Autobiography - The Galindo Group

Ram Galindo THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN Page 134
principal area of my developments in Brazos County, and fueled other lines of activity
for myself, such as my incursion in the health fitness industry. If I ever go back into the
banking business I will be much better prepared and will not lose sight of the fact that
there are hidden consequences in most government regulations.
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HEALTHY MIND IN HEALTHY BODY.
During a business trip to Washington, D.C. in 1972, I bought a little book by the catchy
name of “Aerobics.” I thought its subject matter was in the realm of aeronautics, one of
my hobbies. As I read it, I became enthralled by the conclusions its author reached. Dr.
Kenneth Cooper advanced the scientific correlation between exercise and good health
in a compelling and well-documented form. He devised a system of points earned by
physical exercise and correlated them to cardiovascular fitness. He postulated that
running was the best, although not the only way to gain these points. I took the book to
my brother Chris and we both adopted its methodology in a way that changed our
lifestyles for the rest of our years. I believe that Chris, being the more methodical of the
two of us, still logs his daily workouts even today. We became conscientious runners
and, by example, inspired many young people in Bolivia to also adopt a vigorous and
healthy life of exercise. We were at the early stages of the running revolution that
gripped the world in the 1980s.
By way of a self-discovered therapy program to heal my broken heart when the mother
of my children decided she wanted a new life with a new man in October 1978, I
intensified my daily runs to a level previously beyond my horizon. Helped by a very
significant and precipitous loss of weight induced by my depression, I began to discover
that long distance running was something I enjoyed. In 1979, I started running marathon
races for which I had to train a good ten hours a week, not counting time on weekends.
Soon I took-up triathlon competition as well, with the result that my time allocated to
workouts was the equivalent of a day and half of work time each week. I had to squeeze
these workouts between job and parenting, for I had become a single father taking care
of three children. This situation called for greater than common efficiency, so I decided
that my exercise time had to become productive time. During my long hours of running,
I envisioned developing a health fitness facility that would be like something never seen
in my hometown before.
This concept was also complementary to the developments I was making in the area of
the BCMUD1, for, as I said before, the city fathers could not bring themselves even after
they had annexed the former municipal district, to invest a penny in the area. I pointed
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