Eugene 'Thunder' Hughes on the Midtown Youth Academy

Eugene, right, is pictured with Jeffrey, one of the Midtown Youth Academy's boxing coaches and a graduate of Dr. Hughes' program. 

'I was born over in a neighborhood that they tore down to build the Rayburn House Office Building. I was one of 13 children. We had an outhouse, oil lamps, an ice box, and had to chop wood for the stove. It was a different time then. When I was just a kid, maybe nine years old, I started boxing. I turned out to be pretty good and won pretty much everything there was to win in the world, from the golden gloves to the worldwide all-service tournament four years in a row when I was in the Marines.

"After I got discharged, I was out in California and went down to Watts. There, I joined the Black Panthers and was one of the first members. We were trying to reorganize Watts and let black people know that they were human. We made our own schools and built a parallel community to the white one. But, you know how folks be, those on the outside got real jealous and mad and came after us because we weren't going to live under them no more. When the people from the outside came in, we ended up burning Watts down. Many of us went to jail for the burning. I got four years, but got out in 18 months on good behavior.

"While I was in jail, I sent out an application to the University of Connecticut because I was still under the G.I. Bill. They let me in and I studied to be a lawyer because I wanted to get into the structure and turn things around. Even though I wanted to join the establishment, you never stop being a Black Panther. You always got to keep on.

"I ended up working on a few things up in Connecticut and organizing for a bunch of issues. After a while, I got tired and wanted to come home to Washington. When I came back, I became a roving leader in the Department of Recreation for Mayor Washington. When Barry came in, I worked with him, too. I grew up with Sharon Pratt Kelly in my younger days and became her personal bodyguard when she was mayor. I have worked with Williams and Fenty, too, to help get kids off of the streets and drugs and into college.

"I opened the first Midtown Youth Academy on 14th and T to teach reading, math, and boxing over forty years ago. I worked with kids to show them that they were somebody and could be anything they wanted to. On Sundays, I took em to church with me to celebrate God. The more kids we got, the more I looked for volunteers to come and help us. We believe in each one, teach one here. A lot of kids have come out of our program and opened businesses and been successful leaders of the community. In fact, I own this building, which we have been in for over 21 years, because some of the kids that I trained turned professional and helped me to buy this building. Some of the kids that came through here are people like Russel Davis, Tony Perez, and Sugar Ray Leonard. Even the ones who made it will tell you that there is no easy road in life.

"Now, we are the oldest boxing club in the city. People always tell me that I should change things here and make this place look new. I want to keep it the same way, so it is just like the people who trained here remember it. This is where they came from. They always need to remember that." 

The Midtown Youth Academy is located at 2206 14th St. NW. 

Tal aka 'The Razor' on Checkers

"I'm 79 and have been playing checkers my whole life. They call me 'The Razor' because I am known for giving close shaves. I beat people before they even know they are beat. I am considered a wise and sharp checkers player. That's why they gave me that nickname.

"I was born in Ozark, Alabama, and came to D.C. in 1953 to go to Howard University. I wanted to be a physician. When I enrolled, I needed a science major, so I picked chemistry. I graduated in 1957 and got into medical school a few years later. I spent a year in medical school and realized that it was not going to be my claim to fame. I left and took a job as a chemist for the Food and Drug Administration. In my time, I also worked with the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. This was the time of Sputnik when they were studying the atmosphere. At the same time, they started to explore the sea. I was involved on the team that was exploring the chemical elements of the Sargasso Sea, off the west coast of Africa. It was a collaboration of several countries and I met scientists from Russia, Brazil, and Germany.

"Meeting all of these people and traveling exposed me to how other countries play checkers. The strategies are similar the world over, but there are different styles of checkers. There is international checkers, with 100 squares and 20 men per side. We play American pool checkers on a 64-square board with 12 men per side. You can move forward one spot, but you can also jump backwards. When you get a king, he can move the entire square on whatever line he is on.

"I didn't start playing on a regular basis until 1980. At the time, we used to play at barber shops and under trees around town. In 1985, we raised enough money to open the club by charging membership dues to pay the rent. This is the only checkers club in Washington, D.C., but they do still play in other places like Mason's Barbershop in N.E. and at cab stands around the city.

"For 25 years, we have been playing here almost every day. We have about 30 members and I have been the president for 20 years. We play in checkers leagues and travel the country for tournaments. This year, we have already been to Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina. Our national tournament is coming up in July in North Carolina. We play competitively among ourselves to get ready for the tournaments. There are five categories of players for the tournaments, from beginner to master. They are: Blue Ribbon, Gold Bar, Junior Master, Master, and Top Master. Last year, I played as a Junior Master and did not lose a game, so I will probably get moved up this year to Master. One of the best checkers players in this club is a guy named Freddie Owens. He is one of the best in the country. He always comes out in the money.

