Carbondale's Annual Mountain Fair
This past weekend Angie, I and the kids enjoyed a get away to the small, thriving town of Carbondale,
Colorado.
A short three hour drive from our home, Carbondale is nestled in roaring fork valley, along side the river of the same name, between Glenwood Springs and Lance Armstrong’s adopted new home of Aspen.
It was the weekend of the annual Carbondale Mountain Fair—which I would learn is a pretty big deal. It draws in people from up and down the valley and around the state of Colorado.
A well run and organized fair, there was a terrific variety of great food, live music and all manner of natural, organic and hand crafted items and art. And plenty of activities to keep the kids engaged and playing.
The microbrew mega-star, Belgium Brewing served up kegs of cold brew and there were various other “adult beverages” to be enjoyed—perfect for the terrific line-up of music.
It was exactly everything you could expect from a Fair—all except one thing.
The Silence is Deafening
There was one standard fair issue thing missing—and it was eerily conspicuous in it’s absence, at least to this visitor.
Friday, the night we arrived at the Fair, I noticed it’s absence almost immediately. I found myself watching for it closely but kept quiet about it. Figured I’d wait to see if it would reveal itself in the morning light.
We returned the next morning to enjoy some children’s theater and play some carnival games with the kids. The kids were having so much fun the missing ingredient temporarily slipped my mind.
Lunch came and went, and by afternoon my radar was back on high as the strange feeling had returned. But still I kept quiet, my eyes keen for evidence that I was wrong.
Finally, I could remain quiet no more. I said to our friend who lives in Carbondale. “Marty, what’d you do with all the fat people? Seriously, it looks like Carbondale has eliminated obesity. There’s not a single overweight person here.”
Now, mind you this fair draws over 40,000 people. So it’s not like this was a couple dozen fit people.
Seriously, think about this for a moment. When was the last time you saw 40,000 people in one place and couldn’t at any moment find a single overweight person? Especially at a fair… really.
That’s like going to the north pole and not seeing snow!
By the time I shared this epiphany it had started to feel a bit surreal. It’s the fit and thin version of the all too happy wives of in the mythic town of Stepford might feel like. All the people smiling, dancing, eating, enjoying and not one of them dragging around their own duplex!
Marty affirmed my observation, “Yeah, I know. You’re right. We don’t notice it as much living here but whenever we go anywhere we are always shocked at the number of heavy people. It’s just not something we see every day.”
I know the feeling because while there’s certainly more excess baggage here in Denver area, it’s still in no way a representative sample of the US. Hence, every time Angie and I travel somewhere else, we have a similar view. It seems like the heavy people are multiplied by a factor of at least five.
The Million Dollar Question: HOW?
Carbondale is a gorgeous small town. A great place to visit, with great food, and a great fair and nice, fit people. All well and fine but the question that I can’t stop asking is, “How?”
How did a small mountain town virtually eliminate obesity within it’s borders?
First of all, let’s be clear that it’s not really or literally something the “town” has done… it’s quite clearly a function of something akin to natural selection—it’s the culture and lifestyle at work.
I do think there’s something to be learned from this phenomenon. Likely not something that can be applied universally but certainly some fundamental principles that may help guide us in ensuring our own community, however large or small is healthier and more alive.
We might view Carbondale a little like genealogist do Iceland—the purest gene-pool on earth is a vital resource for the study of disease and the impact of genes, and more.
Honestly, I don’t know the answer but as you might guess I have some ideas, some theories but I’m also interested in hearing your thoughts, ideas, theories. I’d like to know if you’ve ever seen anything like this and what you think is the driving levers for it.
Here are a few of my thoughts on what may contribute to the absence of obesity in Carbondale…
1) Heavy Does Not Fit In
I’m not much of a dancer. Just never been my thing. Funny thing is you won’t find me going to many dance clubs, even when I was younger. I just don’t enjoy it today and back then I felt uncomfortable and out of place.
I can imagine that if one is a bit overweight, unless they’re on a life path of change already, would have a hard time stopping in Carbondale long enough to fuel up with gas. It’s not unfriendly but you might just feel a little out of place—uncomfortable. For being overweight in Carbondale you might just not fit in as well as you could other places.
