Today’s Member Spotlight features Pete, a regular in the 4:30 class. 💪🏼

❓What’s your name and how old are you?  

My name is Pete La Raus and I’m 50 years old.  Just barely 50 years old.

❓Ever had a cool nickname?  

I tried to give myself a nickname in high school, but that doesn’t work. Somebody else has to give you the nickname.  But I sometimes go by Pedro.

❓Married?  Kids? 

Divorced, one kid, twelve years old, lives with his mom in Turkey. 

❓Where did you grow up and what’s your opinion of the place?  

I grew up in Evanston, Illinois, in the north suburbs of Chicago, right on Lake Michigan. It was great. I loved it.

❓What’s your all-time favorite movie?  

I think it’s Usual Suspects.

❓What do you do for a living?  

I work for a nonprofit that does women’s economic empowerment, working with indigenous and tribal women around the world.  

❓Any cool jobs in your past?  

I think most of my jobs have been pretty cool.  I’ve done some crazy stuff.  I lived 20 years overseas, so I’ve lived in Africa, Asia, Latin America.  Done a lot of traveling, seen a lot of stuff.  It’s been good times.  

❓How long have you been a member at the gym?  

I think three years.

❓Tell us about your all-time favorite pet.  

My favorite pet, hands down, was a gray, long-haired, stray cat called Fritz. 

❓What class or classes do you usually attend?  

I do the 4:30 Strength & Conditioning class.  It’s where all the cool kids hang out.

❓Were you an athlete growing up, and if so, what sports did you play and were you any good?  When I was a teenager, I was a national champion figure skater.  Then I switched over to hockey.  I was never particularly good at hockey, but I really enjoyed it.

❓Where in Portland has the best burger?  

I’m a big fan of food carts so I just try to eat all over.  I can tell you, however, where the best burger is NOT and that’s Dick’s Primal Burger.

❓What’s your favorite workout/movement?  

That’s easy.  Deadlifts or pull ups.

❓What’s your least favorite workout/movement?  

Snatch, hands down.

❓What are some things you do in your free time?   

I really like gardening, which surprised me because I never thought I would, but then I moved to Portland and I think you’re sort of obligated to garden here, so I do that.

❓If you could have any superpower, what would it be?  

Telekinesis.  I think the idea of moving things with your mind is really cool.

❓What’s the longest you’ve ever stayed in the sauna?  The cold plunge?  

Oh man, I max out in the sauna at about 20 min. The cold plunge, I’ve never done that.  Only crazy people do the cold plunge.

❓Where was the hottest weather you’ve ever been in?  The coldest?   

I was in Sudan when it was about 140 degrees in the shade.  The coldest?  I try to avoid cold places. I don’t know, nothing jumps to mind. 

❓Has a workout ever made you puke?  

No.  I’ve thought about puking, but never actually done it. 

❓What’s the weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?  

I think the weirdest thing I ever had was a pig intestine.  No, it was cow intestines, in a indigenous woman’s hut in Bolivia.

❓What’s your current gym goal?  

Oh, I wanna be funnier, smarter, richer, but if I can’t do that, I’d like to be able to bench 250.  Also, I want a good squat position.  If I could do a good squat, I’d be a happy man. 

❓What’s your advice for new members of the gym?  

Have fun and take it slow.  I mean. there’s so many things to do here, it’s easy to go hard at the beginning and then lose some steam.  So I’d say just go slow and enjoy the process.