"Everyday that I can, when I finish what I am doing, I am here. They say that people should exercise your body, but you need to exercise your mind, too. We believe that there is a relationship between checkers and warding off Alzheimer's. We have a saying that an idle mind is the devil's workshop. By playing checkers on a regular basis, we exercise our minds and develop a nice sense of camaraderie. Wherever you go, you will find checkers players. We know where to find a good game when we are out of D.C., and most checkers players from out of town know to come find us when they want a good game in Washington.

"See, we are passionate about our game. We love our game."

The Capital Pool Checkers Club is located at 813 S St., N.W.

Yacob on Learning How to Ride a Bike

"I'm seven and in the 2nd grade at Bancroft Elementary School. I just learned how to ride a bike three weeks ago. I saw other people riding bikes and it looked like fun, so I wanted to do it, too. My Mom's friend taught me how to ride. He took me to Turkey Thicket Recreation Center and said, 'Keep looking up and pedal real hard. Whatever you do, don't look down!' I was a little bit scared when I first tried, but he would run along with me holding the bike. I remember when I rode all by myself. I was so excited!

"I am still a beginner, but I can ride really fast. I like to practice in Meridian Hill Park because people here play on the grass, so there are not many people on the sidewalk. Here, I can practice riding uphill and downhill and over curbs. When I get really good, I will be able to do tricks. 

"I like Washington because I have tons and tons of friends and, sometimes, my Mom takes us all to the park so we can ride together and have races. My Mom has a bike and we like to ride together, too. Another reason I like Washington is because we have a home and food and my Mommy has money. We have everything we need, which is important because a lot of people don't have those things."

Bob on Being a Rowing Official

"My son came home from high school one day and said, 'Dad, I signed up for crew and I signed you up to be a parent volunteer.' That was 24 years ago. At the time, I knew nothing about crew. My big activity in college was debate. My daughter is a debater and I used to take her around to all of her debates. My son said, 'If you support her, you have to support me, too.' So I studied the rule book and rowed one summer to see what it was like. It really is a terrific sport. 

"I worked as a parent volunteer for four years and then I thought that I might as well get my license as an official. I had to pass a written and practical exam with a variety of situations. Every year, officials have to go to a clinic to maintain our license. We do all of this for really big pay...nothing. We're all volunteers. I spent my career, 30 years, at the Defense Department and retired a number of years back. Now, I can officiate more regattas. Many of the other officials in the areas are former rowers, parent volunteers, or other retirees. I really love to do this and be out on the water. 

"In my 24 years, I have probably done more regattas at the Georgetown waterfront than anyone else because I love this location. It is a very challenging course. I tell new referees to come and work here because if something is going to go wrong, it will go wrong here. You have fishermen, kayaks, sight seeing and pleasure boats, so you need to be constantly on guard. I have worked a few regattas where a race is cancelled midway through because there is a cabin cruiser in the middle of the course. The local organized committee will reserve the water and send a notice to the Coast Guard who then shares it with mariners. People are supposed to read it, but they usually don't. Those who spend $300,000 on a boat feel like they can do what they want. That's why we, as officials, prefer cold weather for races when there are less people out on the water. As officials, our first, second and third priorities are safety and fourth, fifth and sixth are fairness. 

"Many people don't know that D.C. has by far the largest concentration of high school rowers. When my son started rowing 24 years ago, the area had eight high schools teams. Now, there are 35 or so within the Washington, D.C. area, and 50 between Baltimore and Richmond. Rowing also did a lot for women's athletics in the area. There are more women high school rowers in Washington D.C. than there are men. We also have a lot of women officials in Washington. Now, a lot of colleges come to D.C to recruit rowers. Another interesting fact is that while rowing was an elitist sport in many places, it wasn't so in Washington. For a while, only public schools rowed here. Eventually, private schools were allowed to join. 

"One last funny anecdote. After high school, my son went off to row at Wesleyan University. When he came to live at home after graduating, I told him that if he wanted to not pay rent, he had to sign up to be an official with me. So everything came around full circle after he pushed me into this 24 years ago." 

Anthony aka Big An on Breaking the Cycle

"I'm 14. I was born down on Morris Road. I'm going to school to get educated. I'm in the 9th grade and studying math. I like school because it keeps me out of trouble. You know, it is hard growing up on the streets because people ain't playing out here no more. There ain't no fighting with your hands no more, people go straight to weapons. I try and avoid fighting when I can by staying focused on school and football. 

"See, I want to get out the ghetto when I grow up. My parents and grandparents were born in the ghetto.  They tell me lots of their stories about living here and I don't want to live like that no more. I am going to  break the cycle and get out. When I grow up, I want to be an NFL player. I have been playing football my whole life. Now, I play defensive tackle on my high school team. If that doesn't work out, I will work in technology." 

Big An, left, is pictured with his friend, Brandon.