2) It’s been priced out
Fact is obesity is a “poor man’s” disease today. Sure, there are wealthy people who are heavy—no question. But in my recent experience wealthier people are investing more time, energy and money on elevating their quality of their lives and extending the quantity.
Why not live longer and stronger? If they’ve got money they are generally having fun and have more flexibility and freedom. They hire the best trainers and have access to the best fitness facilitates and high quality nutrition.
And while Carbondale is no Aspen, it’s by no means cheap. And while the people who live there are fit, the Aspenites at the fair were pretty easy to spot. It was not at all uncommon to see a super-fit man, who obviously trains with weights, casual and yet well dressed, pushing a stroller with a small child. The guys body would look 30’ish but you could see in his face he was in his 50’s—usually sporting a younger, if only by half a decade, wife.
No problem here, for sure. All due respect but I think it’s testimony that well off men and women are taking better care of themselves today than ever.
I have a theory about how this works and the motivation—how it’s tipping Maslow’s Hierarchy on it’s side, as survival is survival and often ignores sustainable survival of the body while the higher one rises the more attention people seem to focus on the strength of the self and it’s body… thus, it may be that self-actualization is founded in a self awareness and development of the physical body and wellbeing.
Ah, but I digress. The “New Maslow’s Hierarchy of Fitness” is for another day.
3) There’s no “comfortable zone”
Carbondale is a place where people just naturally live an active outdoors life style. They ride bikes to get around. They fish, ski, climb, hike. It’s the reason people live there. If you were heavy and out of shape, and lived here you’d either get fit or leave. That simple.
If a person were happily out of shape they’d have less desire to live such an active lifestyle. For while it is a gorgeous location it’s less a location town than an activity town—it’s what you do first and where you are second.
4) There’s no fast or low-grade food joints
I’ll be the first to tell you it’s not the fault of fast food that we’re an overweight nation but it doesn’t hurt at all that Carbondale just doesn’t have any of it. There’s no Golden Arches and not even the sort of hash brown pancake hell-hole. It’s like a macro version of my “Nutritional Freedom Strategy #9 : Reclaim Your Kitchen” which leverages the fact that we’re more likely to do the right thing in the right environment.
Well, there you have my deep-thoughts on the phenomenon of fitness at Carbondale Mountain Fair. What’s your thoughts? Have you ever witnessed the similar—or have any thoughts on what might be contributing to it?
Looking forward to your thoughts…
| Meet The Author, Shawn | |
 | Known as "The Fitness Philosopher," for his deep, clear approach to the cutting through the fitness conundrum, Shawn is a 20+ year veteran in the field of Lifestyle Fitness and Peak Performance. Author of several best-selling book, with one of the most photographed physiques in history, Shawn, with his brother, Bill Phillips (Body for LIFE) catapulted EAS sports nutrition into the world leader and Muscle Media magazine and the documentary movie, Body of Work. He created the first computerized training system in PowerBuilding and the popular Variable Split System for Muscle Mass. Now, in his 40's, a husband and father of two young children, Shawn is passionate about helping busy, high-achieving "men in the middle" enjoy vibrant, energized, amazing, Full Strength lives! He has recently created the World’s 1st and only true premium nutrition shake for men, Full Strength — clinically proven to build muscle, burn fat and boost energy. His most recent book, Strength for LIFE is the "how to" guide to a Lifestyle of Fitness Freedom. |
3. August 2010 at 11:19 am
hmm…sounds like the perfect place to open up a Chinese Buffet!
3. August 2010 at 11:35 am
That’s funny Joe… ha… or the worst.
3. August 2010 at 11:31 am
Experienced it? Well, sort of. There is an upscale mall near where I live (The Mall at Short Hills) and I rarely see overweight people there. I sometimes can’t believe it because everywhere else is quite the opposite.
3. August 2010 at 11:36 am
Thanks Debbie… I think, if we are watching for it or thinking about it, we’ve all been somewhere–or most of us have seen it in a vacuum.
I do have to say that the contrast was remarkably profound with this being a fair… having been to many before it’s usually overweight Ground Zero!
