51 and Feeling "Fly"

Posted January 24, 2008, 10:43 am in Television by Growing Bolder


Steve Harvey wants men to know: "At 50, you are still fly." The actor and comedian just told Jet magazine that he went through a dramatic change when he turned 51 earlier this year -- shaving his head and recommiting himself to a healthy lifestyle.

He hired a personal trainer and now works out five days a week at his Atlanta home. "I had a potbelly and love handles," Harvey told Jet. He's lost 13 pounds and says "I've been telling people you can be 50 and fly, but when I took my clothes off, I wasn't looking fly."

Harvey tells Jet that his inspiration to change came after he talked to a listener on his radio show. "The girl said to me, `Steve, you're 50 and you are over the hill,'" Harvey recalls. "I started thinking, `Wow, I am over the hill?' I said `OK, I got to do something to stop this line of thinking. Because at 50, I should not be thought of as over the hill. At 50, a man ought to feel that he is on top of the hill.'"

So what is "fly?" Harvey says there are two ways to define it. One version is a "guy who has it together from head to toe. He is dressed sharp. When he walks into the room, everybody wants to be him. He is just cool, just fly." But Harvey also told the magazine that "fly" means being healthy, and spiritually strong. He urges people who are in their 50s or nearing their 50s to spread their wings, and use all that they have learned to stay productive.

In the interview, the actor-comedian says he began his transformation after talking to a listener on his radio program, "The Steve Harvey Morning Show."

"The girl said to me, `Steve, you're 50 and you are over the hill,'" Harvey recalls. "I started thinking, `Wow, I am over the hill?' I said `OK, I got to do something to stop this line of thinking. Because at 50, I should not be thought of as over the hill. At 50, a man ought to feel that he is on top of the hill.'"

He shows off his new look on the cover of Jet's Jan. 28 issue.

For more information, check out:

http://www.ebonyjet.com/jet/

How are you feeling "fly?" Leave a comment below and share your story -- whether it's losing weight, getting a sassy haircut, or starting a brand new adventure. It could help someone else take the next step in Growing Bolder!



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