For some reason, whenever someone goes for a money grab, the public at large decides to turn their back and label them as some sort of a bad guy. I can agree that in many circumstances, this may be the right course of action, but there is a circumstance in where I feel it is justified.

Here I am, just a guy, I have spent more than $20,000 of my own money on this project so far. I am not a rich man at this point in my life. I just finished filing my taxes and I am barely breaking $60,000 of net income TOTAL from all of my wife's and my own income. Now, I want to make a movie. I don't just want to make it, but I want the message of this film to reach the people who need it. I want them to be inspired by this guy who went through years of gluttony and being the average overweight person who finally decided to turn his life around and make a vision he always had for himself come true! I want these people to see it and decide for themselves that now is the time for them to get off the couch and do it for themselves and to know that I will be there to offer support and guidance if need be to get them there! There is just one problem though...... I just did my taxes and realized in the harshest way and in no uncertain terms, that I am truly and even if only just for this passing moment, I am just plain BROKE! Don't get me wrong, I am sure I'll be fine. After having spent the better part of the whole last year working on this project and paying for it with the green stuff every step of the way, of course I should expect to be low on funds, but once I get my Real Estate Investing and Insurance Service off of the back burner, my hope is that the situation will turn around, but that can be slow in coming and just as all things that are worth while, it takes to to do it right and ethically.

Making a movie and even just getting the message out there takes a little thing in this world called money. Sure there are other ways, but they typically require VAST networks of friends and associates dedicated to the cause of spreading the word. Let's face it though, I am just a guy who works and takes care of 3, soon to be 4 small children. I don't have limitless networks of friends and associates, so unless I can recruit all those who read this to my cause, I still need the cash. Even with the best word of mouth possible, to do some of the things that I need to do to get this movie off the ground and in front of the audiences that need to see it, it still takes the green stuff!

So, I am not asking for pity, or even a donation here..... I am asking though that if you've taken the time to read this that you take a look at the home page of this website and consider trying the products that I am offering there. Once I get the store going on this website, check it out and don't be afraid to buy something, then of course, TELL YOUR FRIENDS! If you know Oprah, Ellen, Maurey, or any of those that have a huge audience, let them know that what I am trying to do here is for the good of all and all I really want to do is let the world know about it for the benefit of those who really need to see it.

Thanks so much for reading this little rant and I hope and pray for your well being and support!

Today was the final weigh in for Fitness Captured. There is a lot of work now to do to get it all cut and put into a film, but for those of you who want to see how I did, here is a look at some of the pictures. If you want to know the final stats..... well, you will have to see the movie!

The following is the LONG version of a press release regarding this somewhat ridiculous and very interesting turn of events from earlier this week. The description of the play by play below is an approximation of the events as they unfolded, but it gives you an idea of how it went down.......
"Lincoln, CA (PRWEB) March 3, 2008 -- Imagine the excitement, your going to get your first spray on tan! You have never known anyone to have one before, but who can forget that hilarious episode of "Friends" when Ross can't get it right and ends up with a black front body and a white back! So, you think, "I'll get it right and it's gonna' look FANTASTIC!" Your so excited, you bring your camera along so you can catch the first moments of your new dark and sexy look in the mirror. You walk in the door and ask for help with your camera before you go in to get the spray. Just think of the total shock and dismay you would feel when they tell you...... "too bad, but not only is the camera not allowed in the door, but we've been getting so much bad press lately, that we have to call corporate to get permission before we can even allow you to be a customer here...... have a nice day!"

Well, it didn't happen exactly like that, but that was pretty much the gist of what one Sacramento man's experience was when he and a friend brought along a camera to document what should have been a cool and very positive experience.