3. August 2010 at 11:58 am
Amen to the obesity factor….I just came back from Disney World and could not believe my eyes! Everyone was extremely overweight and constantly eating! Disney version of healthy eating is French Fries, Ice cream bars washed down with unlimited refills of Coke! You would think in the “Sunshine State” it would be easy to stay healthy and lean. No way.. Way too many Fast food outlets and lazy attitudes!
Signed the Obesity factor by 10
3. August 2010 at 12:04 pm
I forgot to say….waiting patiently to move to Colorado Springs, Colorado! Florida is way overrated!
3. August 2010 at 12:44 pm
It is an interesting contrast in this country that it’s often the poor who are heavy, although there are plenty of middle class too that are overweight. In other countries, the poor are generally starving and do not have extra conveniences, so they are usually very thin. So therefore, if the poor are not starving, but are overweight, then they must have enough money to buy food, so therefore it’s the food choices they are making, coupled with lack of physical activity. I’ve been poor and know what it’s like to feed a family when you are, so I know what I’m talking about here. You can make healthy choices when your poor. I’m not talking buying organic here, I’m talking about fruits, veggies, legumes, and lean meats vs. processed junk, fast food, etc. I’m also talking about getting away from the TV and moving one’s body, especially the kids. People always talk about how much more expensive it is to eat healthy, but if you add in all the junk food and eating out, even if it’s just grabbing fast food, you’ll find that making a good filling dish that’s baked will go a long way.
Culture, education, and self discipline.
BTW – why is Carbondale without fast food? Did they pass a law or is there just not a viable market?
3. August 2010 at 12:55 pm
Hi Shawn, very interesting post
)
I experienced something similar when I was in a northern lake-side town in Italy on the edge of Lago De Garda, (which is close to the German border) in mid July. It was a weekend where several different sporting activities overlapped and we were hard pushed to find a place to sleep on the saturday night…
The whole place seemed to be populated by super-fit sports addicts (and elderly retirees, who sadly were not keeping up with the younger folk) all of a high pedigree as far as we could tell in regards to their lifestyles, jobs, cars etc. Even the Italians who were visiting drove expensive Italian cars or motorcycles.
This was a different kind of natural selection, but had a very similar feeling of a utopian health spa…
Was quite an experience to be sure.
Thanks for your inspiring post and I hope to find more places like this in future
)
3. August 2010 at 12:57 pm
Shawn, if you view the fair on You Tube you might be surprised. They are there. Maybe you cant see them because they move slowly and are only visible with a camera.
3. August 2010 at 2:18 pm
Karen pondered an interesting point – why are the poor in the U.S. overweight and in other countries the poor are malnourished? I would contend the poor here are still ‘malnourished’ while being overweight precisely because of the food choices, as Karen mentioned. I was told of a study that indicated only 25-40% of a person’s problem is genetic while the remaining 60-75% would likely be environmental.
This brings me to an article I read on why Colorado tends to be higher on the list of lean people while states in the southeast (Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, etc) are at the bottom. Shawn touched on the affluence aspect – they can afford better food/fitness choices. This, Karen, would be why it is possible to be “arch-free” without having to pass restrictive laws. No one wants to eat it; there are no arches where there is no business to support them.
Another aspect, to return to the affluence touched on earlier, is that the article I read (wish I could credit it here) indicated the affluence set up hiking trails, gyms etc. Those who are not actively participating in some sort of physical activity are misfits whereas many poorer areas in the southeastern states I mentioned earlier do not have the money it takes to set up more than even a very skeletal playgrounds for kids. Even then, safety is of far greater issue than being out in the open air exercising.
Karen- to me you are an inspiration if you are sticking to healthy foods. The article did point out that it is far easier for someone less lucky than me to purchase a couple burgers off the $1 menu than it is to spend the $5 on one pound of 97% lean ground beef that I would at my local market. That doesn’t include buns or sides. I only have one child and one husband to feed.
Tess Deckard – a 60 pound ‘loser’ from soutwest Minneapolis
3. August 2010 at 3:09 pm
I don’t think they are they are necessarily overweight because they are poor. Even if you are poor, there are still many affordable choices like canned and frozen vegetables. They don’t have to buy organic if they can’t afford it. People are just making the wrong choices so maybe the poor are just uninformed or less educated on nutrition and fitness? I do agree to eat out and eat healthy, it can be more expensive. If people are going to eat out, they need to make the commitment to healthy eating establishments or make healthy choices with proper portion sizes and it can work. I think they can still eat healthy on a budget.
