Thank you for checking out The Community Conversation, brought to you by Prototype Training Systems, home of CrossFit Prototype! The Community Conversation highlights a different member of the Prototype Community each week and allows them to tell their story, share their life experience, and communicate their perspective on all things fitness.

We’ve all listened to podcasts and watched YouTube videos that highlight some of the world’s greatest leaders and visionaries. We believe we have some AMAZING people at Prototype and we want you to get to know them! (Check out our last episode here!)

This is our 43rd episode of The Community Conversation and today’s guest is Jean Hanks! You won’t want to miss this episode as it’s a good one!

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Mike Collette 0:02
All right, we have miss Jean Hanks on the Community Conversation today. I’m so excited. I’ve been like, this has been earmarked to get her on the committee conversation and I’m so excited for all you folks that are listening. This is going to be a good one. So Jean, thank you so much for being on today. And welcome to the Community Conversation.

Jean Hanks 0:24
Thank you, Mike. I’m so happy to be here.

Mike Collette 0:27
You’re welcome. So like we were chatting about before, why don’t you just kind of start things off with like, how did ya- well walk us through your fitness journey, Jean, like, how did you find Prototype? You know, what was that experience like? And like, you know, how long have you been here for? I mean, I know but yeah, I’d love for you to tell everyone else. So let’s start there.

Jean Hanks 0:45
Ok, well my fitness journey started. Um, believe it or not, not until 2001 after I had Lily. I didn’t work out at all growing up. When I went in the army, I did my basic training and that was about as much fitness as I could handle at the time. So but growing up, I was just, you know, I just tall, thin could eat whatever I want. Never even thought about fitness, nutrition. Food just wasn’t a thing for me. And so, after I had Lily, I said, ooh, I think I’ve gained a few pounds. I think I better. I’m getting older, I should start doing something. So I went to jazzercise. And I went there with a couple of friends. And I did that for about five years. Two different ones I went to and, and it was fun. And it was musical and it was social. But you know, when you lift it up five pounds in each hand, you did that for five years, there was never “Oh, you can do more than that, you know? It was just five pounds for five years that of course five pounds in the beginning was, you know, a little heavy. But so then I said, All right. I really want to do something different than this. It’s not enough for me. So I went over to Boston Sports Club. The same thing happened there. I never used any of the equipment. All I did was classes. And then I said, Oh, I need to do something different. So I tried to do a spin class. And that ended up in a bloody mess because my foot fell off the pedal and it kept going and it just ripped my leg and I said okay, well spin’s not for me. I said I gotta find something different. And then, Anne Andrews called me and said, Amy McDougal thinks we should try this, this new gym that just opened up. And I had been at BSC for like three years doing this mundane five pound thing also, and I’m getting bored. And so I said, “Well, what is it?” and she goes, I don’t know something called CrossFit. So we said, “Alright”, so we put on the calendar for one day. And then I wanted to look into it. I couldn’t remember the name. So I called her back and said, what’s it called again? I knew nothing about CrossFit. And so we came in, and we we did our free elements class that was nine years ago this month. And I was hooked. I actually, maybe not from day one, although I was intrigued from day one. But I went home and the next day, I was so sore. But I went back, because I had to go back because I just wanted to see what this was all about. Because I wasn’t used to I mean, even day one, I think I lifted more than five pounds. At least tried to. So um, so that’s where I’ve been since, as you know. And it’s been a blast, because I mean, there’s a lot that’s happened in nine years. I cannot believe it’s been nine years. It just blows my mind how fast it went. Because I remember after the first year and I said, “Oh my you know, Happy anniversary; we’ve been here for a whole year”. And now it’s nine and next year, it’ll be a decade. Just it’s just really important to me.

Mike Collette 4:28
I love that. What you mentioned, there’s a few things that I want to talk about. But you mentioned you were hooked in. So you did the first class, you were hooked in, you were so sore, but you had to come back and see what it was all about. Like what was what was the thing I know you were doing-you mentioned jazzercise classes classes at BSC, you know, thankfully, you didn’t hurt yourself too bad on that on that injury. Take a stationary bike nothing bad’s gonna happen, but you never know. You know you fucking slip out. But I’m like, What? Like, what was the hook? What hooked you in?