Josh Golden of Lincoln, CA and Cole Wellendorf of Tucson, AZ are currently working on a Documentary entitled "Fitness Captured". Being that they are in the final days of the project, Josh thought it would be nice to get a great looking tan for the pictures to be taken of his body on the final weigh in day. Being that his friend Cole had traveled from such a long way to help with the project, he also thought it might be nice to give him the gift of tan before he headed home the day after the weigh in. Upon arrival to the Lincoln, CA tanning salon, Josh walks in ahead of Cole to ask if they could bring in the video camera. The girl behind the counter decides to call the manager just to he on the safe side before going in. Moments later, she has the manager on the phone. She does not say that the two gentlemen were there for to get a tan to film a documentary, she just told the manager that two guys were there with a camera to do a story(Mind you, she does not specify if it is a still shot or video camera, she just say's "camera") and that they want to get some before and after pictures in the back of the salon before they dress to go outside. The manager decides to play it safe and say's that corporate would have to approve a camera on the premises. A respectable decision. Josh then tells the girl, well , we're doing a documentary so we can have a camera out there (he gestures to the outside window) anyway without permission. He goes outside to tell Cole they can't take the camera inside, but to get the camera ready to do footage prior to entry. As Cole gets the camera ready to do the footage of Josh going into the establishment, the girl informs Josh that while he was outside, the manager calls back and just flat out tells her that because of some "bad press" they have been getting lately, not only will they have to get corporate to approve a camera, but the two gentlemen will NOT BE ALLOWED TO BUY A TAN! "Are you kidding?", Josh exclaims, "Your not going to take our money and let us even have a tan?"

As ridiculous as that sounds, that is pretty much the way it went down. Seemingly, without even knowing why they were really there and what kind of camera it was, the manager flat out refuses to allow service to a couple of guys simply because they brought a camera along for the ride! Does this mean that any of us who want a picture of our "hot off the press" spray on tan need to stay home? What about camera phones, are they to be left at the door?

OK, let's be fair here, the girl at the counter didn't give the manager the whole story over the phone while Josh was standing there, but perhaps when he called back, he may have asked her a few questions that she may have answered in such a way that spooked him. Perhaps he just did not understand the guys were there to do a happy, positive, feel good, segment of a documentary meant to inspire people to look and feel better. Perhaps he did not know this was an opportunity to overcome some of the "bad press" they have been getting and that he should have offered the spray tan free of charge to these two guys who were more than happy to pay for them. I personally welcome this "manager" to come out and tell his side of the story. Perhaps the girl at the counter missed the gesture to the window and thought these two were bringing in the cameras anyway. She did express concern about being in trouble if they turned on the camera to her, to which Josh just replied, I'll blur your face it if it ends up in the shot. So who knows if the girl or the manager really understood what was going on. Let's face it though, take 5 seconds to type "California Sun Centers bad press" in a google search, and you may not be getting results linked to the "bad press" the manager was referring to, but you are bombarded with links to reviews that one after the other talk about the less than desirable service among other complaints.

We are not here to be negative or to cause anyone or any entity problems, but when a service oriented business stands in the way of something so simple as having a picture taken, that is when the breakdown of society wins and those of us who remember the simpler times of the proverbial good ole' days need to step up and do something about it. I am Josh Golden, I was the one that wanted nothing more than to get a tan. If they had simply politely asked me to put the camera away and come on in to get a tan, I would have not been happy, but I would have found a way to be OK with that. I can respect that. However, when I am there to play by the rules, and simply wish to exercise my rights, I feel it is insanity when I can't enjoy the benefits of a business that is there to put a smile on the faces of the people they wish to serve!

So, that is why this story is being told. Let this be a warning to you all..... Next time you want to catch that hot body spray tan fresh off the press, HIDE YOUR CAMERA!"

