In Early August I had the opportunity to film and infomercial in Sacramento for a product that two entrepreneurs from Boston had designed called the Gorilla Gym. The Gym is best described as a TRX on crack. It is a pull up bar that attaches to your door not only on top but at the sides with industrial sized clamps, allowing you to swing in the air. had the pleasure to work with some absolutely amazing and inspiring people and to swing around like a little gorilla.

Yes that is me.

Yes that it TJ Hoban. He was the host of the infomercial. If you haven’t heard of him, google him. Total babe and awesome guy!

We filmed for two days for about 6-7 hours each day. As I have stated in previous posts, I used to workout a lot and I used to workout hard. Filming for the Gorilla Gym was probably one of the more grueling things I have done. We filmed 9 workouts. 11 exercises. 1 minute for each exercise. Some of the exercises were a breeze, especially the ones in the earlier workouts in the series, but most of them were (insert a bad word here that I can’t write) HARD and I remember thinking, “You expect me to do that for 1 minute and then go right into the next exercise with no rest WHILE filming??? Right.”

But I did it. And I did it along side my partners in crime, Jason and Joel. Joel was the trainer in the series. He did an amazing job keeping the dialogue going and keeping us motivated. Although I must say there were moments when I was doing pushups that he would say something like, “Are we having fun?!” and I mumbled some mean words to myself and seriously considered slapping him in the face.

Good thing I was looking down because I was not a happy camper here. Push ups for 1 minute with feet suspended. To say it was hard is an understatement not only because push ups for a minute are just simply hard but because all the blood was rushing to my face, which meant I got a little loopy.

Now we were supposed to smile…the.whole.time. After I would mumble these words I cannot repeat, I would hop up with a disgustingly huge smile on my face because it was what was stressed for the entire weekend. We had to look like we were having a lot of fun, which ironically enough, I was! With all that smiling, I am not sure what got worked more, my body or my cheeks…the ones on my face of course. But that smile wasn’t entirely fake. It was the best weekend I had experienced in longer than I could remember. There was something about that weekend that changed my thinking. Maybe it was the fact that I was having a personal issue that I was able to put aside and focus on the task at hand or maybe it was the amazing crew I got to work with…or both. Either way, I was on a high. Most likely the most incredible endorphin high I will ever experience.

I have never been so inspired by people I had merely just met. They inspired me and I inspired them even though I couldn’t figure out why. Maybe it was because I worked my little tush off and did it with that cheeky smile, who knows. Regardless, I became a new person. A person who suddenly knew what she wanted to do. Inspire and motivate. I wanted and still want people, especially women, to be proud of who they are and all that they can accomplish. To work towards their goals even if they may seem lofty to someone else. To be independent and to proud.

“We are made to persist. That’s how we find out who we are.” Tobias Wolf

This picture was taken when I was thinking to myself how happy I was and it was at this moment that I made a conscious decision to turn my life around. It was in this moment that I started to realize who I was and what I stood for.

Leading up to this moment, I never realized how negative I was until a kind friend pointed it out to me right before I left for Sacramento. I thank that person for inspiring me to think and speak positively. Since then I have been the happiest I’ve ever been. Yes there are sad moments in life, bumps in the road – I am experiencing some right now – and lapses in positive thought but as long as we hold something true to our heart that no one can take away, we will always be okay. Which is why I created 11 promises to myself that have been my saving grace through a lot of difficult moments since I wrote them in August.

I was sad to leave Sacramento but was excited to re-start my more positive and hopeful attitude towards life. Sacramento was like a breath of fresh air. It was just the push I needed. I smile every time I think about it…and it’s a disgustingly huge REAL smile.

Thank you to the inventors of Gorilla Gym and to the entire crew for choosing me to represent this little contraption that allows you to swing around and have fun like you did as a young child…or gorilla. Your choice.

The inventors Kiril and Peter, the host TJ, the male model Jason and I above….and then the entire crew below. You were all amazing.

Until next time!

Ps. The infomercial will be airing in Boston at 6 am this Saturday 11/16 on WLVI!

Schedule in other cities…if you’ve been out drinking late or get up early on the weekend like me because you hate to waste any day, check it out! It’s probably going to be funnier if you’ve had a few cocktails.