Cedric on His Way of Running

"I am a young 57. I was born in D.C. General Hospital in 1952. My family history goes way back in D.C. I was raised in Georgetown and came through the Catholic schools as a three-sport athlete. I played basketball, baseball and football. After high school, I got a football scholarship to play defensive back at the Community College of Baltimore. While I was there, I was recruited to play for the University of Pittsburgh. At the time, my high-school sweetheart was having one of my first babies, so I decided not to go. I dream about that missed opportunity all of the time. Tony Dorsett was there at the time, and I would have won a national championship. It would have changed my whole life had I made that move. I am not mad, though, because I am still happy with what I have accomplished. I've been married for 30 years. I have six kids and four grandkids. I am blessed by my family. Everybody has a destiny, and I think that this was my destiny.

"When I didn't go to the University of Pittsburgh, I came back to D.C. to be a bus driver. Ever since I was younger, I had always wanted to drive a bus. I used to see the bus drivers looking all cool and talking to the ladies, and wanted to be just like them. Four months later, I was driving a bus for the southeast division of Metro. I was always good at my job because I am a people person and an excellent driver. I tell you, my driving is smooth. I have driven every route in the city. I did 25 years for Metro and now I have done 12 years driving the mobile lounges at Dulles Airport.

"A friend at Metro got me into running. Before, I was all about playing sports: tennis, basketball, and touch football. I started running with him in 1975 and said, 'This ain't so bad.' Since then, running has changed my life. Because I knew all the bus drivers, I would race the buses from my place on H Street, Northeast, to the White House. I was crushing them. Running forward, I can beat anyone. In 1984, I said, 'Why not start running backwards?' I started doing the spinning thing while I run to work on my endurance. I wanted to make my body stronger. And I am blessed with incredible peripheral vision, so I always know what is around me. When I am on a run, you will always see me moving. I will run in place or spin around the intersections or in the middle of traffic to keep from stopping.

"A lot of people don't know me, but they recognize me because of how I run. See, I am very vocal. I listen to whatever is rocking on the radio and will yell out, "HOOT! HOOT!" to my bus driver friends and the cabbies. Some people have even stopped me and told that I am an inspiration to them. Because of me, some people started exercising. I tell you, I really feel blessed.

"When I first started running, my wife used to say, 'Why you gotta run all the time?' Now, if I don't run, she thinks something is wrong with me. Just like waking up in the morning and washing my face, running is a part of my life. The only reason that I will ever stop is because God wants me to. Until then, I will keep running the same route every other day. I go straight down H Street, past the White House to 20th Street, and come back the same way."

Bijan on the Basketball Capital of the United States

"I came to D.C. in the first grade. My family moved around Washington a couple of times, and we eventually settled in Brookland when I was 8. Moving to that neighborhood got me really interested in sports. One of my neighbors was McKinley Armstrong, the famous basketball coach from McKinley Tech High School. He had a son my age and a hoop in his yard. I always played sports in the neighborhood and eventually started playing on intramural and school teams as I got older. Where I grew up, if you didn’t follow sports, you were out of the lunch-room conversation. Sports became the all-consuming pastime in my life, whether it was playing them, following them, or watching them on TV. 

"After high school, I was playing less, but I was following all of the sports in D.C. religiously, especially basketball, and got interested in writing about sports. Through that, I really learned about Washington's amazing basketball history. Little did I know when I was a little kid that high-school basketball in D.C. is as popular and well-played because of something that happened in a century ago. There was a gentleman with a doctorate from Harvard named E.B. Henderson, who learned basketball from James Naismith, the inventor of the game. Dr. Henderson introduced basketball to schools in the D.C. area, especially the segregated schools, and to the first historic YMCA down on 12th Street, which won a colored national championship in 1910. While D.C. did not have the size, it became a hotbed of basketball. Because of that, by the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s, D.C. had some very good teams. Great local players like Elgin Baylor, Dave Bing, Adrian Dantley, Danny Ferry, and Len Bias are largely an outcome of the growth of the game here, and of the great local high-school basketball programs like Armstrong High, McKinley Tech, Cardozo, De Matha Catholic, and St. Anthony's. Recruiters started beating a path to D.C. to find the next great players. 

"D.C., for its size, has produced more elite college basketball players than any other city. We have also had over 200 players drafted to the NBA from the D.C. area. When Street and Smith's did its 100 greatest college players of all time, ten were from D.C. No other metropolitan area had even close to that many. The former Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach once said that D.C. has the best schoolyard basketball in the country, and he is from Brooklyn. It was a lot of local talent that built some of the great D.C. collegiate basketball programs, like American and Georgetown. When John Thompson left St. Anthony's High School to coach at Georgetown, he brought some players with him to build the nucleus of his first successful team. 

"D.C. athletes, whether in the NBA, college, high school, military, prison, or community leagues, are always some of the most outstanding basketball players. As a writer, I am trying to draw attention to the fact that basketball is an important part of the history of this place, just like the music history, the civil rights history, and the home-rule history. D.C. is not only the capital of the United States, but the basketball capital of the United States."

Read more about D.C. basketball's past, present, and future on Bijan C. Bayne's website and blog. 

