About Roy Mercer
I was born and raised in the southern part of Missouri. My parents were great and raised me well. I got sick all on my own.
I was active in my younger days and was somewhat athletic. I did all the games-basketball, baseball, football (soccer was not invented in Missouri yet), and I rode my first bull at the age of 16-on a bet. Football and Rodeo were my favorites. I always was one who liked to live on the edge.
After high school I left home to be in Texas at church camp as an employee. I ran the pool was in charge of the outside recreation areas, and worked in the kitchen.
What I am trying to say is that I was fairly active most of my youth. I did however have some bad habits-smoking from age 9/drinking from age 13. I became a US Marine in 1967, did a tour in Viet Nam, came back stateside and got out of the Corps. I did fairly well as a Marine. I enjoyed the atmosphere, the tradition and the discipline. I only wish I would have continued the career path and the physical training, but I did not. I also wish I had not continued with the bad habits-but I did. I wonder if all of us might be looking back on the wish I dids and wish I didn’ts- if you read this and are under 19 years of age there is a lesson there.
As I got older I was on a journey to find “success” and “happiness”. It was later in my life, much later, that I stopped to define those terms, and the definition changes. There was no time for exercise and healthy heart activities. I had to work you see. What I am saying is that I imposed a lot of stress on myself with my views and ideas. I also was hard headed and did not allow the many people who were trying to help me- help me. I was self sufficient and could get it on my own. Now I realize—None of Us Gets Anything on our Own- we need each other. Today I can learn from everyone, and today I try to learn-I guess the most important thing I’ve learned is that I need to learn-I do not know as much as I sometime think I do.
My life journey was filled with twists and turns and a few physical things happened that have an impact on my health today. A motorcycle wreck in 1972. I had extensive injuries to my lungs, both arms were broken, my spleen removed, and unconscious for 7 days. Six months recovery time for that one. I re-entered the rodeo arena at age 33, fought bulls as a rodeo clown for 7 years, and I had some broken ribs, a couple of concussions, broken collar bone and a whole lot of fun, with some really great people. I continued to smoke, but I quit drinking at age 33 and haven’t since. I did finally quit smoking after a severe lung infection and 6 days on the cardiac unit of a hospital in Missouri. That was about 6 years ago and the beginning of my healthy heart journey.
There you have my life in a nutshell and the foundation of my recovery is to share the types of exercise equipment, some diet tips, some changes I have made, and continue to make, in my daily life that will help others.
We are talking to some folks and trying to get some things put together to make some things accessible to you from this blog. That is part of the construction.
Thank you for your time and for allowing me to tell you who I was, and who I am, I will continue who I want to be another time.