“I’m watching you,” Joe Charles bellows from the arm of a bench at the Manhattan Beach pier. He yells to motivate a member of his GI Joe Bootcamp, a fitness class Charles has run in Manhattan Beach for 11 years.
But it is not only the “soldiers” in his boot camp Charles keeps a watchful eye on. He also challenges passersby of all ages on their morning jogs or leisurely walks. Charles reaches into a box of nutrition bars and fruit snacks as he summons them over.
“Take one or you have to do a pushup,” Charles says. Few refuse. Those who do accept the pushup challenge regret their decision, unaware that GI Joe’s pushup is like no other.
Standing a little over 6-feet-1 inches tall and weighing 315 pounds, the 52-year-old Charles has become an icon on the Manhattan Beach Pier.
“My pushup is not like a regular pushup,” Charles explained. “It’s kind of like Murphy’s Law and other things that try to get in your way and take your day away from you. I tell the person these matters don’t mean anything to them, it’s about the love, respect and effort you put into everyday life. If you remember the words, the pushup is easy. It’s when you forget the words that are put out there for you that you struggle. The pushup can be a little difficult in between, kind of like everyday life.
“First off, I shake the person’s hand and give them a blessing, which helps get them past the pushup. That’s when the love begins. You drop half way down and hold it there. Count from 1 to 30. Without coming up, shuffle to the right side, then resume the half-way down position. Count to 30. Then a shuffle to the left side. Half-way down and count to 30. Then we come back to the middle. I may count in Japanese, Spanish or English up to 30. Sometimes I get bad habits and might smile for the camera but when I’m done, you push up. That’s one pushup.”
Eleven years ago, Charles used the pushup to create a show where all comers were invited to sign up, form a circle and attempt the physical challenge.
Then, after his 28-year-old son Shamor was killed in a drive-by shooting in Lynwood nine years ago, Charles turned his $1,000 Pushup Challenge into a tribute event.
“Before my son died,” Charles recalled, “He said ‘Dad I’m having a hard time. I’ve got all these shady people around me that one day are going to take my life.’ And one day someone did come and take his life. I wondered why this took place. He had a hard time turning that negative energy around. My son is still living through me and I need to pass my message on to every other soldier. If we could all turn around that negative energy into positive, we could bring more soldiers back from war.”
Every Fourth of July for the last nine years, Charles has given away $1,000 in cash to the winner of his Pushup Challenge – the last person left after rounds of completing one of Joe’s pushups. Each summer, Charles prints 2,000 new business cards featuring the picture of that year’s winner.
Charles has also awarded 650 $100 bills to the winners of other pushup competitions held at various locations including local 5K and 10K races.
“It’s just one way I can help give back to the community. A woman got paid twice at AVP beach volleyball events. A 10-year-old boy got paid in that parking lot,” Charles said as he pointed to the side of the Manhattan Beach Pier. “I’m a little lenient in the first two rounds, not eliminating people for having their butts in the air,”
As competition heats up, if the audience cheers him on, Charles will increase the challenge switching the pushup to a fingertip or knuckle version.
Miguel Colon is still seeking that big $1,000 payoff. The 40-year-old Torrance resident has twice finished second at the Independence Day tradition. He has, however, been awarded $700 from Charles after winning seven challenges at other pushup challenges, the most recent two weeks ago in Culver City.
“I’ll keep trying until I reach my goal,” said Colon, a longtime member of the GI Joe Boot camp.
Always the showman, Charles held a Grappling Bash 10 years ago at the Joslyn Center in Manhattan Beach to celebrate his 42nd birthday. He took on 42 people in 2-minute rounds of wrestling.
“I put on a show back then to see if they could make the old man tap out in 84 minutes or if the old man still had game. Bruce Buffer (Michael’s brother) came out and refereed. The Fire Department helped me get the money we raised to 9-11 charities back in New York.”
The event was so popular Charles was asked to hold it again the following year. He did but held it to 42 challengers.
“I knew my limit,” Charles quipped.
Wrestling with life’s battles
Charles doesn’t profess to be Apollo Creed, but does use inspiration from the Rocky movies.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Charles was a typical kid who loved to play sports. He competed in football, baseball and wrestled.
He attended Jordan High School before transferring to Bassett High School in West Covina and soon wrestling became a big part of his life, leading him into the sports of judo and jiu jitsu.
Charles had aspirations to compete in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, but in 1982 while on the job site, he was run over by a forklift and suffered a broken femur in his right leg.
”I wasn’t supposed to ever fight again,” Charles said. “My doctor told me to build the strength up in my legs by walking in the sand on the beach. I started at the sand dunes in Manhattan Beach about three or four steps at a time. Each day I tried to add another step. After a year I started getting up and down the sand dunes and I was bobbing my head back and forth, had Rocky across my chest and then I started running the dunes. After I was able to run the dunes, I had the confidence to start fighting again and began competing again in 1986.”