Amy on DC SCORES

"I was born in Austin, Texas, but grew up in Falls Church, Virginia. I started playing soccer at age seven. That was the earliest you could play soccer then. Now it is three years old. I grew up in a neighborhood where everyone played in the street. I started playing recreational soccer and then went on to play on travel teams, including the Virginia State Team. Sports was pretty much all I did growing up. Sports is and was a large part of my identity. 

"My college decision was 100 percent informed by soccer. I went to North Carolina State and loved it. The college athletic experience for a non-revenue sport was very familial. I had this group of 20 women who were my best friends, and we spent 40 hours a week together. After college, I coached a lot of youth soccer while doing a number of Master's programs. After my second Master's program, an opening came up at Bryn Mawr, a small Division III women's college, to coach. The college is not exactly an athletic bastion of talent, but it was fun. I felt that my challenge was to harness their natural instinct to be competitive with their moderate soccer ability, to create a fun and competitive experience on the soccer field.

"After Bryn Mawr, I moved to D.C. because my husband, who is from D.C., was living here and I got a job with DC SCORES. D.C. SCORES is one of the largest after-school programs in D.C. We have about 730 kids in our program. Our goal is to get students involved in school and physically fit through soccer, and to bring up their self-worth and sense of belonging in the community. There is a natural complimentary skill set between a sport like soccer and self-expression. When kids trust each other on the soccer field, they feel comfortable to write about their communities, share stories about their lives, and work on group projects to figure out how to change their communities.

"One of the interesting things about working here is seeing how soccer is viewed differently in different neighborhoods. In Columbia Heights, some of these kids grew up around soccer, but have never played in an organized league. East of the river, many students have never heard about soccer before they join our program. Some of the coaches at those schools have basketball and football backgrounds and are new to soccer, so they will tell the kids, 'Okay, you've got the ball. It's like you're the quarterback, go boost the ball.' 'Quarterback' in soccer? 'Boost' the ball? But it works and the kids really love playing." 

Amy Nakamoto is the Executive Director of DC SCORES.

J.B. on D.C.'s Rich Sports History

"I am a native Washingtonian and like to call this city a big country town. I was a basketball star a few pounds ago, to say the least. I am blessed to have played at Dematha High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, one of the great national power houses. Dematha helped to put high school basketball on the map as a sport to watch. Lew Alcindor, most people know him as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, only lost one game in high school and two in in college. Each of those games involved someone from Dematha. He would rip me when I saw him by not giving me the best interview.

"After high school, I was blessed to use my athletic talent to go to a great academic college, Harvard. From there, I thought that I was going to be a professional basketball player. While it didn't work out to be a player, I have been blessed to be on the periphery of sports as a sports broadcaster. There are a number of people from Washington D.C. who had a hand in my career, starting with Petey Greene. It was on his program, on the old WDCA Channel 20, that he steered me over to the sports department to interview for a position as an analyst for the then Washington Bullets.

"When I think back on sports in D.C., I think of the old Washington Senators. As a little kid, I was a baseball fanatic. While I wasn't born at the time, I think about the old Negro League baseball teams that played here, especially the Homestead Grays. My grandfather owned a baseball team down in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, appropriately called the Black Sox. I would listen to all of the old guys talk about playing baseball along the Chitlin' Circuit, as they called it.

"I think about the Washington Bullets and their championship year in 1979 when Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes and that group played. Washington was really quite a proud and  hopping place then. I was so excited about getting to be a part of that sports history when I came on a year after they won as an analyst. The Bullets then went on to have some pretty tough years, but things turned around. Now, if you look at the Wizards, they got rid of all of their marquee players and even though they are playing with 'lesser known layers,' they're still winning.

"Collegiately. we have some excellent teams in the area from George Mason where they had that NCAA Tournament run a few years ago with Coach Jim Larranaga. Maryland is always going to be in the thick of things. I am very proud of Georgetown and the John Thompson legacy that continues there. Washington has a rich sports history and I am very proud to be a part of that."

James Brown, 'J.B.,' a 1969 graduate of Dematha Catholic High School, is the current host of The NFL Today on CBS and Inside the NFL on Showtime. See his 60 Minutes interview with Michael Vick here. 

Jair on Authenticity

“Washington was a very manageable place for me as a young person. After elementary school, I attended Sidwell Friends School and also started gymnastics. That created a very broad world for me because I had my neighborhood, my school, and my sport, all in very different places that didn’t overlap at all.

"Sidwell is urban with strong attempts to create diversity, but a largely upper-middle-class school student base. Gymnastics was in suburban Columbia, Maryland. In Columbia, you saw kids pampered, in a good way, by their environment. And I grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, Shepherd Park, where most kids went to parochial schools. Our neighborhood was full of aspirations, of people wanting to move up the economic ladder. Traveling among these three worlds taught me about the notion of place really early in life. That very much weaved into the desire to be in real estate.

"One of the reasons I came back to D.C. from California in 1998 is that it didn’t really change much in the ten years I was gone. You still had those three worlds, and they really didn’t talk to each other. I was still very lucky to be able to move among those three worlds. The connectivity among these places creates the new buzzword that everyone talks about now -- authenticity. I wanted to work in the neighborhoods where I thought one could create authentic places, areas like Shaw and U Street. As a firm, we have been working for the last 12 years to make those places have a soul. We are mindful of the past as we move forward.