Jean Hanks 5:04
Um, I think it was the people. And it was, I mean, day one I, you know, I was there with Anne. I met I believe Kathy Bridge. And Cambell maybe, but I met. And then there was door. I mean, that was a good group of people. And I said, I said, “Oh my gosh, this isn’t just working out. Nobody cared about me before. They’re making me, like, roll out. The heck is this?” You didn’t get into the workout, we had to, like, roll out, like this shit hurts. And stretch and everything and it was like-so it was just, you know, I mean, I had people that actually sat next to me, stood next to me, showed me what to do, told me what to do, actually acted like they cared about what I was doing. And then of course, I understood why, you know, later on, I mean, it’s it’s diverse, and you have to pay attention to what you do get hurt, especially, you know, when you get older, like me, and because I think I was I was 53 or 54 when I started CrossFit. So that’s a, you know, that’s not a 20 year old. So, but I’ve, you know, it, I just kept coming back because I kept getting stronger. And I kept feeling better. And I kept meeting awesome people. And we kept doing things in the community. And I was like, this isn’t really just like a gym. So I kept coming back.

Mike Collette 6:59
So many people said, it’s like, you know, the workouts are good, but it’s like the people that kind of like, hooked you in, you had like this great group. I remember these like, 9am ladies. And I think that’s yeah, we always referred to you as the 9am ladies and a lot of chatter, a lot of chatter, if I remember correctly, I think you were the one that paid the best, the most attention out of that out of that group.

Jean Hanks 7:24
I had to.

Mike Collette 7:28
You mentioned you started when you’re like 53, 54. And again, we’ve gone kind of nine years on this, on this journey, like what would you say to like folks that are, you know, 53, 54 in their 50s? That might think, Okay, this, this isn’t for me, this is for someone that’s 20 years old, I need to go do something else instead, like what would be? What would you say to those folks?

Jean Hanks 7:56
Um, I would tell them that they’re really interested in doing something that they should at least give it a try. Because they’re going to walk in and see that it is different, just like the young people walk in and say that it’s different in middle age, people walk in and older people walk in, and I, you know, I was there the other day, and Kelly walked in, and I was like, in my heart, just like, I was like, Oh my gosh, I haven’t seen her so long. And she’s still here. So I would say, you know, you can definitely do this. You can do it at your own pace. You don’t have to be an Olympic weightlifter to go to CrossFit. You will go there, you’ll meet good people, you’ll belong to the community, you will have fun and you’ll get strong inside, outside and you will love it. Because that’s what most people I’ve, I’ve never really heard anybody walk out the door. And, you know, I’ve heard people say, this isn’t for me, but I have never heard anyone say, Oh, God, I hate that. That’s awful. Never.

Mike Collette 8:54
I agree with you. Well, it all depends on the experience. But that’s like a big focus of ours trying to make it create those relationships and the experience and that sort of thing. So I’m so glad you’re like the poster child. I’m gonna call you a child, the poster child…

Jean Hanks 9:06
Ok, please do.

Mike Collette 9:08
…for prototype. And like, you’ve made so many relationships over those like nine years, and you’re drinking out of your prototype mug right now shout out to those of you done over 1000 workouts at Prototype. So Jean’s, like one of 30 I think it’s like 31 or 32 people, which is a pretty impressive, you know, in that top five plus percent.

Jean Hanks 9:32
I’d love to know how many classes I did before Wodify.

Mike Collette 9:36
Well, that’s the thing. We didn’t get waterfire until 2013. So if you’re in 2012, so you probably went a whole whole year. So it’s got to be a little bit more than that. Right?

Jean Hanks 9:46
Yeah, yeah definitely.

Mike Collette 9:50
All the times you didn’t sign in too just saying.

Jean Hanks 9:52
I know. Yeah, but I’m good at it now.

Mike Collette 9:56
You’re good at it now. It’s all good. So nine years have been a long time. Let’s talk about some of your favorite memories. And I know you got a lot, a lot of good memories and a lot of special things that they’ve kind of like happen over those years. But I know there’s also some, like, you kind of went through some personal struggles, like as well. I don’t know if you’d like to talk about that. But I know that, you know, because I was there. The community certainly rallied around ya.

