There are benefits to hiring a comedienne to be the announcer for a commercial, as the small crew of Martin Garry's discovered on Wednesday. Taking up the art gallery at 88 Cups in the Minden Village was a camera man, a crew of four, plus Kat Simmons and Garry, promoting the 77-year-old world champion powerlifter's new product, Youth Quest vitamins and minerals.
"Smile," Simmons reminded Garry during the taping.
"You do this for a living," said Garry. "I've never done this before."
The championship powerlifter, plus singer and cancer survivor, who has lived in Minden for 11 years, recently lifted 700 pounds six inches off the ground, yet at first even he was surprised when he tightened up when the camera began to roll. After they threw away the cue cards, he relaxed and went into his spiel.
Simmons, who teaches a class in stand-up comedy and performs at area venues, prompted Garry much the same as she does her own students.
"Martin's going to be 80, ladies and gentlemen, by the time we get this take here," joked Simmons.
After six or seven retakes, Simmons began having trouble enunciating, herself.
"Take 1,005!" she yelled. "Now I've been doing it too long. I was good for the first 15 times."
The crew and audience, which totalled about eight people, laughed at Simmons' antics.
Garry settled into improvisation, talking about how he used to not be very healthy.
"When I was about 40 years old I was quite sick," he said. "I was getting dizzy spells, passing out."
He explained that he started going to the gym, taking vitamins and eating healthier.
"I didn't get colds anymore. No more flu," he said. "I literally never get sick. I've never taken an aspirin.
"I started powerlifting about 35 years ago. After a few years I started taking first place locally and in the state. After a while I was taking first places nationally."
"Wow," said Simmons.
"Then I started taking first places internationally," he added.
Simmons asked if his vitamin supplements will also work for women. Garry said men and women should both get the same benefits from them. He said he perused health food stores for quite some time before he chose 49 ingredients, vitamins and minerals, that he will sell in three separate bottles, three pills to be taken daily. The three supplements consist of a multi-vitamin, coral calcium and joint food tablets.
"You're covering everything the body's looking for," said Garry. "When you wake up in the morning and your body doesn't feel good, you wonder what you ate. Maybe it's what you didn't eat."
"Shouldn't I be getting all the vitamins and minerals from my food?" asked Simmons.
"Sure, in a perfect world," said Garry. "Even if you're eating perfectly, you may be missing two or three (vitamins and minerals). You just need to boost it up a little."
Garry said the combination of vitamins and minerals he ended up choosing worked so well for him, that he decided to share his secret with others.
"Here's what's good for me," he said. "It will be good for you, too."
The hours of taping will be edited down to a 30-second commercial, that will initially only be shown in California, according to Garry. If his product takes off, he will then expand to taping a 30-minute infomercial.
The first three-month supply will cost $34, reducing to about $29 for three months after that, and although they are not available on Garry's Web site yet " youthquestintl.com " it should be soon. Garry's biography is on the Web site now.
Garry's athleticism can only help him in selling a product that promotes healthy living. Besides excelling at running and swimming, he has set world records for his age group in powerlifting over and over again. When he was 45-50 years old, he lifted 500 pounds in a squat, benched 290 pounds and 500 pounds at a dead lift. He now lifts 425 at a squat, benches 235 pounds and deadlifts 450 pounds. The 700 pounds he lifted at "1/3 squat" was to show how strong his bones are, he said.
Garry is also an accomplished singer, who sings at the Senior Follies in Carson City every year. Seven years ago he was diagnosed with larynx cancer and underwent surgery. At that time, Garry was told his singing career was over.
"During my years of singing in bars, I got cancer of the voice box from second-hand smoke," said Garry. "I'm still singing. In fact, I'm singing songs I never could before. My doctors told me I'd probably never talk again, never sing again. They're confused. They think it's probably because I have a strong immune system."
Garry has been married for 51 years to Paulina, whom he met in Holland where Garry was stationed in the Air Force in 1954.
"He's world champion in weight lifting," said Paulina, 74. "You take it for granted because he was doing it before we even married."
The Garry's daughter, Teresa Sexton, handled a few jobs at the taping on Wednesday, including doing her father's makeup and holding the cue cards.
"He broke a bunch of world records again about four months ago," said Sexton. "The only world records he can break are his own."
Paulina said that all five family members, including Garry, herself and their three children, try to live healthy, active lives.
"All of us " the kids are all involved in gym and health. I go there five days a week," she said.
The Garrys have eight grandchildren.
Martin Garry said he plans to get stronger as he gets older, by continuing with the same plan he's had more than 35 years " taking his supplements, eating right and getting lots of exercise.
"When I'm 78 years old I'll probably be lifting more than just about anyone anyplace," he said. "I can pick up 700 pounds. Tell me, who else can?"