"This authenticity reflects a huge shift in urban development. Now we have a young population much larger than the baby boomers who had been the bulk of our demographic weight and dictating policy for the last 40 years. There are 60 million baby boomers and 150 million Gen X and Gen Y-ers. These young people want urban and authentic. Developers are recognizing that and responding. Some will do it well and some won’t. We think we do it well because we start with the people. When we imagine things, we try and think about what people will need five or ten years out from now.

"We have a very systematic approach to creating space. It involves thirty steps and identifies location, need, customer, and how the space interacts with the neighborhood and its assets. Once we do that, it becomes like an engineering project. You work step by step and go around in circles, over and over, until you come up with a project. It is not much different than trying to come up with the best cupcake or cell phone. You have design, research, finance, and marketing teams, who all work around the clock through forty iterations of something to create a product that will endure. We do the same thing with real estate."

Jair Lynch is President and CEO of Jair Lynch Development Partners. Jair was a two-time member of the United States Olympic Team. In 1996, as captain of the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team, he won a silver medal on the parallel bars.

Craig on Wheelchair Rugby

"I'm 32 and work for Lockheed Martin in information research. I started using a wheelchair when I was 21. I have a neurological condition where I can't really feel pain. I used to walk, but my legs have been getting weaker and weaker with time. My doctor said that I should start using a wheelchair, as I get really tired from walking. Now, I use the wheelchair 95-98% of the time to save my energy and legs.

"About three years ago, I started playing wheelchair rugby. The team started in about 2006 with support from the National Institute of Health. I started showing up for practices and eventually got my chair, which is custom made out of aircraft aluminum. This chair is only 25 lbs and costs $3,000. The chair is made specifically for wheelchair rugby and designed for a lot of impact. In this sport, you are trying to hunt down people and hit them.

"I tried out wheelchair basketball, but rugby is more active and high contact. It is kill or be killed. It is like football, almost. We have about 12 people on our team. You only need four people on the court at a time. I was born hard of hearing, which makes this sport even more interesting. In wheelchair rugby, everything is about communication and yelling: go left, go right, pick, he's coming up behind you, stuff like that. I can't hear well, so I have to be constantly paying attention to everything.

"Most of the guys on the team have their injuries from car or diving accidents. Fortunately, I'm on the higher end as I can take care of myself, but there are guys on the team who need help getting in-and-out of their chairs. But, we don't really look at each other as being disabled. We are just normal people who get together to play rugby. That's all it is."

Scarlet O'Snap on the D.C. Rollergirls

"I grew up in Baltimore. Every Saturday, I used to skate at the Putty Hill Skateland, where the Charm City Roller Girls started. When I was younger, I was really athletic and then, in college, I basically did absolutely nothing until I joined the derby four years ago. That was around the same time that the league got started. One of my good friends lives in Chicago, where I went to undergrad, and started the Windy City Rollers. She said, 'When D.C. gets a roller league, you need to join.' I finally saw something on Craigslist and joined the derby because I wanted a different social scene. I really stuck with it because I liked the athletic part.

"D.C. used to have a derby league called the Washington Jets, which was a co-ed, banked-track derby league in the 70's. I don't know what happened to them, but what we do is obviously very different. Our league started after the Rollergirls TV series on A&E, but the whole movement began well before that. The Texas Roller Girls were really the first modern derby league. It was very theatrical and wrestling-like. Rather than a penalty box, they had a spank alley where you would get spanked. Now, it draws more athletic people who don't want an alter ego on the track or all the theatrics. I am the same on and off the track. I do have a derby name, Scarlet O'Snap, but I'm kind of over it now. I wanted something recognizable and sassy, and thought it was really funny four years ago when I picked it. 

"The thing that makes D.C. really different from other leagues is how transient of a city this is. It is hard to keep people on for more than one season. We have three home teams: Scare Force One, The Cherry Blossom Bombshells and the D.C. Demoncats. We did have a fourth team, the Secretaries of Hate, which we had to fold because we didn't have enough people. We are also known as a conservative league around the country because we're not all covered in tattoos, and we all have 9-5 jobs as lawyers and teachers, or work for non-profits. I don't think there's one person in this league who does not have a 9-5 career, whereas in other leagues, it's more the counterculture: bartenders and artists. But that is not what D.C. is like at all.

"I don't think a lot of people recognize how much of a time commitment this is. We practice four-to-five times a week. We have nine bouts a season, plus a championship. We also all have responsibilities off the track. We're all required to do stuff to support the league. It is very D.C.-ish that we have a highly structured board and everyone knows how to run non-profits. It's also a very D.C. thing that we have people who work from 9-6, have kids and do this, too. D.C. is actually a bit of an older league, with most people being in their late 20s and 30's. The league has no coaches and we are all self-taught. We run our own practices and have our own trainers. The refs are mostly people's boyfriends, husbands, or fans who want to get more involved. All of this creates a well-oiled machine of awesomeness!"