Jean Hanks 10:23
Yeah, they definitely did. Yeah. So I was, um, I had I had a couple things. First, I tore my ACL. And that was a devastating blow right there because obviously, that’s a good eight, nine month recovery. Before you can really, you know, do what you want to do. But luckily for me, I was strong. I had been doing CrossFit and I had Jesse Dimmick on my side. So, I mean.

Mike Collette 11:01
Was that skiing? I’m trying to remember.

Jean Hanks 11:02
Yes, it was dumb skiing, which I don’t do anymore. I’ve done it twice now. Right ACL and left ACL and both meniscus. So I’m done skiing, I’m just snowshoeing now, but Jesse was so good. He had me back there so fast. And I remember he let me I was so devastated. But he would come in. I don’t know if you remember, he would come in every Friday to the gym. Because I was doing PT three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a long time. And he would let me come in on Friday and do my PT there. So I could see everybody. And it was great. It was it wasn’t a normal setback. You know, um, you know, because I was still involved. Um, so then, and that was in 2013. And then I just-

Mike Collette 11:40
It wasn’t long after you were there, you were only there for like a year and change before that.

Jean Hanks 12:01
Yeah. Yeah. But I and I was, I was getting so strong, man. I remember, I don’t know when it was. But it was I know, it was before we’ll talk about the 2014 journey. But before that, I remember I did a 235 pound deadlift. And I said, “Oh, my God, I’m so strong”. Yeah, it was, all those milestones. They’re just so exciting. You know, it’s like, who would ever think this old lady could come in here and lift 235 pounds? You know, and, and it was very exciting. So fast forward. Here I am doing my thing. And then in the end of September of 2014. That’s when I got the news that I have cancer. And that was, that was devastating. Because, I mean, the minute you hear that word, it’s just such an ugly word. Just you hear that word, and you don’t know if your life’s over, not the minute you hear it. It just, it just shatters you because you just, you don’t know. So I was like, I remember, I remember the next day, I went into my doctor with Brian. And my blood pressure was like 198 over whatever, it was really high. And so it didn’t take long. I mean, they they know this stuff, they know that they have to do something for you. So you know, they give me some meds and but as soon as you have a plan in place, like when you first find out, you don’t know if you are going to do radiation, and that’s enough or if you’re going to do chemo, radiation surgery, what’s going to happen? You don’t even know what kind of cancer you have at that time, you know, and so long story short, I did have an invasive, aggressive type of cancer and breast cancer and it was going to require chemo, radiation, surgery and more chemo. So I just said, Okay, you know what, I looked up there and I said, Look, I have a lot of females in my family. I’ll take one from the team but don’t want anyone else get it and so far so good. So I took one from the team and I just, I just handled it it was you know it once you have a plan, so much better, so much better because then at least I knew that there was a chance I wasn’t gonna die. And obviously I didn’t and I’m still good. So but as far as cancer and fitness, I said, You know, I would take my mother to bingo every week, I volunteered at the senior center for lunch every Tuesday, I had to give up. Because of my immune system, I had to give up. I said, I will give up being the one I will give up the senior center, but I’m not giving up CrossFit. So that’s the one thing that I was able to, I don’t know how well I did it, but I went in most days, even the day after chemo was one of my best days. So I would even go in that day. But I remember sending out a message to everyone and just telling them, this is my strong place, you need to let me be strong. I’m an easy crier. I don’t want to cry when I’m at CrossFit because it’ll just interfere with what I’m trying to do. So just treat me like you always have. And then we’ll all get through this. And oh, my gosh, I had people. I mean, I went from people making me hats. And because it was wintertime, and of course, I lost all my hair. But I wasn’t a real wig person. So I just walked around bald, I didn’t really care. I was it was kind of kind of nice to actually, you know, because I remember and be careful what you wish for. I remember saying to Brian, all these years, I said, God, I wish I was bald. I just wish that I could get out of the shower and not have to deal with anything like you do.

Mike Collette 16:33
You’re envious of Brian?

