Nothing Personal, Smokers!

The other day, the thirteen-year-old made an observation that I was totally cracking up about, but for reasons other than what he thought. It was nice to show him that sometimes things aren’t what they seem.

The tv was on (of course) and the Denise Austin Idaho Potato commercial came on for the five-millionth time. He was just passing through the family room but stopped to watch the ad for a moment, and after listening to her talk he scoffed, “Smoker!”

Although Jim and I have called our fair share of “Smoker*!” (like, say, George Burns, Phyllis Diller, Lindsay Lohan…) I had to laugh—and then cry a bit inside—when I got the chance to correct the boy.

First, the funny:

“I could be wrong, but I don’t think Denise Austin is or was ever a smoker,” I said.

He asked, “Then why is her voice like that?”

Now, the crying part:

I answered, “She got that voice from teaching group fitness!”

Wait, I’m a group fitness instructor.
Wahh.

On the bright side (for me), Denise Austin has been around long enough to have taught many of her earlier classes with no microphone. Just because I teach doesn’t mean I will end up with that rasp in my voice: I have only had to teach without a mic a handful of times, thank goodness.

Check out Exhibit A, the current commercial.

Exhibits B and C, some old workout videos. The voice is less raspy, no?

A sidenote: In looking for clips for this post, I discovered that there are lots of pervs out there who watch Denise Austin for “fun”, if you know what I’m sayin’. The descriptions on some of the Youtube videos made me feel icky. Yikes! I bet Denise is not thrilled.

By the way, want to read up on how us poor group fitness instructors can hurt our little voice box? Click here for an old study with good information.

*For any of you who are smokers, I mean no personal offense. I just don’t like anything about smoking…it doesn’t mean I don’t like YOU! xoxo

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10 Comments

  • Momo Fali

    You are definitely right. I’ve been yelled at by Denise many times in my living room. I’ve yelled back too!

  • Melisa

    Momo: Isn’t it fun to yell back at the instructor? That’s what makes my Wednesday night classes so fun. 🙂

    Melissa: I know! She’s awesome. Her voice is a little bit annoying, but if that’s her biggest problem, it’s all good. 🙂 And she can’t help it.

    Weaselmomma: *snicker* You are hilarious.

  • Paper Propaganda

    hahaha, i never heard of her until now… where have i been hiding? um, alberta… however, i agree it’s definitely less raspy! and erm, a little more annoying.

  • Mr Lady

    I hate smoking, too. There is nothing nice or good or pleasant about it. it’s disgusting. I really should quit.

    😉

  • Oh My GOFF!

    Trust me Denise ain’t on the nicotine! She is awesome and in person is just as ENERGETIC if not more!! My father still can’t get over her taping a personal motivational mssg to pump him up on his weight loss journey!

  • Michelle

    Oh, you should hear the wee ones when they see a smoker. Subtle is NOT in their vocabulary. FYI your voice is JUST fine right now — let’s hope it stays that way. Poor Denise!

  • DeniseFan

    Yeah, I would just like to say that I had read that Denise Austin was quoted in the Washington City Paper saying she was upset over lewd comments made about past clips on YouTube. According to the Washington DC weekly newspaper, Denise giggled when someone asked if she was aware that she’s become the object of so much perversion and said, “Now I’m worried!” She also said that she was totally unaware of it (yeah right!). I wonder if she has ever read any of the comments and giggled. Look up “Denise Austin Gets Indecent Exposure” to read the article.