Read more about the D.C. Rollergirls here. 

Debra on Flow Yoga Center

"I was living in San Francisco and I had a terrible break up. Though I love that city more than anything in the world, I felt that nudge to do something different. I was working for a company that had an office in Berkeley and D.C. I encouraged my boss to think about opening a branch in NYC. He agreed and I moved to New York. I was the only person in the office, and I did sales and marketing for a company that sold software to non-profit organizations. I was in New York for a while and, at some point during my time there, I started to date one of my clients who was based in D.C. That was Ian, the man I ended up marrying. We started to date long distance and then a year into my time in New York, my boss said that I should come back to San Francisco or move to D.C.

"So much of me wanted to move back to San Francisco, but I came to D.C. At that point, I was only dating Ian for about six months and I don't think we had said I love you yet. But there was something that made me decide to go to D.C. I had the conversation with Ian about moving to D.C. and asked his opinion.  In a typical way, he said it would be really great if I came to D.C., but I shouldn't do it for him. So I did and moved a mile away from him. He was very welcoming and, in the end, it all worked out. 

"At the time, I was getting bored of my job and feeling the calling towards yoga. I had been practicing for about ten years. I met a bunch of women on a yoga retreat as soon as I moved to D.C. We would get together every couple of weeks and talk and support each other. We decided to read this book called 'The Artist's Way.' It is twelve steps to uncovering your passions and creativity. Throughout the workbook, there are different questions and one of them was, 'If money and time were no object, what would you do?' Out of nowhere, I blurted out that I would open a yoga studio.  I had never thought of it before. Sure enough, that following year, I opened Flow. 

"We found this place and Flow came about in 2005. I really liked this neighborhood and as I was walking around one day, I saw the liquor store, looked up and saw the empty space above. I went to the liquor store and asked who owned the building. The guy said, 'No one,' but it turned out he was not so welcoming because he didn't think that I was serious. He actually owned the building. This was a total raw space when we moved in. We had to do a full build-out. The business plan was pretty easy to make. I interviewed other studio owners, which was really helpful. The other thing that was really helpful was that I had money to open the studio because a company that I worked for in San Francisco was bought by Amazon, so I got all of this Amazon stock. A lot of people sold, but I held onto it and used that stock to open this place. I realize that not everyone has that same luxury. I feel fortunate that I was able to pursue my passion." 

Flow Yoga Center is located at 1450 P Street Northwest.  

Ian, left, is pictured with Debra. 

Brenda on Loving the Redskins

"I grew up in Baltimore and went to the Briarwood School for Women in Connecticut to take a two-year college course in the legal field. After school, I went back to Baltimore, but it had changed for me. I was ready for a new city. I worked as a secretary in a law firm in Baltimore for a few years and then moved to D.C. in 1975. Most of my career has been spent in the field of law. In D.C., I worked at Williams and Connolly for 21 years. I left there to to work for a Federal District Court Judge who was a former partner in Williams and Connolly. I left her in 2006 to work in the Executive Branch. You know, I really miss the law and still read the Legal Times online. I witnessed so much history with the law firms. I worked on the Hinckley case and Oliver North. Most of what we did was white-collar crime, which I really liked. I don’t have a master's degree, but I have been around the block a little bit. I have been fortunate enough to meet a lot of people, including Presidents Bush and Obama.

"One of the greatest things about working for Williams and Connolly was that, at the time, Edward Bennett Williams, the founder of the firm, was also the owner of the Washington Redskins. At the time, he also acquired the Baltimore Orioles. Well, he couldn’t have major stock ownership in two major teams so chose to give up ownership of the Redskins. Before he did that, I was able to purchase season tickets through Mr. Williams because any employee could buy tickets, all you had to do was ask him. So, I did, and have been a season ticket holder since 1981. That is when I became a real Redskins fan. As I am from Baltimore, I was, and always will be, a Baltimore Colts fan. I was really angry when they moved to Indianapolis. In my heart, they are still the Baltimore Colts. I still follow them and they remain my true love, but I love the Redskins, too.

"Now, I have a daughter who is 27 and a die hard Redskins fan. I can’t do the cold, but she is out at the stadium no matter how cold it is. She absolutely loves the Redskins. For Christmas, I gave her a Redskins key chain, socks, toothbrush, pajamas, earmuffs, cap, coat, and tennis shoes. I have had my tickets since 1981 and will probably turn them over to her. I have been through so much with that team that I will never let the tickets leave my family. I remember my proudest moment was when they won the Super Bowl in 1982. I was working at the law firm and they let us go to the parade. It was raining and I was still out there. Meeting some of the Redskins was like meeting God! My saddest moment was when Lawrence Taylor took out Joe Theismann and the death of Sean Taylor. He was just too young.

