trainer Sauce, and services rep Jack Fletcher ran - or, you might say played in - the November race. Sauce was happy with his time, 2:10:14, especially since he had just returned from a long trip and had an ankle injury. Jack didn't train at all, just jumped in last minute and pulled off a 1:55:47. Carly Daulton PR'd yet again at 1:50:48, and James Skinner finished at 1:24:24. Way to represent!

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Talking food the other day with Lab member/second generation Italian, Nick Parisi, reminded me of one of the best Christmas meals I've ever had: Feast of the Seven Fishes. Which got me time traveling back a bunch of years ago to NYC... One of the best Italian meals I've ever had was at Del Posto in Chelsea (it's gone now, sadly, damn you Batali) a tasting menu paired with reserve Italian wines that for my bucks beat a dinner at Per Se on that same trip. And the desserts? Man. And one stood out because it's a ubiquitous, almost cliche Italian dessert, but the best version of it I've ever had: Tiramisu. The Del Posto pastry chef, Brooks Headley, a former punk rock drummer, known for his hardcore music and edgy desserts - and his Lower East side restaurant, Superiority Burger (all vegetarian) - published his tiramisu recipe in Bon Appetite. The link to the recipe and video of him making it is below. Before you say to yourself, I got enough going during the holidays, I ain't gonna be making ladyfingers and everything else required for tiramisu, there are no ladyfingers in his recipe - and it's better off for it - and it's really simple to make. Just use the best ingredients you can find and you'll have created a holiday dessert that will make people so happy.

Hi, I'm the link. Click on me!

HOLIDAY QUOTE #

"In our perfect ways, in the ways we are beautiful, in the ways we are human — we are here. Happy New Year’s. Let’s make it ours.."

- Beyoncé

DECEMBER 2024 NEWSLETTER

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