Jean Hanks 16:34
I was. But then we were equal. Actually I had less hair than him. Yeah, so um, but anyway. So I came to CrossFit as often as I could. And people were very, very respectful of my wishes. I remember being on a rower. You and Jesse standing next to me, saying, faster, harder, push harder. And in my mind, I’m like, I’m swearing at you guys and I but I couldn’t do it out loud because I said I told them to treat me the same. But I felt like I was gonna puke. I was like, Oh, my God. Tell them to shut up. Just, you know, but I didn’t. I didn’t. I made it through that. I never threw up.

Mike Collette 17:27
Was that like the open workout? Was it an open workout?

Jean Hanks 17:29
I don’t know if it’s an open workout. But um, it was cuz I remember I did. I tried to do the open. I tried to do everything I could…

Mike Collette 17:41
You did do everything. You did more.

Jean Hanks 17:42
…and then we had the- and then I decided that. Okay, I’m good with this. I’m just gonna roll with it. And decided to have a head shaving party. As you know, you were there getting your head shaved. And it was a very emotional day for me. But it was a good day because there was so much love around me. And people getting their head shaved it was and Jon putting my wig on. It was just a fun day. It was really fun.

Mike Collette 18:14
I remember that picture of you and all the ladies with the wigs on.

Jean Hanks 18:20
Yeah, well, that was um

Mike Collette 18:21
That was that was not the head shaving party. That was a different thing.

Jean Hanks 18:24
No, that was the annual party Yankee swap party that we started. Yes. I think it started at Amy’s house that was at Amy’s house. So I decided that, um, that I would wear a wig because I wasn’t, you know, I wasn’t really wearing wigs because they’re itchy. It’s like being it’s like Halloween. It’s like putting a wig on. They’re itchy and they don’t feel good. But I decided it’s Christmas. We’re dressing up a little I’ll wear a wig. Well, they all had decided that they were going to go bald. So they had those bald caps. That’s when I walked in last. And they’re all bald, and I have hair. And it was just so funny.

Mike Collette 19:06
So that wasn’t planned?

Jean Hanks 19:10
That wasn’t planned. And then No, that wasn’t planned at all. I had no idea. And then, um there was a party for me at a luncheon at Arturo’s and Heather Burke came in she had made or had made from Yummy Mummy this big. Oh my god, it was a big boob cake. And, you know, it was just great. People were so wonderful. And that helped me make it through that journey. And I don’t think I would have done as well with my recovery if it wasn’t for CrossFit because I was strong before I went in. I don’t know if I was stronger after Well, I wasn’t physically stronger after I was done with all everything but Certainly glad I was able to have that part of my journey, because I don’t know what I would have done without it. So I would have to say that with something like that, if I could just go around and talk to all these chemo patients that just think that you have to lay on the couch all day long to get better. And you have to rest I mean, yeah, sometimes you do have to rest when your body tells you to, but, you know, you go to CrossFit for an hour, you can do this. And I just think that there’s a lot of education that could be out there. For people who are for fitness and illness.

Mike Collette 20:44
There’s probably a small group of people that are listening to this right now that may have gone through that, or know someone that has gone through that. And I would say that the majority of people aren’t doing I agree with, you probably aren’t doing CrossFit, while they’re in treatment. I know, I know a few people that that have done that. You being one of them, but very, very few. So it just speaks to the level of think commitment that you have, just in general, like the mentality of like, this is better, it’s going to be good for me, but also, because it’s gonna make me stronger. And this is just not something that’s going to destroy what I’ve gotten from this. And what I love about this so much is that you made a decision that I’m okay, hear things I’m gonna give up, but I’m not giving this up. Because you’re not gonna let that dictate your life. Right. And I think that’s really powerful. I think, I can’t speak from experience. But I think, you know, sometimes we let things in life dictate our life and you made made a decision.

Jean Hanks 21:54
I did.

Mike Collette 21:55
How many people would make and I think that that’s very incredible. Thank you very proud of you. And I know it’s like an emotional thing to talk about. But I appreciate you sharing, because I don’t know if everyone who’s listening actually knows that. That story. They just see Jean, the smiling face on the on the virtual camera now,

Jean Hanks 22:12
I know I know.

Mike Collette 22:13
So far away from us.