It has been 4 months, I have been weighed, measured, and to the gym so many times over this period of time. I have so far lost almost 7 inches off my belly and over 35 pounds. I only have 2 days left to go after today........ yet it seems so hard! I can see the finish line of this great undertaking, but with the end so close, I just want it to be OVER! What is it that is so hard? It is not going to the gym, it is not even the food, well it is partly the food, although with weekly cheating, I think the food would be manageable..... it is the camera, the daily grind of having to be a slave to it. We don't run camera's all day, heck we don't even run them everyday, but having to live a life compatible to having the camera ready at all times or moving my schedule and work habits around to work with the camera operators and the gyms schedule (the gym specified certain times when camera use is allowed), I just feel so DONE with it all! Maybe it is just the food, or the desire for certain food making my brain go crazy at this point, but I still think that once the last reel of footage is shot and the lights are turned off, I am going to be able to breathe a big sigh of relief and say........,"Finally, it is finished!"

I was at the gym. I had just finished my cardio and was done for the day. All I had to do was pack up my stuff and walk out the door. It was just as I was about to take care of that when Hannah, a girl who works at the gym hands me the phone and say's, "It's for You". I ask who it is and she said, "CBS 13 News". WHAT!! I told her to get out of here to which she defended herself as being completely serious. I take the phone and sure enough, she was telling me the truth. Not only did they want to do a story, but they wanted to come out RIGHT NOW!

I was so pleased to be receiving attention to my project, but I was nowhere near ready..... they wanted to tape a workout. I had just done a workout, so this meant that I would have to workout AGAIN! No worries, they were coming from far enough out that I had enough time to go home, put a fresh shirt on, eat and get back to the gym with equipment and people to operate it.

The story was fantastic and can be found on the video clips page of the website.

How COOL is that?!?!?!

I got a chance to interview Jay Cutler today. Let me just say this..... That guy is just INCREDIBLE! First things first, for a person that some would call, "FREAKY", "A MONSTER", or "ABNORMAL, I would have to say that if they had the chance to see him as I saw him today, they would know without a shadow of a doubt that he is just as human and for real and down to earth as the nice people you know who live next door. Very professional, to the point, but willing to spend the time to give people a sense of the fact that he cares for and respects all people. As I watched him today meet with the public, there was a line all day long, but that was in part to the fact that once you got in front of him, he would just spend time with you! He asked questions, he was not only "interesting", but he was also "interested" in the people that took the time to come see him today. This is a quality that is, in my opinion, too little found in people of fame or fortune.

So, the interview was awesome! I am very satisfied with the quality of the interview content! I am now converted and likely forever will be as a fan of Jay Cutler!

Tags: Jay Cutler

It's on its way, but not quite there. Ask me if I'm excited...... HECK YES I AM!

It has been a while since I have taken the time to write anything here. The holidays all passed as though they were a blur. Although I ate less then I otherwise would have, I still feel I could have done better. Then the crud came along! I was sick for almost 2 weeks and had to take one week straight out of the gym while resting and getting better. Add that to another week or so worth of days scattered here and there of the gym being closed for holidays or bad weather and a few more sick days and it made for slow progress through December.

So, here we are, approaching the 2nd week of January and the 12th week of the project and I have finally seen something start to appear on my body that I have NEVER SEEN BEFORE!! ABS!! Don't get me wrong, I still have a gut that sticks out, but when I flex my stomach, NO, I did not say suck it in, I just mean flex it, just harden the muscles there, it flattens out and my abs can start to be seen! It has me and everyone who has ever known me totally amazed. I just can't wait, from here on out, it all just gets better, all I have to do is keep up the hard work...... and let me tell you, IT IS HARD WORK!

I am still getting over the cold that has been hanging over me for about the past week now. I do feel better though than I have. I went ahead and did a full workout. On top of that, I actually ate really, really clean today. That is not to say I am cheating everyday or anything, however usually I will add a tablespoon of peanut butter to my food for the day, or lately I have been eating turkey leftovers. Although turkey is low in fat, it has more than the chicken and fish I had been eating, and the peanut butter, well, we all know it is high in fat. Although the amount I was eating was only packing on a couple hundred extra calories for the day, it does make a difference. So, today, I decided I needed to clean it up and I did it, I ate totally clean all day. By the time I had meal 3 out of 5, I was still starving! Only an hour after the meal and I thought I was going to go crazy! As it was, I was on the verge of passing out, which I eventually gave in to and took a nap on the couch. I try to eat my meals every 3 hours, that nap put me at 4 hours from my last meal, but I needed to do it because I just wasn't able to stay conscience otherwise! I really think I ought to bump up my calories here soon, but it is so tempting to keep them low and watch the fat fly off my body. As it is, with the workouts I am doing and the ratio of carbs to protein, I am still managing to add a tiny bit of muscle, even though I am on a low calorie intake. I suspect though, it is my bodies desire to add muscle that has me SO ZAPPED of energy!

