Why Comic Con Fit?
Blistered feet. Swollen knees. Constantly cramping legs. Stopping every five minutes to sit down. Grimacing as you struggle to get back up.
Sound familiar?
With the amount of money you spend on a four day badge, a hotel room, airplane tickets, food, prints or commissioned work from Artist Alley, why would you want to sabotage your comic con experience by not being Comic Con Fit?
It would be soul crushing to be stuck playing Candy Crush on your phone or to start wondering if there are more Deadpool or Harley Quinn cosplayers while you wait for your friends, who went ahead to the Firefly reunion panel (the one panel you wanted to go to) because you couldn’t walk anymore…on only the SECOND day of San Diego Comic-Con!
Evolving from SDCCfit
The #SDCCfit movement manifested itself on social media in 2015 after being inspired by a fitness centric episode of An Englishman In San Diego’s #CupOTeaSDCC live hangout, which featured hosts Leonard Sultana and Alyssa Franks talking with guests Jeff Mueller and Kevin Walwyn about the benefits of being fit for San Diego Comic-Con.
The initial success of the SDCCfit movement, particularly on Twitter, was a welcome surprise. If we could help a few hundred San Diego Comic-Con goers be SDCCfit, what if we started engaging with other fellow nerds and geeks who also go to other comic conventions like New York Comic Con?
So, like how Goku evolved to become a super saiyan, SDCCfit transformed into Comic Con Fit!
About Aaron
Hi, my name is Aaron Nabus and I’m a graphic designer by day and content creator / podcaster by night – but Comic Con Fit motivator 24/7! You may have heard of or listened to the #HallHshow podcast that I do with my HallH.com partner in crime, Alex Benedicto, where we showcase and interview pop culture and comic book creatives, especially independent creators and emerging talent.
I have also had the pleasure of being a live reporter for the Cup O Tea Hangout at a few of the conventions that I attend every year (i.e. San Diego Comic Fest, Long Beach Comic Con, Los Angeles Comic Con and DesignerCon) and a guest on other podcasts such as Dumbells and Dragons with Kenny Rotter and Under the Capes with Tim Ludy.
Being Comic Con Fit is now part of my everyday life because I have personally experienced the benefits. Prior to 2013, I had never attended San Diego Comic-Con for the full four days (five if you count Preview Night). I was lucky enough to secure badges for the whole week for SDCC 2013 and…I was in so much pain by Sunday!
There was so much more that I wanted to experience, so I vowed that I would be more than ready for SDCC 2014.
I knew it would be a challenge. While I have been semi-athletic for most of my life (I used to be able to play hours of basketball and bench press 425 lbs.) – injuries (torn ACL and rotator cuff) and my love of food) became my undoing. Sometimes I felt like the old Bruce Wayne, from Batman: Beyond, a shell of my former self.
From 2003 to 2013, I gained 30 lbs.
Cue Rocky Theme Song.
Yes, I did actually play the Rocky theme song the day after Thanksgiving in 2013 (and no, I didn’t eat raw eggs) – when I looked myself in the mirror and made the decision to make incremental lifestyle changes that I could sustain. The plan was to slowly get fitter, happier and more productive.
And it worked! SDCC 2014 was a breeze! And so was 2015, 2016 and 2017! In fact, I have been walking about 32 miles at SDCC – with no pain at all by the time the exhibit hall closes on Sunday!
It took about three years, but I’m now 30 lbs. lighter thanks to:
- Consistently working out (walking and full body circuit training).
- Eating less processed foods (if I can’t even pronounce most of the ingredients, I usually don’t eat it).
- Eating more “whole” foods (fiber from asian pears are a hell of lot more healthier than fiber from a so called “nutrition” bar).
- Actually cooking more (and saving more from not eating out so often).
Do you know what also helped a great deal? The #SDCCfit family.
However, to be honest, the primary reason I created the Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts was to make sure I stayed on track. If I put it out there for the public to see, there is no way that I would even think twice about not keeping up with being SDCCfit.
But the community started to grow.
And people like Maig Worel started to join and participate in getting fitter for Comic-Con. In fact, she came up to me to say “Hi” at SDCC 2016, after spotting me in the lobby of the Marriott. What makes this a very special memory for me is that she initially saw me as she was already on the escalator going down and she went back up…to meet me!
Another very special memory from SDCC 2016 was when I first met Kevin Walwyn, a fellow gym rat and very active member of SDCCfit. After parking at the Hilton Bayfront, I was walking across the street to the convention center while talking on phone. After finishing my call, Kevin walks up to me and says he recognized my voice (from all my sweaty motivational videos). What are the chances of that happening (I’m still amazed that it did)?
Moments like these helped me to realize that it wasn’t about me anymore.
Join the movement TODAY!
Comic Con Fit fam, I need your help to spread the word about #ComicConFit and to help keep everyone motivated to be fit for comic conventions…and for life!
Have a question or an idea for content that would be beneficial for our growing geek fitness community? Please leave a comment below and let me know!
Cheers and don’t forget to get your workout in…TODAY!
– Aaron