Active Champions

Michael "Beau" Bates

What Activities Keep You Fit and Active?
The activities which keep me active are: landscaping and lawn mowing, biking to work, biking for pleasure, walking, running, yoga, weight training and hiking.

What Motivated You to Become Active?
I was unhappy with myself and this was reflected through my attitude. I was seeing things I disliked in other people and knew then that I had to change many things about my mentality; so I began to exercise my body, eat a healthy diet and slowly took back control of my mind. Now I can see the good in all things!

What Did You Do to Become More Active?
I have always snowboarded but with so many injuries due to an unhealthy lifestyle I knew that I had to do more off snow activity, so I went to the gym and started lifting weights. I would do only five minutes of cardio and an hour weight lifting while talking with friends and in only a month I was addicted. It was the best thing that I have ever started in my life!

How Do You Motivate Yourself to Stay Fit?
I was tired of telling myself that it wasn't so bad. People should like me for who I am. I didn't like myself for who I was; so how could others? I know now that our attitude controls our world; it is a small world after all, if I wish to change something in the world, I must first start with the man in the mirror. This is my motivation to stay fit; to control my happiness, my outlook, my attitude. If I am not physically active I do not love myself and my attitude shows this. Exercise is love for your self and this is the only true happiness.

What Are the Benefits of Being Fit?
Overcome the ignorance of envy that we all have in professional athletes and be your own star. The benefits of fitness are endless. What do you want to do? You can do it! There is no luck in life, there is only amount of fitness; mental and physical Darwinian fitness adapting to your surroundings; mind and body, working together as one in perfect harmony to conquer any task. Confucius said: "To move a mountain; start by carrying away small stones." Any goal is achievable with energy, persistence and patience. When you are fit you have the energy and the enthusiasm to conquer all obstacles in your life, you are then living above time. Health is the first wealth and the greatest hindrance in ones life; so begin today to overcome this obstacle and be rich with joy and felicity. Before you know it the mountain will be gone and your mind and body will be at one with your self, ready and willing for any challenges ahead.

What Are Your Future Fitness Goals?
This summer I am looking to do the Grouse Grind under 32 minutes. My previous summer's best time was 33:27 and the summer before that 36:33 and the summer before that; in the 40s.

I am training my mind and body to be at the snowboarding level that I know I am capable of being. I am training to go to the winter Olympics in Whistler 2010.

My mental fitness routine: I am seeing how far my mind can go through eternity to discover more meaning to my life through the practice of: yoga, meditation, contemplation, self-discovery and self-realization.

In the future, I will train in more martial arts, gymnastics, parkour/freestyle street running, surfing, kayaking, rock climbing, paragliding, sky diving and the endless choices of cool things that we as human beings can choose to do.

Who are Your Role Models?
My role models are every active person in the world. Each of us is great, special and unique and only we can know in what way that is. Nobody can tell us otherwise because we are not done knowing for ourselves yet. "The power which resides in him is new in nature and none but he or she knows that is in which he can do, nor does he know himself until he has tried." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hobbies/Interests
My website: www.4dfitness.net , fitness, nutrition, art (drawing, computer graphics), animation, scuba diving, the ocean, the sky, writing, philosophy, ideas, business, concepts, nature, human nature, light, life, purpose, meaning, the mind, the universe, the earth.

Thrills
I get a thrill out of healing all of my previous injuries (which are many) with my yoga practice, pranayama breathing and concentration. Taking a look outwards for a moment to try and take in the little she shows me of the deep beauty that is Mother Earth. In her seemingly gigantic view; which is incomprehensibly fathoms deep, and I still manage to take for granted each day.

Cycling to work. Walking with my groceries to test my mental threshold with the weight of the bags versus the distance I am walking. Diving boards and cliff jumping; practicing and visualizing how I will transfer this training to my snowboard.

Favourite Things
Fresh air, trees, plants, the ocean, the mountains, water, unconscious life, wild animals, nature, beauty.

Favourite Quotes
"Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it." Confucius

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." George Bernard Shaw

"The first wealth is health." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness, concerning all acts of initiative and creation.

There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Begin it now.

Life is the childhood of our immortality. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832

"In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment." Charles Darwin

"Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back." The Buddha

"Where so ever you go, go with all your heart." Confucius

"Energy and persistence conquer all things."

"He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money."

"He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals." Benjamin Franklin

"I hate quotations, tell me what you know." Ralph Waldo Emerson

• Top