OK, so not really much of a cheat day, but a cheat hour. I had 3 small bowls of chili, a few moderate sized bites of apple pie and 4 or 5 different miniature sized pieces of various chocolate candies. By my personal standards of eating, it was a pittance, but it was so great!

It was a chili cook off contest at my church. I have been faithfully at this diet and eating plan for the past 2 weeks and honestly I was going to totally skip any cheating for the first month even though Francesco has said that it is doable if kept to once every couple of weeks and moderate at the time it is happening. Reality, however had set in and I realized that to keep myself sane, I needed to do a little something to keep me from wanting to jump off a bridge!

So, the deed is done, the food is in me, whether it should be or not. I am just grateful I was able to stop and say "no" to more when I did!

Today marked my first day of no excuses. I hit legs and biceps. I really let myself have it. It was helpful to have Stephen there to push me along, but I guarantee I will be feeling it in the morning.

What's up with this hunger, by the way? I really feel it coming on after today's workout. It is like no meal I eat can satisfy me. Everything goes in and I can just imagine it being directly converted to fuel and used up in seconds! If I did not need to lose fat so bad, I would up my calories and let the muscle pack on, but at this point I don't want to ruin the chance to burn the fat.

I hurt, not terribly, but I hurt. The good news is that my trainer was sensitive to the fact that I have not done any working out in quite a long time, so he had me start this week on 1 set exercises. Starting next week, I will not have that luxury, but for now it has proven to be a good move to keep me from being incapacitated with being too soar.

The diet is getting to be a little boring. As it is, I had to go through the Halloween holiday without so much as licking a piece of candy. The only sugar I got was from giving my little baby girl a kiss on the cheek. She was so sticky that some stuck to my lips. I'll admit, I was glad to be able to have that taste in my mouth, but that was as close as I got.

I have the weekend off now. I still have to eat clean, but at least for now, I can rest.

First of all, I am very surprised at how much attention I have received from the public over this project. I want to thank all of you who have shown so much interest. I also want to thank all of you who have thought to donate to the project.

Since I keep getting asked, "WHAT IS HAPPENING?" I thought I would create this blog page as a place for me to explain what the latest happenings have been with the project and my thoughts in general about what I think will or hope will happen as things unfold.

Currently, we have figured out that the cost of producing fitness captured to the level that we want to make it will probably run into a cost of around $150,000. Some people balk at me when I tell them this, but I ask them to consider the facts. The closest documentary that I can think of to what we are trying to do is Super Size Me. A fantastic film by the way. It was approx. a 1 month shoot. It cost $75,000 to make. Now, a good amount of that was likely spent during the post production of the film, but we still are looking at no less than a 4 month shoot. Also, if we were just talking about 1 month, I would suck it up, tighten the belt, tell the kids to eat beans and rice and even spend my own money to create it, but for 4 to possibly as much as 6 months, I am going to have to do something about the fact that I will have little time left to work considering I will be in the gym a couple hours each day and doing all the other things associated with the daily editing and other production jobs associated with making a high quality film product.

So, in a nutshell, it really does come down to cash. We have been in talks with several potential sponsors and even had some dialogue with a reality TV producer. In other words, we are looking at all angles and are willing to consider many possibilities for funding sources.

We are looking forward to having these things wrapped up by August and getting down to shooting shortly thereafter.