Jean Hanks 22:16
I know. But they’re working on the basement, so I have to come in more because I can’t work out down there because all my stuff is shoved away in a corner. But when it’s done, our little gym area is going to be really cool.

Mike Collette 22:28
Oh I can’t wait. I can’t wait. I want to just pivot a little bit. And you talk a little about your family, specifically. Your daughter Lily. I feel like she’s she started doing karate. No, she’s not here. She’s at school, but she started doing CrossFit and our kids classes. And then you started doing the adult classes. Now this is like your thing you guys, you know, do together? What’s that kind of been like just kind of having that having that like connection having that thing to be able to to do with your daughter?

Jean Hanks 23:01
Oh that’s been wonderful. Because Lily was or is not an athlete. She never was. She didn’t want to be involved in she did soccer. But she had that. She had that growth plate issue. You know, and so she was always doing kind of like physical therapy while she was doing CrossFit. But yeah, she started when she was 12. And, you know, she got strong pretty quickly, and she’s able to do a whole lot and it built her confidence. She wasn’t a very confident child. I don’t really know why. But a lot of kids aren’t. And CrossFit was just amazing for her because she started doing things that she could never think she could do. And I’ll never forget that she came home and she said I have to write a paper on someone who inspires me. And I said, Oh, did you choose someone yet? Yeah, I’m gonna do it on Jon. And she did. She wrote her paper on Jon. Because he inspired her.

I remember that. That was a lot. That was. That would have been what?

I think she was 13 and she’s 21.

Mike Collette 24:14
Yeah, that was that was a while ago. Yeah.

Jean Hanks 24:17
And she’s graduating in December. Fast, huh?

Mike Collette 24:22
Amazing. Oh my gosh. Gosh

Jean Hanks 24:25
Really fast.

Mike Collette 24:27
Time flies. Oh my gosh, that is just is absolutely insane.

Jean Hanks 24:32
But to work out. I mean, even Brian when he was in and out of, you know, his little surgeries there from I think he did elements like three times.

Mike Collette 24:45
Nothing wrong with that.

Jean Hanks 24:46
I know, I know. But he’s still he still works out here and does go does his thing. But for the three of us to do that. I mean, at first I was a little bit like Alright, this is my thing, and I will love it. What do you mean, you want to join CrossFit? This is my thing. This was Lily. And I was like, Oh, all right. You can come and then Brian’s like, so I started in September, and then Lily started in November. And then Brian started in January. And then it became a family thing, which was perfectly fine. They worked out mostly at night together, and I worked out in the morning, so it was a very fun family. Family thing.

Mike Collette 25:29
That’s awesome.

Jean Hanks 25:30
That was our entertainment budget, as well as our fitness and everything.

There’s a lot of entertainment. A lot of fun.

Yeah

Mike Collette 25:38
Be there any time of the day, you’re gonna get entertained at some at some capacity.

Jean Hanks 25:41
Oh, no doubt. Oh, yeah.

Mike Collette 25:45
We I love the conversation we’ve been having about these, like, you know, special special moments, things that kind of stick out to you. You mentioned a couple any other things that kind of stick out to you over the over the years Jean. I know there’s a lot to unpack over over nine years.

Jean Hanks 26:02
Yeah, there’s a lot. Um, I? Well, the most recent one was when Kathy and I just got on the podium this just a few months ago.

Mike Collette 26:14
Yeah.

Jean Hanks 26:15
I mean, that freaked us out. That was just awesome. Because we just figured we’re done. I mean, look what she’s going through. And, you know, I’m older. I, I don’t know how that happened. I I just don’t know how it happened. And that is so exciting. And you know, the same thing that happened when I’m when I mean Kathy and I have been on, we’ve won a couple things together, as well as Jay and I, and I mean, those, but just those those I love all those competitions, because it is a competition. There’s no doubt about that. But it’s a fun competition. And there’s so much adrenaline in the gym when it’s happening. It’s just infectious. And everyone’s smiling, even though it’s grueling. Everyone’s smiling, and it’s just so much fun. And then you know, even I look forward to Earth Day when peg and Todd set out, you know, and we just meet and go, it just feels good. Everything we do there feels good. What are we gonna do thats not gonna feel good?

