An Orange Equinox?

So maybe I’m not the quick study I was before dental school. And it could be spending weekends in the office or watching CNN every night during the week and riding a stationary bike in a roomful of mirrors every time possible is finally catching up with me.

And guess where and when I’m writing this essay? Yeah, it’s Saturday and I’m at the office. I’ve paid bills, updated charts, finished a newsletter and begun work on a social media marketing challenge. Earlier; make that 7:30 AM, I spent an hour riding a stationary bike in a roomful of mirrors. And CNN sucks on the weekend; all they show are movie clips from each decade going back to the 60s. So, where’s all the stuff that provides my active recovery outside of my practice bubble?

After being kind, patient, and full of love and joy all day long, I need a freakin outlet. It’s not always that easy being a DDS-type; sometimes we just don’t get that much love. Dentists need recovery time too. And a certain orange presence provides the perfect outlet for me when I need to blow off steam.

So yeah, in the morning on my way down Huntington Drive, I recite a practiced litany of gratitude. At night, I release anxiety directed at a 55-inch screen and the orange image of someone who wouldn’t last a day in my business before getting canned.

Last week, we received required diversity and sexual harassment training; do you know someone famous and narcissistic who wouldn’t have passed? Our dental practice reflects the rich ethnic fabric of Southern California. And, despite recent dubious presidential observations; there are no rapists, murderers, kneeling sons of bitches, or invaders infesting Temple City Dental Care. In fact, we are an amazing human, empathizing, caring team that happens to look like the United Nations.

But now, Pasadena, we might have a problem…but I don’t think so.

I’m a founding member of Equinox Fitness in Pasadena (the first Equinox established outside of New York City.) When I signed up, way back in 2001, I was handed a tee shirt that said I was member #44. This past Wednesday, just before I prepared to ask the manager (my patient) to participate in a mutually beneficial social media marketing promotion, I got some news. The news made me think…and that alone can be problematic.

In 2006, The Related Companies, a global real estate development firm led by Stephen M. Ross invested in Equinox Fitness (The Related Companies have since become minority shareholders; Ross does sit on the Equinox Board of Directors.) And last Wednesday, it was reported Ross would be hosting an orange fundraiser with admission ranging up to $250,000 a pop. Members were angry; some even quit the club on the spot. Employees and management were embarrassed. And even though Equinox Fitness is an inclusive, community-committed business; its umbrella company and minority shareholder is led by someone who raises money for a friend who wants people of color to “…go back where they came from.”

I can walk to the gym from my house. The manager, trainers and instructors, as well as members are friends and patients who embrace the inclusive Equinox culture. On the Friday following November 9, 2016, my spin class instructor led things off with “It’s the End of the World as We Know It.” I’m not sure Stephen M. Ross got the message.

As a health care provider who’s business is committed to helping 20,000 people in the San Gabriel valley become healthy and their own best complete health advocates by 2022, I’m not sacrificing my own health and sanity over an individual who’s ignorance not only extends to his friends but also his clientele.