When someone recommends a dish or a cocktail around town, I add it to a running list and try to get to it when the perfect situation arises. For the January make-up interview with Manor Road Summer Athlete of The Season Victoria Harvey, the highly recommended, perfectly balanced, refreshing, sweet, and salty margarita at Workhorse on North Loop was a natural choice. Victoria is one of many delightful athletes who are now established veterans and pillars of society at The Shop and yet new to me as they arrived after I left DBS in 2017. It was humbling and magnificent to verse myself in the life and times of this extraordinary woman to the soundtrack of 80’s and 90’s country hits after a Sunday Community Workout.
“George Strait is from Texas, so You Should Probably Move to Texas”
My family always makes cinnamon rolls for Christmas.
That sounds wonderful- do you make them from scratch?
Yes. Yes… And my little niece helped out.
How long does that take?
Like three hours, but you’re not baking the whole time because you have to let the dough rise.
How did you come to be such a prodigious baker?
I always loved to bake and then when I moved to Austin, I wanted to find ways to meet people, so I used to take classes at Make it Sweet. And that is where I learned more recipes and got into it even more.
When did you move to Austin?
Five years ago. I was living in the bay area at the time and I had always lived in Northern California. I didn’t want to stay in the bay area because it gets kind of packed so I just looked out for something different. It was actually going to be here or North Carolina and my mom decided that North Carolina was just too far away from her. My mom loves George Strait and she said, “George Strait is from Texas, so you should probably move to Texas.”
That will probably be the title of this interview.
She is also a big Spurs fan so she is very happy that I live here now.
Does she visit often?
She does. She asks me a lot of questions about The Shop- she asked me if we have a sauna *laughs*
Did you tell her that sometimes in the summer it feels like a sauna?
I took her by The Hyde Park Shop and then she understood- I used to work out at Lifetime Fitness and so I think she was confused about what The Shop is.
How did you come to be at The Shop rather than Lifetime?
I actually received a Shop membership in a silent auction package from Junior League. It was actually four months- so thank you- but it was long enough to get me hooked. John (Gates Whiteley our esteemed Director of Operations) always gives me shit about this, but it was the last item in the package that I used. That was only because it was the furthest from me and it had no expiration date. I used to work downtown so it was easy to go to Manor on my lunch break. Now I say that I saved the best for last.
Nice way of spinning it. What is work for you?
I am an electrical engineer. We design test equipment for the military and military contractors.
What do you enjoy about your work.
I’m really into analogue circuits-
Can you break down what an analogue circuit is?
Right, because people won’t know unless they’re an engineer… So a digital circuit is binary- a zero or a one. Analogue is everything else- basically all of your power circuits, the circuit that controls your battery, your audio is analogue-
Even if it is an MP3?
(Very patiently humoring me) So an MP3 is a digital signal that goes through a decoder and the actual output is analogue. I mean, you don’t really want to listen to a digital signal.
Interesting- what sort of project would you work on with an analogue circuit?
A lot of what I have worked on is called power management circuits, which really should be called, for non-engineers, battery management. Basically it is my job to try to make sure a battery lasts as long as possible.
That’s cool! As I record this on an iphone…
Everything I have is apple. When I go home I don’t want to be an engineer anymore. I do have to fix things for my mom- that is the side effect of being an engineer, everyone is like “Hey, this isn’t working, can you fix it?” This usually leads to me googling it and then just pretty much turning it off then on again.
What is the weirdest thing you’ve had to fix?
So my mom is a farmer- I grew up on a vineyard in California- she doesn’t even have an email address. I have to fix the internet a lot for the internet providers back home.
Really? You have to help the internet providers back home in California?
*mild sigh* Yeah.
We’ve got a lot of engineers and technologically inclined people at The Shop, do you think there is something about this style of workout that particularly appeals to that kind of person?
I like lifting because there are a lot of numbers involved. Kelly Foster and I talk about this a lot because Kelly likes numbers- so you can plot your one rep max and like see the trends. Him and I both like that.
Have you plotted your numbers?
I have a chart. Yeah!
That is amazing- what does the chart show?
You really shoot up at first and then you plateau a bit. *pulls out her phone* I don’t have my chart with me, but I’ve got my numbers- I have my macros and my PRs here. You can see that my deadlift shot way up but my front squat stayed pretty consistent. I only started tracking in my phone like a year after I started at The Shop, so it doesn’t include the first time I went through Community Gains. The first time I tried to max my deadlift I think I only went for like 150lbs because I had never really lifted heavy before and it is such a weird feeling.
