The VRT Man Is Now Among The Gods Of Physical Culture

 Another dear friend and mentor has passed on. Greg Mangan died yesterday at the age of 72 and it was one of those unexpected accidents that just didn't end well. I talked to his son Greg Jr. just mere hours after it happened, wanting to reach out out of respect for Sr. and get more of what happened. It still baffles me and just trying to wrap my head around it, it just hurts. No where near as much as it's hurting Jr., his brother Pat and their mother Nancy. I had a lot of respect for the man and the way he showed kindness towards me all the years I knew. Never met the man directly but we shared a mutual friendship and understanding of one another.

Some may know him better as the man who had a hand in developing an exercise system that was in the realm of using muscular tension to simulate lifting weights. It was called Visualized Resistance Training and the premise is similar to the idea of Muscle Control, Dynamic Tension & Visualized Mental Training all rolled into one. A cousin to VRT was doing DVRs or Dynamic Visualized Resistance that was brought on by one of my first mentors John Peterson. The difference between VRT & DVR is that VRT utilizes more of the focused muscles in their positive positioning such as doing a Bicep Curl where you flex and curl the forearms, elbows and biceps and once you reach the top position you relax the muscles when you bring them back down. DVR Exercise in this instance would be to work the positive and negative motions of a Bicep Curl by flexing and curling the arms to the top position and while keeping tension, you reverse the movement coming back down. 

VRT Exercise was one of the first 5 methods of Training I learned after recovering from my leg injuries. It really started around 2006 since I went through those first few months doing Combat Conditioning and the system that John Peterson put on. I learned about Greg when we were both on John's Forum and learned a few things about one another. I initially bought a pamphlet and DVD version of his VRT System and worked on that for a period. It was a good course and essentially one of the most underrated in my opinion. Greg's knowledge of Muscle Control through Biological Science is quite in depth and understood how the muscles worked with extensive practice of Muscular Contraction mixed with Mental Imagery incorporating a killer idea of the Mind/Muscle Connection.   

As always with everybody else I learned from, I took bits and pieces of his style of training and molded it to many things I still do today. The funny thing is in DDP Yoga, Dallas uses what he calls Dynamic Resistance to build up your heart rate as you go through certain movements. It's literally another version of VRT Exercise in the form of a unique style of Yoga Training. A part of Greg's legacy is utilized in a very cool way. I've always admired him and had many conversations with him over the years about life, fitness, working out, history and other things. He was so proud of his boys Greg Jr. & Pat. Don't think he ever said one negative thing about them even when they were teenagers LOL. I knew about those boys for a long time and he was just so in love with his wife Nancy, don't think we had a conversation where he didn't mention his family and how much he loved them. 

After some time, he wanted me to be one of the new faces for VRT because of my background and knowledge of the system. I didn't think I was worthy cause I didn't feel I had the physique he was looking for at the time so I turned him down. As much as I wanted to still help promote his system, he ended up pulling away from John Peterson after some issues both professionally and personally that didn't go very well. He branched out and formed a new booklet that added another element to what he wanted and sold it on amazon. I figured when that happened, that would be a better way to help promote his system. I would do my version of the exercises and use that to get something going as an Amazon Associate. It did ok and the potential is still there. I still have the pamphlet, DVD & book in my possession as part of my library. 

He lived quite a life and raised amazingly smart and equally awesome attitude in his sons. I will miss our conversations and will always have a soft spot for what he taught me from my early 20's to today. You were a hell of a man Greg and I wish you nothing but happiness as you take your place in the halls of the greats in the big blue sky above. RIP my friend. 

A Childhood Hero Gone: RIP JDF

 Like many, yesterday I heard the news of Jason David Frank aka Tommy Oliver the Green/White Ranger from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers died. I thought like a lot of people did that it was a hoax but with the confirmation from his rep and former co-stars, it was sadly true. It was said to be suicide but not 100% confirmed. To say it hit me would be an understatement, nearly 30 years of memories came flashing at me.

I have met other Rangers but never got the opportunity to meet JDF which now hits even more. The man was so young yet had so much more going for him and demons just pinned him down. When I was about 9 years old, MMPR came on the scene and was one of millions of kids at the time to watch those first episodes when they aired. The 5 episode event of the Green Ranger was at that time one of the epic things a young kid especially young boys watched. Yeah sure the show was very campy and had cool scenes of martial arts and all that but there were some hidden messages for those young kids especially how to treat people and using your skills to better yourself as a person and not be a bully or a douchebag.