They can also exercise too. You don’t need a gym or a lot of gear to get out and run. Weights are cheap too, especially second hand and used items. But a lot of people are not motivated and that is their choice. You certainly can’t force them to live a healthy lifestyle. You provide the information and then it is up to them to use it.
I have noticed though in certain crowds, stores, cities, etc. there may be more obese than others, but if you look at the statistics for some states, you are going to notice more obesity there than other places.
3. August 2010 at 6:58 pm
If you want to see a place that is LOADED with overweight people, besides the obvious chinese buffet, try going to DisneyWorld. Some of the parents look like they may not live to see the children of the children they are taking. A very sad scenario..
3. August 2010 at 7:02 pm
Sorry I missed the third post. Guess that makes two of us!
3. August 2010 at 7:20 pm
It seems to me that if there was a way for everyone to get fit and healthy, Shawn would do everything possible to make it happen. For a moment, he was actually in the world he envisions. It had to be like a dream come to life. It had to be an absolute thrill.
The most important part of Shawn’s story, to me, is that he perceived the difference. It’s like when you visit a place that’s clean and everyone seems friendly. You have to take some time, breathe deeply, and appreciate it. You feel good, you smile. You believe, even for a little while, that the world could be just like this. Your spirit gets reset at a higher level.
What I hear in Shawn’s story is hope.
Hope for us all. Hope that we could all get where he so desperately wants us to be.
4. August 2010 at 12:55 am
Wow… that’s a really nice sharing and insight.
I resonate with the part about seeing it… in my view, that’s where the magic is. The moment, the awareness… It’s something I do, all the time. I observe. Likely a short circuit of some sort which means a strength of sorts too.
Thanks for this nice thoughtful share…
3. August 2010 at 10:35 pm
“They fish, ski, climb, hike. It’s the reason people live there. If you were heavy and out of shape, and lived here you’d either get fit or leave. That simple.”
Nailed it… Oh yeah, and the hippie parents’ trust fund doesn’t hurt either! (present company excluded, of course…
Also, who says you can’t dance?! I thought we did smashingly to the Band Of Heathens!!
4. August 2010 at 12:51 am
Oh Marty, now you funny too! Okay, I did some dancing but I think only cause it kept me, for the most part, from kicking some good ol’ fashioned hippie ass!
I was going to skip over the part where I almost busted the dude’s head in… otherwise, what a great affair…. great town, great people… and we’re loving the Treadway inspired Sandbox!
Great to see you all!
Shawn
5. August 2010 at 1:01 am
Shawn, your thoughts made me think about something I have long had a problem with in my own area here in Milwaukee. Everywhere I go there are fat people in my own hometown. It feels so RARE to meet people who are of a normal range. When I do find them, they are closer to the lake (gasp) big surprise, since there is so much more access to free activity there. It takes an extreme amount of faith and good friends/resources to maintain what I have been trying to accomplish this past year (losing 80 pounds) in this environment! We also have Miller brewing here as well, and I don’t drink, yet there is a firm culture of that crap that intoxicates things further here. So I know what you are talking about with how our environment shapes us. Its so much harder getting fit here and seeming normal compared to other cities. Everyday I get asked sarcastically from a co-worker for example why I eat so often (5-6 meals a day), its just not a culture of health progressive here. But all I can control is me and that is where I begin. If I live each day with Full STrength, others may see my example and see it is possible! -Andrew
6. August 2010 at 11:34 pm
Shawn,
I’ve found that the fitter I become, the more aware I am of those around me. That awareness, while avoiding vanity, has become a crucial role in my fitness success.
When I was at my peak of 290 lbs, I didn’t care what I looked like or what others saw me as. I just was. As I centered my thoughts, emotions, and spirit, I became more aware of the person I was presenting myself as to those around me. When I “fall off the wagon” for a short time, I notice that I fall right back into the role of unkept Mike. Not the person I want to be.
Great blog post!