Veterans Day: Air Force veteran copes with pandemic by focusing on fitness business
Tony Blankenship rejoiced when he opened for business Feb. 24. He toasted the moment.
His 9Round kickboxing gym in Lincoln was the culmination of a dream and a plan, a chance to supervise, to round people into shape while also being a part of the conditioning action. Then came despair.
The coronavirus pandemic took hold in March, shuttering businesses and schools and throwing much of the country into a lurch. Blankenship was staggered but not broken. He relied on his military upbringing, his own Air Force experiences and lessons learned to deal with adversity.
“We were open for three weeks before the pandemic, and then closed just like that,” Blankenship said. “It was hard. It hurt. But I didn’t think, ‘Why me?’ And I didn’t wonder what to do in a panic. I adjusted, adapted and pivoted. That’s what you learn in the military. That’s your only option, or quit, and I’m never going to quit.”
On Veterans Day, Blankenship thinks of his father, Otis Blankenship, who served in the Air Force for 24 years, including tours in Vietnam, and he reflects on his four-year Air Force experience. Blankenship salutes those who have served, those alive and those who have died on battlefields or of old age.
Any military veteran that comes into his gym is afforded a discount, just because.
Blankenship was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, home of the U.S. Strategic Command. That’s where President George W. Bush stopped by on 9/11 — Sept. 11, 2001, when Al-Qaeda terrorist strikes struck the country.
Bush remained in contact with the White House and military personnel. Many of his talks played out in the station’s underground bunker, a fortress built to withstand a nuclear blast or any more terrorist strikes.
Blankenship later headed overseas.
“Oh, man — 9/11 was a tense time, scary,” Blankenship said. “Absolutely stunned. All planes were grounded after the strikes, except for our base. We were fully loaded, with F-16s patrolling the skies.”
‘Too many people are into selfies and TikTok’
From his father, Blankenship said he learned the sort of discipline: Be on time, do things right, have pride. It shaped his life, from his multi-sport experiences at Florin High School in Sacramento to a biology degree at UC Santa Cruz to advanced degrees in Nebraska.
Otis Blankenship, now 80, resides in Sacramento. He retired after an 18-year stint at Air Force bases Mather and McClellan, both of them now closed. Blankenship said his brother Troy served 12 years in the Army, another life molded by service.
”Dad never missed a day of work in his life, ever,” Blankenship said. “The way we were raised, it was education, college, go serve in the military, and get on with life. I’m so glad I served. My dad also told me that, as an African American, one thing no one can ever take away from you is your education. You may lose a job but no one can take away your knowledge, so I embrace that, too.”
Blankenship said he would encourage people to serve in some capacity.
”I don’t know how popular this opinion would be, but I think everyone do at least a year in the military or the Peace Corps,” he said. “People would appreciate our country more, a different sense of pride for our country, a selflessness about serving. We miss that in society. We have too much anger out there. Too many people are too into taking selfies, doing TikTok, all about themselves. Go serve! Help others. Help yourself and your country.”
Blankenship added, “You learn perspective. My wife (Juliette) has family in Peru. They didn’t have electricity until the 1980s. I learned over the years that someone always has it worse than we do. During the pandemic, we still had a home to come to, food on the table, family. No pity. Find a way, adapt.”
Blankenship said he made a good living in tech sales but was bored. Life is more than money, he said, so he focused on owning and operating his gym. 9Round has some 700 gyms across the world, the theme of a 9-round experience with nine workout stations, each timed.
“I wanted to make a difference, and I am,” Blankenship said. “That has value to me.”
Blankenship’s gym is bustling with energy, with plenty of space between stations to ensure social distancing. Each station — jump rope, weights, boxing, kicking — is wiped down after someone passes through. Music plays. Blankenship also offers online courses at 9Round.
One of his trainers on site is Adriana Sharp. She served in the Army during 2019 and planned to make it a career before a torn hip sent her home, pained in body and spirit.
”I wanted to find something to help people, and this is it,” Sharp said. “It’s inspiring to see people grow here, to feel better, to see them sweat and smile.”
Embracing military father’s ‘gift’
On the 9Round wall, not far from the “Rocky” movie poster, a monitor details the names of those working out. It includes calories burned and pulse rate. The names are nicknames: The Ringer, FrostBite, Overkill, Dibbs and F@ckCovid.
”That last one is me!” Blankenship said with a laugh. “Dibbs is my wife because the first time I saw Juliette in Las Vegas, I told my friends, ‘I’ve got dibs! Married 13 years. She’s a nurse at Sutter Roseville. She’s just as crazy as me and that’s why it works.”
“The Ringer” is Kristine Ringer, a 9Round member since the start.
“I’m a mother of two, work full time, and have tried other gyms or working at home, but this is the best fit,” she said. “It’s great to pop in and blow off steam.”
Blankenship said he has adjusted to the uncertainty of COVID-19, but he still hurts. Blankenship and his wife and their three children have done the “drive-by” visits with his parents. His father is undergoing colon cancer treatments.
“He’s terminal, but doing OK for now,” Blankenship said. “The pandemic is hard on everyone. It’s hard on families when you can’t just hug everyone.”
Blankenship said his father was never one to share his affection for his kids, to say how proud or how much he loves them, “but he’d tell his friends at the barber shop,” Blankenship said, laughing.”That’s just how the older generation are, and some of that may be the military, too: tough and disciplined.
“Last week, for Dad’s birthday, instead of getting him a gift, I did something for him. I cut some firewood. I climbed the roof and cleaned the chimney. He said, “What did I do to have such a good son?’ That’s the best gift he’s given me. Thanks, Dad.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2020 at 5:00 AM.