Memoirs Of A Gym Rat: One man's 20-year journey through the bowels of the health club industry. - Softcover

Hawthorne, Max

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0615851592 ISBN 13: 9780615851594

Publisher: Far From The Tree Press, LLC, 2013

Synopsis

There are the sadistic personal trainers, who seem to enjoy your physical pain a bit too much. There are the slimy sales reps, who forever dream up new ways to strong-arm your paycheck from you. And there are the locker room Lotharios, who bed as many women as they can do pushups. A body with abs of steel is just one of the things you can get at a health club; some of the other things may not be as desirable. Ask Max Hawthorne, an industry veteran of more than twenty years, with countless experiences on the seamy side of the steam room, where sex, steroids, and membership cons pile up like used gym towels. Memoirs of a Gym Rat is his jaw-dropping exposé of the outrageous, tawdry, and despicable cast of characters that gravitate to the workout room. A hilarious survival guide for the fitness-minded, this salacious tell-all shares a collection of anecdotes surrounding the appalling behind-the-scenes shenanigans that occur in health clubs, both during and after business hours. From the endless sexcapades to the unsavory tactics designed to ensure your health club contract lives longer than you do, Memoirs of A Gym Rat also serves up plenty of sound advice on navigating this pervasive culture, so that you can enjoy getting ripped – without getting ripped off.From one shocking encounter to the next, Hawthorne paints a lurid, sweaty world rife with casual romps on the exercise floor, and anabolic steroids on overload in the locker room. Find out all about the sex, drugs, and barbell curls that are on fitness regimens in this rare look at the scandalous culture that runs rampant in health clubs. With raw honesty and twisted wit, Hawthorne bares all the dirty little secrets that will leave you spent from laughter, while helping you keep your fitness goals (and sanity) on track.

About this title

About the Author:

Max Hawthorne was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Philadelphia, where he graduated with a BA from Central High School and a BFA from the University of the Arts. He is the author of the bestseller MEMOIRS OF A GYM RAT, an outrageous exposé of the health club industry, as well as the award-winning KRONOS RISING novel series. In addition to being a bestselling author he is a voting member of the Author's Guild, an IGFA world-record-holding angler, and an avid sportsman and conservationist. His hobbies include fishing, boating, and the collection of fossils and antiquities. He lives with his family and an impossibly large rabbit in the Greater Northeast.

Review:

Max Hawthorne’s raunchy, revealing memoir is certain to induce bouts of calorie-burning laughter, embarrassed grins, and reconsiderations of one’s gym membership. A smutty and enjoyable exposé of life behind health club doors, Memoirs of a Gym Rat is both a scandalizing and edifying read. After a disillusioning trek toward his dream career in veterinary medicine, Hawthorne determines that he could turn another of his passions—physical fitness—into a job. He finagles his way into a starting position at a gym, where he gets his first peek into the often nauseating underbelly of the fitness industry. In the no-holds-barred pages of his memoir, Hawthorne shares many grisly revelations. Trading between sketches of the characters he worked with and for and glaring disclaimers for those who might be inclined to trust that their memberships will be as advertised, Hawthorne takes on the health industry and strips away any illusions of glamour. For the trainer, dreams of transforming lives are quickly shattered by the realities of quotas and cash. But monetary drawbacks are balanced with an overabundance of sex. Pithy introductions of characters add color to Hawthorne’s overarching presentation of health club life, but few members of the cast stick around for long. Little seems left out; scatological moments, both literal and figurative, abound, among so much politically incorrect behavior that one can’t help but groan. Hawthorne’s honesty on such points will either charm or annoy, or both. For gym members current and prospective, Hawthorne lays bare the truth that gyms care about the heft of a person’s wallet, not the reduction of his body mass index. Using his own development from floor assistant to personal trainer to greedy salesperson as a guide, he coaches his readership on how to be wily when considering contracts and training schedules. In the role of coach, Hawthorne’s professionalism emerges, resulting in advice that may prove invaluable. - ForeWord Clarion Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Far From The Tree Press, LLC
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0615851592
• ISBN 13: 9780615851594
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 293