Charles’ hard work enabled him to compete in Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning the UFC Super Fight Russia in 1998. He also trained Mixed Martial Arts fighters on the sands of Manhattan Beach, separating each trainee into an A, B, and C categories. The regimen became the roots for his bootcamp.
“There was a time when I came out to Manhattan Beach around 1996, the sun was shining on the ocean and the rays were like fingers on a hand calling me to come here,” Charles recalled. “I listened to the voices, found my calling and came to the South Bay to help and inspire people.”
GI Joes’ Soldiers
Although he has no military background, Charles possesses the attributes of a drill sergeant, constantly pushing class members he refers to as his “soldiers” to reach the next level of physical success. His moniker came from the popular action figure he played with as a kid.
When the late Charlie Saikley, who ran the City of Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation Department for two decades, noticed Charles training fighters on the beach, a longtime partnership was created between Charles and the city.
“Charlie and I talked about me taking over running classes on the beach,” Charles said. “I said ‘Wait. Why not GI Joe? That’s me!’ and it became GI Joe’s Bootcamp: The Exercise and Fitness Program on the Beach.
The bootcamp is now held round-year with two-week intervals between each nine-week program. Sessions are offered Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with starting times at 6 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Charles said his bootcamps consist of about 65 percent women.
“Women have come in by the dozens,” Charles said. “Men seem to come in packs of two or three. It doesn’t matter if a person is in group A, B, or C – athletes to over achievers to social people to newcomers. The class is for all levels.”
Taking advantage of the soft sand, Charles trains his class members in much the same way he did his MMA fighters – teaching them to use muscles not used every day while applying different mindsets to help each individual achieve his or her personal goals.
“I make sure we communicate so I don’t kill or dismantle them,” Charles explained. “If someone has an injury, maybe the sand isn’t good for them and I’ll put them on The Strand. I tell them I need the communication so I can feel you, not kill you. I joke with the men that if you die in my workout, I’ll give you mouth-to-mouth. I don’t tell the women that because some of them might want it.”
With so many physical fitness options available in the South Bay, Manhattan Beach resident Adrian Bassuk was asked why she chose the bootcamp for her workout.
“Joe is Manhattan Beach,” Bassuk said while wiping perspiration from her forehead. “I’ve seen Joe on the pier for a number of years. He tried to get me involved a couple of years ago and I finally decided I’m going to do it. The most difficult part of the workout is getting up at 5 a.m. But once I get out of the house, I know it’s waiting for me and it’s the best. The bootcamp has changed my attitude and really changed me for the better – both physically and mentally.”
Laurie Parker, of Hermosa Beach, has been rowing for the Lanakila Outrigger Canoe Club for 12 years and decided to join the bootcamp for cross-training purposes.
“With paddling, it’s a lot of upper body work but this camp has got me to run more and build up my endurance,” Parker said. “Growing up at the beach, I had the seen the class for years and decided to take the class after a friend of mine had taken it and really liked it. I’d much rather be outside to workout than inside a gym and Joe’s a great motivator. He pushes you to go a little harder and a little faster than you would if you were doing it on your own. He also mixes it up so every day is a little bit different. You really don’t know what you’re going to get for that day.”
Charles is known as much for his strenuous workouts as he is for the motivation he provides.
“If you want to improve both your mind and body, Joe’s the one you have to be with,” said Colon, who is also a member of LA Fitness. “In other classes, you run and rest but Joe keeps us going all the time.”
“More and more felt I had a calling to help people step up their game and bring out the better side of them,” Charles said. “We all have the capability to do things but then there come the challenges. But the challenges of life are really blessings. It’s like a fighter in the ring who’s holding that trophy – or belt – up before the next challenge. He’s thinking about all the fights he’s won in the past and he gets more confidence in himself. His head starts bobbing. He’s got Rocky on his chest. He’s got the Eye of the Tiger.
“I’ve won many fights and I want my everyday soldiers to have that same feeling. It’s my job — or calling — to bring that feeling to them in everyday life. Once they get that confidence in physical activities, they can take on obstacles of relationships and the Murphy Laws of life and turn around that negative energy and make it work for them.”
In 2008, the GI Joe Bootcamp earned the “Small Business of the Year Award” presented by the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce.
The GI Joe Bootcamp has spurned on another South Bay tradition. The Pier-to-Pier Run held each spring, summer and fall has evolved into a community event that draws over 100 participants with proceeds benefiting various local organizations.
“Years ago, at graduation from the Bootcamp, I’d have everyone run from the Manhattan Beach Pier to the Hermosa Beach Pier and back and then we’d have a party on the beach,” Charles said. “Before he passed away, Charlie Saikley saw how the run was a success and we made it a community event. I’ve kept it going to honor him and to give back to the community. Over the years, the prizes and goodies kept growing. I’ve been blessed by so many people wanting to help my cause.”
In addition to the pushup challenge, Colon supports Charles’ endeavors by competing in the Pier-to-Pier runs. In June, he captured his second Pier-to-Pier title completing the 4-mile course in 25 minutes, 36 second. He won the spring race in 2010 and also has a fourth-place, a third-place and four second-place finishes.
