Meet Leslie Glazier-werner

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Leslie Glazier-werner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Leslie , so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?

I was born in the 1950’s to a mother who conformed to the rules…until my dad left her with no education, job skills and 3 children to raise. Not only did she proactively act to feed her children, she became management in a male dominated engineering firm in the 1970’s…. by taking calculated risks. Likewise, I’ve done so as well. Her efforts to help me enter the University of Michigan launched this journey, along with the help of an anonymous donor who funded this city kid’s life changing month in the Rocky Mountains as part of Colorado Outward Bound’s survival school.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I consider myself a “Late Bloomer”. After I graduated college in my late 20’s, my husband and I took another calculated risk, pocketing the remaining $3,000 from a business hit hard by the Detroit recession of the late ‘70’s, and heading to booming Texas. I figuratively struck gold when a Houston advertising agency took a gamble on me, placing me at a spare desk in their hallway. This launched a successful advertising career, as well as putting me front and center during the “Wild and Wooly” start of the personal computer. After earning my Executive MBA from the University of Houston, I joined Ogilvy & Mather Houston just in time to participate in campaign development for the first transportable personal computer developed by COMPAQ. Returning to the Midwest and Chicago with my husband, I joined Zenith as part of their computer division…again, just in time to be part of the campaign for the first laptop computer, thanks to Zenith’s innovative flat screen technology. Finally, I was hired by Apple Cimputer’s Midwest Operations to handle marketing communications for the region. However, at this time I chose to take a personal risk to achieve the family my husband and I longed for. After a miscarriage, I left my career to focus on fertility treatments, then adoption as the window for this was closing for me in the 80’s with age 40 looming. Again, it was worth the gamble. Not only were we ready to act when an emergency placement of two biological brothers was needed by an Arizona agency, I found myself at 42 with 3 children under 5 when-against the odds-I delivered our daughter.
But I was also stressed and alone with three kids while my husband commuted to downtown Chicago every day. I took a risk by walking into a Jazzercise class at a local church…I never stopped. I
believe Jazzercise enabled me to survive a rare, aggressive cancer called sarcoma when doctors were shaking their heads sadly. I was subjected to months of both chemo and radiation, and my body held up. Not surprisingly. When my husband and I decided to retire to Wisconsin, I took another risk and certified at 64 years old to become an instructor of this challenging fitness program. My goal was to bring Jazzercise to Northern Door County, WI .
After 6 years of working towards this goal, during the Pandemic I was waylaid not by the virus.but sudden debilitating paralysis. The diagnosis of Guillian-Barre was not made until I was completely immobile. Alone with only my husband as hospitals were full with Covid patients, I decided to take a risk on social media as a motivator for my improvised physical rehab program…I had woken up to see 500 likes on my first post! This has sparked continued growth on social media for me, even after realizing my goal to regain my health and to make Jazzercise a successful reality in Northern Door County. Wi.
But this brings me to one more throw of the dice as I hope to achieve a goal close to my heart. Using what I’ve learned over the years about fitness, mental health, marketing, social media, and technology…I ‘m announcing the launch of an online fitness option—with a humorous bent—for those who may feel disenfranchised from the fitness industry. I intend to bring Fitness, Connection, and a few laughs, virtually via my YouTube Channel “ Gray Gangster Fitness” for the aging population or disabled . More than just a workout, this is intended as fitness for the Mind, Body, and Spirit.

Follow me at Lesliegwerner on Instagram and TikTok, as well as on Facebook to watch for the launch of my YouTube channel and enjoy shaking more than just dice no matter your age!
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If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Creativity, Compassion , and Authenticity have served me well over 71 years. There’s nothing like poverty to hone those creative skills by making you improvise with the little we had growing up! That work ethic and discipline modeled by my mother has also made the difference when others have failed to believe in my abilities. Finally, I hold true to my values, no matter what the situation. Integrity and heart is everything.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

I am not a stranger to stepping out of my comfort zone alone to achieve my goals, often with naysayers in tow. My biggest challenge right now is helping change the image of seniors or the disabled as unable to achieve impressive fitness goals. I attempt to model this myself in every fitness class I teach!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Lesliegwerner
• Facebook: Leslie Glazier-Werner
• Linkedin: Leslie Glazier-Werner
• Youtube: Gray Gangster Fitness
• Other: TikTok: lesliegwerner

Image Credits

Image #5: Foote Cone & Belding Direct Marketing for Zenith Data Systems