Hopefully nothing. Okay. Speaking of events, we do have that rofr crows event coming up. Are you going to be doing that?

I am not. Unfortunately. I know.

Mike Collette 27:37
Has to be a pretty good excuse here. Let me hear it.

Jean Hanks 27:40
All right. I’m going to be on a boat sailing.

Mike Collette 27:43
Okay, that’s the excuse. I knew if you’re not doing it, then you’re not on this continent. So now that makes sense.

Jean Hanks 27:53
Yeah, I’m on the continent, but I am. Yeah, it’s we didn’t get to go last year with our friends and he you know and Anne Andrew’s husband Will. They have their boat, and they just moved to Marion. And so we’re gonna do the weekend thing.

Mike Collette 28:08
Enjoy it. We’ve talked about so many awesome things. And I really appreciate you sharing your journey and sharing these moments and experiences and, and the vulnerability and that’s really special. So I want to, I want to get into the Spitfire round of questions for you. All right. So I know you’ve been preparing and listening to all of these community conversations over the past few weeks and kind of curating your answers. So I’m not going to change the questions. Okay. I’m not gonna make the excuse. Oh, you know-

Jean Hanks 28:42
Okay.

Mike Collette 28:42
I’m not gonna change the question. So, a favorite movie and TV show of all time, and then what do you currently binge watching? That’s number one.

Jean Hanks 28:50
Okay, so my favorite movie of all time is, first of all, I’m not a movie person. I don’t watch a lot of movies. Never have but my favorite one is the Wizard of Oz. Always will be always has been. It’s just a classic. I mean, I love it. And I remember growing up, we used to, like, you know, would get a bath and we get our pajamas on because it came on once a year. And my mother would make popcorn and all the four of us kids would sit in the polar. We called it back then the polar and we even got tonic, which now we call soda. Yeah. And it was just fun. And so that’s it. It’s not just a classic movie. It’s it was just it’s a good memory for me too.

Mike Collette 29:35
How about TV show?

Jean Hanks 29:38
TV show. Um, well, I have two. One of them. Most people aren’t going to know, because I was born in the 50s. it’s probably one of the longest running shows but gun smoke. I still watch it. Do you know it?

Mike Collette 29:56
No, but it’s ok. I’ll look it up after this-Gun Smoke.

Jean Hanks 30:00
James Arness Yep. Gun Smoke. But there was a show on with Kiefer Sutherland. 24

Mike Collette 30:06
Yeah. 24 that’s a great show.

Jean Hanks 30:08
That was one of my favorite Shows of All Time.

Mike Collette 30:11
Such a great, that’s such a great show. Believe he did all that in 24 hours? Pretty crazy.

Jean Hanks 30:22
Yeah, it was a little hard to believe.

Mike Collette 30:25
Quite the day.

Jean Hanks 30:26
He did because he had the same clothes on.

Mike Collette 30:30
That’s true. That’s true. I was wondering though shows what do they eat? When do they go to the bathroom? You know, I mean, those are things I always think about. It’s like how I just keep going.

Jean Hanks 30:39
Yeah, no, they don’t. Binge watching. Well, I’ve never been binge-watched anything until COVID. And now this is what we do. And it’s fun. I love it. Right now we’re binge watching Virgin River.

Mike Collette 30:53
Virgin River. Okay. I haven’t seen that yet. Is it on Netflix?

Jean Hanks 30:57
It’s on Netflix.

Mike Collette 30:58
Okay, I might have to check that out. Yeah. Erin and I are watching Yellowstone right now, which is pretty cool.

Jean Hanks 31:04
Oh, I heard that’s good. That’s on our list.

Mike Collette 31:06
I’d recommend it. After you finished Virgin River, check out Yellowstone. Kevin Costner. It’s, it’s it’s good. It’s really good. Next question. Is the music category favorite musician or band of all time? And if you only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be? Doesn’t have to be by that banner musician.

Jean Hanks 31:15
Um my favorite band is Imagine Dragons. And I’ve had several over the years because, you know, I’ve gone through so many different periods of music and people and you know, a lot of them are dead now. But

Mike Collette 31:45
Thought you were gonna say Dave Matthews Band.