Can you talk about that weird feeling- is it anxiety?
There is definitely a lot of adrenaline in it, but I think you have to do a lot to know when you can do more (weight) and when you can’t. In your every day life, you’re not a farmer, you’re not lifting heavy weights all the time- my mom does… My mom is one of the strongest people you could meet- but she has terrible form.
I think you should bring your mom during the Summer and have her sign up for the Strong Person Mini-Meet.
She would probably win it. She pushes literal tons of grapes around, so yeah she would probably do very well.
Oh! Daisy is running away. For those of you reading along, Daisy is Victoria’s tiny dog that looks like a little 8lb wizard and she is currently sliding under a four inch opening at the bottom of the fence on the patio here.
And that is nothing- she could probably get under a two inch opening.
So you talk to Kelly about numbers, who are some other people you interact with often at The Shop?
I started off going to 11:45am classes so I partnered with Rachel Maguire- but now I’m a 6:30am person so I’m sad because I don’t get to see Rachel anymore. Jake Simpson-
Fabulous mustache.
He’s a great guy and I have a nephew named Jake and a cousin who is a fireman. And then John (Gates Whiteley) and I are both Pac12 people, but he is a terrible Trojans fan. Stanford is the best school in the Pac12.
As a University of Arizona man, I might disagree… but I won’t. Because we suck.
But I’m meeting lots of really cool people in the 6:30am class, so that is great.
I’ve subbed that class a few times and there really seems to be a great energy in that class.
Yeah! Surprisingly so, because I feel like we’re all still half asleep. But we’re all still going for it.
What causes that bonding and energy at that hour?
I feel like with Shop workouts in general, compared to every other place I’ve worked out (and I’ve done pretty much everything out there), The Shop changes it up more. Like I always get bored at other places. With lifting you always feel like you’re progressing- with other places I felt like I got a workout, but I never felt like I was getting progress. Part of being an engineer is that you always want to get better at something-
You want the numbers to back it up. Is there a number or goal you’re particularly proud of?
I think just doing Strong Person and Push & Pull was pretty cool. And I got 3rd place in the sled push which I was not expecting!
Had you competed in anything like that before?
Um… I used to raise pigs and I would show my pigs. I was in 4H.
*at this point in the interview a random woman at another table shouts out “Berkshires forever!”. She and Victoria then proceed to dive into a fascinating side conversation about the different types of markings and colors on pig butts!*
So, showing a pig is a lot like a body-building competition. But, like, you want more fat on a pig because you want your pig to taste good. You don’t eat humans…
Typically.
*laughing* Yes, typically!
*The other pig-raising woman on the patio jumped in again to have a spirited conversation with Victoria about 4H and to congratulate her on being athlete of the season. Never one to miss an advertising opportunity, I invited the woman to our next Community Workout… shameless*
So the 4 H’s stand for head, heart, health and hands: I pledge my head to clear thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my health to better living, and my hands to larger service. My mom would be so proud that I remembered that!
I’m very impressed!
So I was in 4H from the time I was 4 years old until I was 18- you can’t start raising pigs until you’re 9. You can have bunnies and chickens when you’re little, but I just waited and went straight to pigs because my older sister did pigs-
The title of this interview now could also be “my older sister did pigs”. Just throwing it out there.
*laughing nervously* so yeah, I know lots of weird things about pigs if you ever want to know anything. So that is why I am in Junior League now, which is how I ended up at The Shop.
What exactly is Junior League?
Junior League is an all woman’s charity group- we do things all over town. Last year I volunteered at Thinkery and this year I’m doing something called “Food in Tummies”. A lot of kids on assisted lunch plans don’t get food on the weekends, so we put together bags of food for them for the weekend.
Here’s a question that comes up often in these interviews- do you have a least favorite exercise or movement?
I have a weird knee, so I hate anything that involves jumping. Box jumps are my least favorite thing. I also have vertigo.
*The other 4H alum/former pig raiser sitting on the patio chimes in telling us that she completely skinned her shin because a trainer pushed her to jump to a box at a height she wasn’t comfortable with. I assured he, we do no such thing at Dane’s Body Shop and Victoria went full-on shill for The Shop, touting our reasonably-sized classes, considerate coaching, and accommodating programming. Thanks V!*
Do you have a favorite lift or movement?
I really like power cleans, back squats, and front squats- any leg movement.
You are a pretty regular 3-4 times a week member, have you noticed that regularity with your workouts influencing anything about your life outside of the gym?
I’m definitely a lot stronger- particularly my back. I always had really bad shoulder problems and it has definitely helped that out a lot. A stronger core- I live on the third floor and I can carry more groceries up now. My upper body is much stronger- I spend all day at a desk probing circuit boards, so this has really helped my shoulders. That is one of my goals- to do a pull-up. Just one. Then I’m going to walk out the door and you’re never going to see me again.
You’re running a long-con on us!
*laughing* No… the thing that I like about The Shop is I think you get a personal training experience without having to pay the price of a personal trainer. And you get to meet lots of cool people. I was talking to a guy recently who was saying he felt like women could be more social when they workout because they go to classes and men just hang out by themselves in weight racks. I told him, “Not at The Shop”.
I always encourage talking at The Shop- even if it is members talking while I am trying to coach; I’ll playfully yell, but I like to see people talking. Okay, lets get in to a bit of speed round. I know we talked about Vogue’s 70 questions and I don’t have 70 for you, but I think I’ll get some fun answers from you. So, what is your favorite holiday?
I’ve always liked Easter because I like the colors and it is around my birthday. I really like decorating Easter cookies.
Do you have a favorite Halloween costume you’ve ever deployed?
I like the cheerleader that Daisy and I did at The Shop.
That was really good. What are you good at making? Aside from baked goods…
Anything. I’m an engineer, so I can make anything.
So does that mean you would be a handy person to have around in the event of a zombie apocalypse?
See the thing is that I create everything on a computer and then it gets sent off to China to be actually built.
So I need to find the Chinese person that you are sending the designs off to for my survival team then?
Yeah. My mom calls me an academic airhead. I was really good in school and stuff, but normal people things, I’m not so good at. My mom might be who you want.
I’ll have you give me her address off the air. What was your first pet?
My first pet that was mine was an orange and white cat named Mickey and then I had a big fluffy Chow named Patrick. My mom claims that we went to the pound looking for a dog and then Patrick was just in the car. I just took him.
You kidnapped the dog?
Yeah. But then my mom signed the paperwork-
Just trying to un-commit a misdemeanor? I get it. Did you have a favorite pet? Aside from Daisy of course.
I loved all of my pigs even though they weren’t “pets”. I named them all after berries.
Do you eat bacon?
I do. It is weird when you grow up (on farms) because I always went to slaughterhouses. So I knew what meat was. I think it is just really different when you grow up around it.
Do you have a favorite book?
Alice in Wonderland.
Favorite Movie?
Good Will Hunting. I was super in to the math part of it even as a child.
Ya nerd! Do you have a go to dance move?
I am a terrible dancer so I am this type of person *makes an awkward smile and begins nervously shuffling her shoulders*
Do you have a favorite place to go out in Austin?
The Shop.
The Shop? You suck up! My goodness… Do you have a favorite place to grab a taco or another favorite food?
Oooo… Valentina’s. It is down south off of Manchaca and it is Tex Mex Barbecue. My favorite thing there is the tortillas.
If there was a song that played every time you entered The Shop or some other room, what would it be?
Oh, that is really hard. I’ll have to think about that.
We can come back to it. If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be?
I’ve thought about this one a lot. I would want Nicola Tesla and Dolly Parton. I love country and I’ve actually decided on my entrance song. It would be George Strait’s “Not Here for a Long Time, but Here for a Good Time.” I just feel like (Tesla and Dolly) are polar opposites right? But I feel like if I were to write an autobiography it would be called “When Dolly Met Tesla.”
So if someone were to make a movie version of “When Dolly Met Tesla”, who would play you?
I’ve been told that I look like Liv Tyler. I have a friend who compares me to Cher from Clueless-
You have a very California cadence to the way you speak. On the note of your appearance, I’ve been dying to ask… the grey streak in your hair-
It’s a birthmark.
I love it so much. I love your hair. If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?
I saw a Ricky Gervais sketch once and he said that he’d want to have the power to call bullshit on things. He would just pop up and say “bullshit” and then leave.
That is great. And finally, do you have any words of wisdom that you would like to bequeath to the Dane’s Body Shop community?
Just try it. I would say just do it, but that’s Nike right? For me, there were so many things that when coaches were demoing it and I was like, “I’m not going to be able to do that.” You just have to try and see what happens.
Well Victoria, we’re about to go off the air. Thank you for your time- Daisy, thank you for your time.