At the time until maybe Power Rangers Turbo, I was utterly obsessed with Power Rangers. My favorite obviously was the Green Ranger and when he became the White Ranger, to me that was the coolest thing ever. He was one of my first superheroes and a childhood icon. Tommy was the type of character that loved protecting others and treating everyone he cared about with love and respect. The other rangers did as well but there was something different about that character that others related to. I was part of the Fan Clubs, getting those spinners, shirts and other cool stuff. I played practically every video game that was out there and had the afterschool special tapes where it went beyond the TV Show. I even had a custom made Green Ranger Costume with the Gold Shield made for me for Halloween by a co-worker of my mom's.

I loved watching that series and would be literally waiting for it to come on after coming back from school to my second mom's house. It was one of the things I looked forward to before doing homework. Sang the theme song, crushing on Kimberly the Pink Ranger (Amy Jo Johnson) and just watch those guys kick ass, beating monsters and the putties. Had my Dragon Dagger in hand mimicking Tommy as he called on the Dragonzord and just manhandled Evil like a boss. 

When the Movie came out, it was a major highlight of my childhood and watched it so many times I lost count. I was about 11 or so when it came to the Theaters and would beg my dad or my mom to take me to see it. I remember one outing, my dad got us tickets to see Free Willy I believe or some other movie and saw the Power Ranger Movie in one of the closest theaters to it and begged my dad to have us go see that instead, the usher just looked at us and told us it's ok. The toys, the games (even that weird handheld one) and the show itself were my biggest thing. It annoyed so many of my friends and family I don't know how they held it together with me. I did get teased for it quite a bit but I didn't care. The Green Ranger was the man and was my hero and tried to hold onto his every word.

As time went on, like many kids growing up and having the horrific spats of puberty and shyness, I drifted away from Power Rangers and got into things like Pro Wrestling, heavy metal, basketball and other things but I never forgot the series and it's actually the very reason to this day that my favorite color is green. I never got into Karate or Martial Arts back then and maybe I should've, things may have been different.  Fighting was never one of my strong suits and literally had no skillset to speak of. Couldn't punch or kick if my life depended on it but with the influence of the Power Rangers (along with seeing others I knew very well) I never got into drugs or smoking and didn't really drink. 

I had my flaws and all that and that show tried to teach me to believe in myself when even now I still struggle with but gotta keep fighting and making the most of it. It had such an impact on me that I still use some things from it as of this writing. It helped me find passion in my life, to do what I love and share it with as many people as I can even when there those who won't agree with me or just want to hate on me. It helped me to never give up on the things you care about and to be who you are. 

As for Jason David Frank, although I never met the man, I heard so many stories and interviews about how much he loved his fans and I don't think even once something bad about him came up. With all the paparazzi and people finding as much dirt as they can, you didn't hear much of the negative things about him which is a rarity because there's always some kind of crazy thing about a celebrity. He was the embodiment of what a real life hero can be. He was such an influence on so many kids that they took up the martial arts and found a place in this world when for a number of them there was pain, loss and anguish yet rose above all of that. A small bit of me even channeled that influence when I was laid up in the hospital and told myself to keep fighting. 

JDF had his demons like anybody else and just because you're famous doesn't mean you're immune to certain things. For us who grew up on Tommy Oliver, many will never truly know who the man was behind the tables, the interviews, the suit, character the signings or the photo ops. A true martial artist in every sense of the word and made an impact on many of us that we can't comprehend how much it meant to us as a person and repaying him for the things he gave us. The teachings, the philosophy, the belief and the heart we feel for others. He was really a hero to look up to when for a lot, there wasn't. He was the first true superhero I looked up to and learned many things from him. 

Whether it was suicide or not (I really hope it isn't) it's no joke and in this day and age, mental health is in a big stage of finding ways to better ourselves and finding positive things to keep us going. Some are so far gone it's tragic but if we can even make a microscopic influence to help someone, it can be a huge impact and save somebody. I knew someone who killed themselves way back in 2000 and he was just a 17 year old kid, had a bright future and was incredible at basketball that he had aspirations for D1 College and maybe the Pros, he was that good. There was even a relative I knew and although he wasn't the most humble or even the nicest guy, he was still family. We can't save everyone but we can do our damndest to be there for someone even if it's just shooting the breeze, it can do something great.

RIP JDF, your influence will live on in the hearts of fans all over and your heart, your character and your love will never die. You may be onto the next phase of your journey in the afterlife but nothing will stop us from learning from you as time goes on. You were a hero to me and many who grew up in the 90's and are learning about you today. I'm so honored to have lived in a time where men like you can show us the way and be a part of a phenomenon that will live on for generations to come. Long live Jason David Frank and may the power protect you.