Fit to Print Volume 24 Issue 1 March 2015 | Page 4

Cov & St o y .
S p a e rS a lo rn . .by Monica Jones

Interviewby Heidi Manzo
by Jourdan Brown

There’s Something About Mary
“Little Mary” Kurtz Lights Up the Gym

L

“Little Mary”, as Mary Kurtz is affectionately known, is diminutive in stature only, as
anyone who has ever been in her presence quickly discovers. She's FI's human
sunbeam, crackling with live-wire energy and excitement that brightens the day of
everyone that walks through the door. In short, “Little” Mary makes a big impression!
Her infectious sense of humor, her sheer enjoyment of every moment effectively
banishes any negative thoughts you may be harboring. No, there are no bad moods
allowed when “Little Mary” is in the building. We're sure there's no one else quite like
her, and we're so incredibly grateful to have her at Fitness Incentive.
So, this issue, we decided to celebrate her. Jourdan Brown sat down with Mary in her
“office” (aka the Skylite Café) for a talk on a recent afternoon that was cold and
gloomy outside but that was pure Mary inside: bright and charged with laughter.

Jourdie: First the important stuff, how
many gym boyfriends do you have, Mary?
Mary: An innumerable amount.
Jourdie: OK with that out of the way,
Mary, how, and when, did you first come
to Fitness Incentive?
Mary: Hmm... How? How, is actually
through Tony Foreman.
Jourdie: Really?
Mary: You probably didn't know that! Yes.
I used to workout at a little studio in
Amityville with Toni, which was on its way
to closing. And she kept telling me,
"You've got to come to Fitness Incentive!
Fitness Incentive is the best!" And I
waited, waited, waited, and actually
went once when the gym was still on Main
Street—never even knew about Grove
Place—I just went there for a little bit of
trial or whatever. And then, as soon as
Fitness Incentive opened up here on Deer
Park Avenue, that's when I started. I think
it was 2000. So, yes, Toni Forman gets
the credit for me! She really gave me a
great start.
Jourdie: So when you first came, what
was it that attracted you to Fitness
Incentive?
Mary: I think of the very first things, it's
somebody named COR. I mean, right
from the beginning I took a class—I can
remember rebounding—and she was a
crazy lady who, back in that time, did a
stretch at the end which she called an
"Active Stretch." The "Active Stretch" was
more challenging than many an entire
regular class. It was, like, crazy. And,
right from the beginning she would say to
do something that had to do with rhythm
or something, and I'd say, "I don't have any
rhythm!" "Yes you do!," she'd say, “yes you
do!" She told me that I had rhythm, which
I really don't... Well, I guess, compared
to what I used to be I do now have a little
bit of rhythm.
Jourdie: So, besides my mom's classes,
what else did you do when you first

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started working out?
Mary: Now I have to do some real
thinking... I never worked out for most
of my life. But I did work out at this
other studio as I have said... Really, as
I recall those early days, it was all just
Cor's classes. Though I had no idea what
I was doing, I can say that taking Cor's
classes was like working with a personal
trainer. Then I started finding out how
awesome the people here were, and
suddenly it became "NOT a gym." It
became a family.

what my work schedule is. I mean my
favorite classes these days are cardio and
sculpting. I did go through a period for a
while where I would use the machines,
and the machines are great. I also trained
with Eileen Jacinth which was
phenomenal—I even did the Fit 4 Summer
contest and that was so awesome... So
when it comes right back to what my
main thing is as far as working out—it is
still the classes. I could talk about things
like fitness and motivation that keep me
going, but for me, it's just the fun. It's
just so much fun. And you're getting a
workout at the same time! I walk in
feeling like a million bucks, and I walk out
feeling like eight million bucks! It loads
you with even more energy than you
started with, and it's just a party all the
time. My whole experience can be
described as having gone from being
good, to being really good, to be
phenomenally awesome. That's it. And it
just gets better.
Jourdie: So how did you get the nickname
“Little” Mary?
Mary: Let's see now…Cor! And she'll also
call me “chopstick.” Everything she says
makes me just roll... Or it's teaching me
this major lesson…always inspiring me. I
always tell her she should be on the pulpit
preac