"Now, it is pretty depressing to be a Redskins fan. I only went to two games this year because they weren’t playing good enough for me to go sit in that parking lot for two hours trying to get out of the stadium at the end of the game. But, I don’t care if I miss every other game, I will never miss opening day at the stadium. People are so ready for football, I know that I am. I feel like you can explode when football season is back. I get so excited. To me, that is the number one best day of the year, opening day. I am hoping that Shanahan, the new coach, will bring renewed hope and spirit to the city of Washington."

Gregory on Seven Marathons on Seven Continents

"I have been fortunate to have two great jobs in a row in this city. First, I worked as Mayor Williams' Deputy Chief of Staff. When we came in, the mayor did not have control over most of the government. We had rotary phones and nothing worked. When you look at this city almost twelve years later, I have tremendous pride in the progress. Then, I went over to the Nationals and became the Vice President of Government and Municipal Affairs. I am not a sports person by training, but I believe that the stadium has the capacity to be an incredibly positive civic expression for this city. Every world-class city in America has a baseball team. It is part of the American tradition. We have had a whole generation of kids who grew up without a baseball team after the Senators left. That changed with the arrival of the Nationals.

"You know, there is an impression that D.C. can't do anything right, but, lo and behold, the ballpark was built on budget and in record time. The stadium has the capacity to mix people of all colors, ages and incomes like very few places in this city. Sometimes, you see three generations of a family coming to a game together and you realize that you are helping to create memories. I remember vividly going to see baseball games with my father. I think that the ballpark has the capacity to do that for this city.

"While I work in baseball, my other athletic passion is running. I started running marathons in my forties. In 2002, I was training with Phil Fenty and he had an extra entry for the Marine Core Marathon. With six weeks' notice, I decided to enter and then got hooked. Marathons are a great way to see a city. When you live in D.C. for almost thirty years and then you run a marathon here, the perspective is totally different. First of all, when you run and are not driving, you become very aware of how far things really are from each other. Also, you see things from the middle of the road. Normally, you view things from one side or another, but how often do you have the luxury of seeing the vista of a city and its streets from the middle of the road? Also, when you go east of the river, you realize that it is the first time that many people are going to Anacostia. I had been there before, but many of the runners hadn't. There are some beautiful parks and neighborhoods over there and the people are so friendly. I would hope that the marathons encourage people to go back to visit those areas.

"My own marathon running has taken me all over the world, including, most recently, to Antarctica. Now, I have run seven marathons on seven continents. There is a really special feeling when you travel to these international cities and meet people from all around the world. You are all equal. You don't need to speak the same language because for 26.2 miles you are all doing the same thing. There is such camaraderie.

"In Antarctica, other people were there for their country and I wanted to be there for D.C. I wanted to do it for the running community here and to represent our city. I wasn't sure if I was the first D.C. resident or not to do it; there remains some dispute. It was an incredible experience. The race that I did has been run by fewer than 80 people. I had no idea it would develop into such a big deal, and I was surprised to see that the Washington Post article written about me made the front page ahead of Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize! I guess my story appealed to people's sense of adventure. What does a middle-age guy do to be different? I recognize that I got all of this attention because I have a passport and means to travel. My reason for going was not solely about athleticism, but about the unknowing part of someone's mind that wants to do something different and seek out adventure."

Gregory is pictured with his medal from the 2009 Antarctic Ice Marathon. Read about Gregory's trip to Antarctica in the Washington Post here and here.

Curtis on Push Ups for the President

“I’m 48, the same age as the President. I started doing push ups in front of the White House when the Obama’s got here. That was a monumental day, a historic moment, for everyone. It really inspired me to become active. Before this, I was a couch potato and bookworm. Now, I come out six days a week. I don't do seven because the Lord tells us to rest on one of those days.

"Since the White House and Obama are now on the world’s stage, I decided to start doing my work outs on that stage. It's my contribution to myself and the President. If you go to a gym, you see people who go all out and hard and get crazy. I don’t do that. I go steady and easy, kind of like a politician, you know what I am saying. But still, I be out here knocking down sets of push ups like I'm bowling. I just pump out as many as I can. When I am not here, I work as a public servant.”

Courtney and Nancy on Cross-Country Skiing

Nancy - "Courtney and I talked about going cross-country skiing in the city when it started snowing. I did it once before, but this was her first time. This morning, Courtney skied over to my house on V Street from Adams Morgan. We skied together over to the Metro and took it to the Navy Memorial. Then we head over to the Mall to ski. It was incredible! The Mall was a field of white. We saw a couple of snowshoers and skiers, but we pretty much had to forge our own trails. We were really happy to do it and people were excited to see us skiing in the middle of the city. We'd like to try other places to ski this week, maybe in Rock Creek Park. D.C. is a great place to cross-country ski, as it is nice and flat."

Courtney - "People really got into seeing us skiing on the Mall, especially the European tourists. They said, 'Now that is how you should be getting around today!' I have walked the Mall a number of times and I was there for Inauguration. But something about skiing there, including past the place where I stood during the Obama Inauguration, was enchanting. The Mall had a little magic to it with all of the snow. You know, coming home, we felt like we were in a ski town in Colorado. We were standing with our skis at the bus stop, like it was a shuttle taking us back to the hotel. In this case, it was the 54 bus taking us to get Bloody Marys at Marvin."

