The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
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58 • LMGI COMPASS | Spring 2020 LIVING YOUR BEST (OR BETTER) LIFE BY PHILL KANE Hello, fellow location professionals. I have been one of our ranks now for 21 years. When I started this business as a commercial PA, I was just out of a failed attempt to become a rock star, but I fell in love with production right away. When I found my way into the Location Department, my love affair deepened. It was so exciting! I really enjoyed being part of such a professional and creative group. The hours were long and the work was demanding of course, but the ever-present craft service snacks and catered food made it all worthwhile! I recall working six weeks of nights as an assistant location man- ager on Gone in 60 Seconds and I am sure anyone who has done this kind of stretch knows, I kept myself awake with caffeine and sugar. I joke about it sometimes that I gained 30 pounds in six weeks and though that may have been an exaggeration, it was not by much. Now fast-forward to 2011 and I was put in a scene as an extra while working on my TV series Criminal Minds. I re- member the wardrobe person doing some measurements and saying, "Wow, you are a big guy." It was around that same time that my then boss mentioned that I should be able to relate to something or another because we were both "chubby guys." Now for context, I was a track star in high school and spent many years bouncing around rock clubs as a rail-thin musician. How could I, Phill Kane, be a "chubby, big guy"? Well, right then and there, I decided to do something about it. I was 222 pounds and had no clue whatsoever how to really lose weight short of fad diets. I begrudgingly started running stairs in the morning before work and I think I experimented with Atkins or whatever was popular at that time, and I thought I had the answer … 18 months later, I had lost and gained, and lost and gained the same eight pounds 10 times over. I knew there had to be a better way. I had a friend who got me involved in a program called Whole Life Challenge and I gave it a try even though I fi gured it would be another quickie weight-loss thing. It turned out to be a way of learning how to make health and fi tness the thing my life re- volves around as opposed to just one more thing that I had to do. What I learned was being fi t and being in good health does not mean you need to be at the gym an hour a day, seven days a week and it does not mean you need to starve yourself. For me, it started with the minimum that the program required, 10 min- utes a day of exercise, even if it is just a brisk walk, 10 minutes of mobility (stretching) a day, which increases blood fl ow and does wonders for stress reduction. I started to drink enough water. I learned how much sleep I need to feel alert and I also learned some other lifestyle things such as meditation, gratitude and journaling. I know these do not seem related, and as a semi non- spiritual person myself, I could never imagine sitting quietly for 10 minutes or making a list of things that I am grateful for; but one of the worst killers in our business is stress, and each of these practices can relieve it. With less stress, I fi nd myself more alert and energized and in many ways, better at my job. Of course, all of this would be just another thing I bailed on if I did not see results. I mean after all, why would I give up donuts if I did not get a payoff? So let's get to the numbers. After a year or so, I found that I had dropped from 216 pounds and 26 percent body fat to 193 pounds and 19 percent body fat. These changes motivated me to stick with it and have continued to do so for the past six years and now I sit at 177 pounds and 15 percent body fat. My resting heart rate is 54 bpm and my blood pressure is steady as a locomotive at 118/78. Not only do I look and feel better, I am healthier than I've been at any time in my adult life. I will put a disclaimer here and say that I have always been a bit obsessive but doing these challenges and living this lifestyle has made me become a multiple marathon fi nisher. I purposely used the word fi nisher not runner because running is a very generous description of what I do! Of course, I would not say that by adding 20 minutes to your day, getting enough sleep, Phill Kane/LMGI running the San Francisco Marathon. All photos courtesy of Phill Kane/LMGI