“The day I won the pushup challenge in Culver City, I also won a race in Venice where I ran and earned donations for Cancer Awareness,” Colon said. “It’s an amazing feeling to help others and Joe has helped me do that.”
A New Challenge
Charles’ toughest fight has come outside the ring. His opponent: bureaucracy.
After Shamor died, Joe’s three children lived with Joe’s sister until she passed away and Charles took them under his wing.
“My grandkids were involved in the same lifestyle as their father and I didn’t like that,” Charles said. “They found every reason and opportunity to get into trouble. When my grandkids started living with me, they wanted to tell me what to do and tried to control my life. When they started arguments, I resisted because I wanted to bring them into my world. I’m at peace and enjoy what I do and knew I needed to teach them respect, love, appreciation and give them better opportunities.”
When the grandchildren – two boys ages 11 and 16 and a 14-year-old girl — would argue and fight, Charles would make them read a motivational book for positive energy.
“They would say ‘Oh no. Not the book.’ My oldest grandson told me he was a gangster and was going to blow me up and tear me down,” Charles said. “What he was really telling me was that he needed help.”
Knowing he was held accountable for their actions, Charles went to discuss the disciplinary problems with Social Workers, the Director of the School Board and members of the Department of Mental Health.
“They had 14 allegations against me that my grandson was not being treated right,” Charles lamented. “I said if any of these are true, take me to jail now. But I have one bad habit. I said if any of these allegations are not right, we need to drop down and do one of my pushups.”
Charles said that when social workers would visit his house, they treated him like he was a gangster and were very disrespectful.
“I told them that we needed to work together on the problem, not cause animosity between the two of us,” Charles said. “The allegations were dropped but more kept coming back. I said ‘Here I am. I’m not running from nobody. Please come so we can have a conversation and get on the same page. The bad part is the kids know the system and are running it. My grandson told me the guys on the street have taught him what’s right and what’s wrong and how the system works and how to beat it. They (authorities) are feeding right into his hands.’”
Charles said he was glad his grandson had opened up.
“That got my head bobbing back and forth, it got the Rocky all over my chest and the Eye of the Tiger,” Charles exclaimed. “I told myself I was going to stand up to every Social Worker, to the Department of Mental Health, to the School District, the police department or anyone else that accuses me of doing wrong when I’m doing right. All of a sudden, everyone came on the same team. We had a big team meeting and everyone is on the same page now. I got documentation to show what they were doing wrong and what we needed to do to work together.”
It was a six month process that put a financial burden on Charles, who saw his grandson relocated to another house. According to Charles, an uncle took him in for his own financial gain and let him run wild on the streets.
“I chose not to give up even though everyone was coming at me the wrong way,” Charles said. “It was a challenge that I looked at as a blessing. It was a negative in my life but I can’t be beat by a negative. I lost a son which was the worst thing in my life. I feel the need to make sure right is right and wrong is wrong.”
Charles, whose grandson in currently in a treatment facility in Texas, remains optimistic.
“He used to cuss me out and say he’d never talk to me,” Charles said. “Now he talks to me almost every other day and tells me how much he loves me and appreciates what I’ve done for him. It’s challenging for him because he is in with other people from the same situations but he says that as long I’m behind him, he’ll keep trying.”
Reaching Out
Although Charles prefers one-on-one encounters, he has broadened his form of communication to provide his motivational talks. The GI Joe Radio Show can be heard Tuesdays at 10 a.m. on New Day Talk Radio.
It’s no surprise that he landed the gig from a pushup challenge.
“It started on the Steve Harvey show at the USC Health and Fitness Show,” Charles explained. “I was doing what I do best, making everybody do a pushup. It didn’t make any difference who you were. One of Steve Harvey’s employees came up to me and said he could do one of my pushups. I told him if he could, I would give him $100 in cash right then. He said he could do it with one arm. He got to the right side. He got to the left side but couldn’t cross over to the other side. He said ‘Wow, that’s a serious pushup.’
“He went back and told people at the radio station and I got a phone call from one of the producers. I dropped off a video of the pushup at the studio in Burbank but couldn’t get Harvey to do it because he remembered me from the Big Boy Show and the Ultimate Fighting Challenge.”
Charles said his radio program provides motivation, positive direction and inspiration while including discussions about community affairs like smoking on the beach.
“I’ve found that what’s happening in my life or your life is probably happening in other people’s lives as well,” Charles said. “Not everybody has the answer and knows which way to go, so I try to be a resource where we can all talk about the problems and help another soldier.”
Along with hosting a daily radio show, Charles said he wants to write a book title “How I Got Paid,” a collections of life stories with the message of how he could give back to the community by turning negative things into positive ones.
“I tell people: You’re the one who makes your world. You’re the one who makes your time. You’re the one who makes your place. So claim your world, claim your time and claim your place. If you don’t, I’ll bring that pushup back into your world.” B