Nancy, left, is pictured with Courtney.

Chris on Rowing on the Anacostia River

"I go to Gonzaga High School and have been rowing for three years now. At first, I didn’t know what rowing was, but I didn’t make the basketball team and thought I would give it a try. Now, I am the stroke man for our boat, which means I set the pace. It is a big team sport because you have seven other guys with you in the boat. We all need to work together seamlessly. Our crew program was not that great, but it has really turned around. Last year, we were national champions. We went to race in England at the Henley Royal Regatta. We made the semi-finals there. That is a big deal for us, the school and this city. It is one of the most important races in the world. In the area, we have a big rivalry with St. Albans School. We have a big race every year called the Foley Cup, or God Cup as we like to call it. It is always a really close race, but we won this year.

"Rowing in D.C is nice because we practice on the Anacostia River. The water is usually pretty good except in early February when it gets windy and rough. The river gets a bad rap, but there is a beautiful, small strip of water that we call Narnia because it is always flat. We named it after the C.S. Lewis books. It is this nice little area where both us and the University of Maryland practice. It really shows how beautiful the river used to be.

"My time rowing in this city has been wonderful. You really bond with the guys. I have strong friendships with my teammates and even when I meet other rowers who I don’t know, there is this bond. I mean, we work so hard every day and get up at crazy hours. That kind of insane life is going to bring people together. I really want to continue rowing in college. I am going to miss rowing in this city a lot."

Read more about Gonzaga High School from Kevin.

Kevin on Coming Back to Gonzaga

“I teach English and coach freshman football at Gonzaga High School. My older brothers and every male cousin, that’s ten of us, went to Gonzaga. It will sound crazy, but not only did my brothers and I go to the same high school, we also all went to Gettysburg College. Like me, my older brother Chris came back to Gonzaga to coach and teach after college. This place gets into your blood and you want to give back to it. I never thought I’d be a teacher, but when I got the opportunity to come back to Gonzaga, I jumped at it. This school did so much for me in terms of taking a narrow-minded suburban kid and opening up my eyes to the fact that there are people who don’t get all they need in life.

“For me, this school is a great representation of DC. We get a diverse group of kids: city kids, suburban kids, rich kids and poor kids. When you get them all together in this place, it sorta wakes up kids to the fact that there is a world outside of their suburban subdivisions or their inner city apartment buildings. And I think with this school being in a tough neighborhood, kids are forced to see the hardships of urban living. Gonzaga is not in some beautiful suburb. When these kids walk into school every day, they are walking by guys asking for money who have nothing. There is a soup kitchen across the street. Kids don’t need to learn about poverty when they see it every day. All kids need to have a perspective like this. These are going to be the future leaders of the world. How can you lead if you think that everyone is like you and has the same problems and the easy life that you do?

“One of the reasons I got back into coaching is because athletics are the best way to teach kids how to deal with adversity. And a lot of the kids coming to this school, even if they come from the best economic situations, are all gonna deal with or are dealing with adverse situations. Athletics is also a great way to bring kids together. I’m the head freshman football coach. These guys, from such different backgrounds, they come together right away on the field. Out here, privilege doesn’t matter, everyone is on the same team. It’s hard to explain what I see happen to these kids. In a short time on the field, they grow up both physically and mentally and learn to trust and depend on each other. These relationships last and being an alumnus of this school, the friends I met that first day of football tryouts are still my best friends. They will probably be the groomsmen at my wedding and the Godfathers to my children. Now, I get to watch these relationships develop among my athletes. Coming back to Gonzaga means a lot to me. This is a really special place for me.”

Gonzaga High School is located at 19 Eye Street NW.

J on Streetball

“I’m originally from Maryland, but I live in Washington, DC now. I’ve been playing basketball my whole life. My father, since I was young, always put a basketball in my hand. Ever since then, it was a family thing. We all play.

“Now, I'm a point guard on my high school team. I learned a lot playing organized ball, but out here is where I learned my real skills. Each and every day, I practice and try and get better on the courts in DC. You know, streetball is something that is in our blood. We don’t do this for money, we do this for the love of the game and for respect. It brings people together. As you can see, all of my friends are out here playing basketball and it keeps us out of trouble. And, you’re respected for being a good player back in the neighborhood. People walk around and see me and say, “Hey, he’s a good basketball player.” That is a good thing to be known for.

“I play in a lot of places now with my school: Miami, North Carolina, Virginia, Tampa, and Maryland. And, I’ve played streetball in those places, too. But, DC streetball is real tough and gritty compared to those courts, you know what I'm saying? I’m telling you, these courts are tough. Just come check it out and you’ll see what I’m talking about. We take basketball seriously up here in DC."

Some of DC's best streetball is at Barry Farms in Southeast, home to the Goodman League. Check out video of DC streetballers here.