Jean Hanks 31:48
Yeah, no, I have to leave that for Anne. That’s her favorite. Yeah, but we did go to the concerts with her. But no. He’s too much of a pothead for me. I mean, you could tell on stage and he couldn’t even sometimes couldn’t even communicate with the audience.

Mike Collette 32:08
Yeah, he can sing in vowels sometimes like Eddie Vetter. I put him up there.

Jean Hanks 32:12
He can still sing no matter what condition he’s in, he can sing. But, um, so no, I love Imagine Dragons. I’ve seen him four times. They just put on a new album today. And I can’t wait to hear it.

Mike Collette 32:23
There we go. Like that, I didn’t know that.

Jean Hanks 32:26
I think my favorite song of all time. And the reason I love it so much is because it has been sung by so many different people, so many different genres. And it’s called hallelujah. And I’m sure you know it. A million people sing it and every time someone sings that it’s beautiful.

Mike Collette 32:46
I think Justin Timberlake did a version of that, right.

Jean Hanks 32:51
I’m sure everybody has.

Mike Collette 32:52
I think so I think that’s one of my favorites.

Jean Hanks 32:55
Pentatonix does a great version of that

Mike Collette 32:59
Yeah, that’s a that’s a cool. That’s like the What are they? What’s it called the acapella is that-?

Jean Hanks 33:04
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Acapella group. Oh, they’re awesome.

Mike Collette 33:08
They’re very talented.

Jean Hanks 33:09
Very talented.

Mike Collette 33:10
Last question. What is your favorite hobby? Non gym related? What’s your favorite thing to do?

Jean Hanks 33:20
My favorite thing is to make greeting cards. Still. It’s my

Mike Collette 33:29
You make good greeting cards.

Jean Hanks 33:31
Thank you. It’s fun. I’ve been doing that since 2002.

Mike Collette 33:40
How long does it take you to make these things, but they’re like, they’re like, amazing pieces of art. You could sell em in stores. Put hallmark out of business.

Jean Hanks 33:54
I tried to sell them in stores, but nobody wants to pay me, you know, they want to, they want me to sell them for $4. And they want to take $2 and I’m like, Nah, I’d rather just have the inventory. So that anytime and I have hundreds of cards in inventory, but you know, it’s, it’s therapy for me. And it takes sometimes it takes you have to be in the zone to do it. But no pun intended, but I always have to make a prototype. And sometimes that could take two or three hours if I’m watching TV or listen to music while I’m doing it or whatever. It could take an hour and then once I get that then then I can just whip through a whole bunch of books. Because I you know, I have lots of I don’t just sit there and throw or anything. I have lots of machines that cut out things for me and stuff like that. I do have to do some fussy cutting with scissors that I do have to do some coloring stuff like that, but it’s just it’s just fun. It’s just fun. I really love doing it. And I love when people get them.

Mike Collette 34:57
Yeah.

Jean Hanks 34:59
But the thought of them throwing them in the trash. I haven’t gone over that one yet. And I know they do. People throw cards away.

I mean, I could find one of your cards somewhere around here. I don’t think I’ve ever thrown away one of your cards. I feel like it’s like sacrilegious to throw it away.

Thank you.

Mike Collette 35:16
Seriously, I’m not even joking they’re around here somewhere. Erin moves stuff, you know, I don’t know where things go.

Jean Hanks 35:25
The joke is that you know if I make a little mistake or something on one, and they’re handmade and a lot of the mistakes no one would even be able to pick it out. But I would and I always just I’ll just give that to someone I don’t like.

Mike Collette 35:40
Alright, well I’m checking that my cards that I find for mistakes on there just so I know what how you really feel about me then Jean?

Jean Hanks 35:46
Yeah, okay.

Mike Collette 35:48
Well, Jean I again, I appreciate you so much for being on the community conversation. They mean so much to me. I mean so much to everyone listening and then everyone that is listening that right now. Thank you so much for tuning in. Remember every Monday we have a new community conversation to get your week started. So tune in and check it out. And again, Jean, thank you so much.

Jean Hanks 36:07
Thanks for having me.

Mike Collette 36:08
You got it, anytime.

Jean Hanks 36:10
I feel like a celebrity.

Mike Collette 36:11
You are.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai