Q & A With Inspiring People.
This Guy! Let me introduce you to my dear friend, Rib Hillis. Rib and I have worked together for years and I have always been enamoured by the combination of his talent and passion for his family. Rib has been a successful model working for clients, such as Versace, Armani, Hugo Boss, Ferre Uomo Vogue, GQ, Esquire, and Mens Health. He was a regular on the ABC soap opera Port Charles and since has been on numerous other shows including Ugly Betty, Two and a Half Men, and my favorite where he played himself as the handsome handy man/ designer on Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition. Rib has continued in front of the camera starring in several movies, hosting shows and he has even started producing. He is the proud father of 10 year old boy/girl twins, newly married and has a baby on the way! All this while maintaining his pristine 42 years young appearance. So I asked him 8 questions to get some insight on how he manages to do it all. 
1. What is your work out regimen?
I try to stay active everyday, this could be lifting weights, running, calisthenics, swimming, surfing, rock climbing, wrestling with my kids or some combinations of these. I look at fitness as a lifestyle, something you do every day. It's not a phase or a hobby. If I want to put on some size or lean out for a role, I will modify my routine accordingly. But in general, I have found a good homeostasis with my workouts and my body. Key is to stay active.
2.Tell us what you eat on a regular day?
I don't have any strict dietary rules. I do try to eat healthy, fresh fruits and vegetables, organic products. I love salads. I eat dairy, love yogurt and milk. I also eat red meat, fish and poultry...really just about anything. One thing I do try to avoid is processed foods. My body can handle fats and calories, but it can't handle chemicals and man made foods. I don't count calories, I count chemicals.
3. What inspires you to stay healthy and fit?
If I have to be totally honest, vanity is what inspires me to stay healthy. lol. Best way to get me to do something is tell me it will make me look better. There is also a bit of job security behind it too. There is a direct link to me being fit and healthy and me working as a model and actor, they go hand in hand. Finally, I enjoy being able to play with my kids and live an active lifestyle: rock climbing, surfing, wrestling around. I don't want
to be the old Dad who sits on the couch, I want to keep playing for the rest of my life.
4. What do you think the biggest mistake people make in trying to get into shape?
Biggest mistake people make when trying to get into shape is thinking of it as a temporary or short term goal. Being fit and healthy is year round; it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. If you think of it as a short term goal you will get discouraged if you don't achieve the results you desire. By being consistent over time, over the long term, you will get your body to where you want it to be. Being in shape is not about a Spartan type existence, strict diets and the like. Eat healthy, fresh foods, stay active as often as you can and stay with it. If you have cheesecake every so often, so what! Over the long term it wont matter to your overall shape, and in the short term the enjoyment of an occasional splurge will make it worth it. Look at fitness and health as a lifestyle, not a phase.
5. If you had to chose one thing that you believe keeps you in best shape what would it be?
I enjoy having muscularity, so for me lifting weights/resistance training would be what I feel keeps me in the best shape. Resistance training also strengthens bones and tendons, raises your metabolism and helps to burn fats. It is like a mini fat burning engine. Key is don't get injured. Be safe, don't over do it, and stay consistent.
6. What is your guilty pleasure?
If there is tiramisu on the menu anywhere ... I AM HAVING IT!!
7.What is something that you want to try but haven't yet?
I'd like to take up yoga. I have done it sporadically, but never consistently. Everyone I know who does yoga seems to have a wonderful attitude and be fit and healthy. I'd like to see if it works for me.
8. What is the best advice you ever got ?
Avoid getting old. That is the best advice I have ever gotten. We can't avoid aging, but we can avoid getting 'old'. We can do this by staying active, getting up and outside and doing things that make you happy with friends and family. Taking care of your body, eating a healthy fresh diet, avoiding stress and stressing out. Laughing as often as possible and smiling even more. It is going to catch up with us all eventually, but why not prolong it as long as we can. I want to be Peter Pan and never get old.