Prominent Sarasotans Share Their Secrets to a Healthy Life
By Diane Tauber Schultz

Suncoast residents live in a paradise of tropical landscapes, perpetual sunshine, miles of beaches and unobstructed gulf and bay views, water activities galore, breathtaking sunsets, and a rich cultural scene. It makes you want to get up every morning and experience life and the outdoors to the fullest. Yet, the natural and cultural environment can also be brutal on health and physical appearances. Four of Sarasota’s most prominent residents share their secrets to maintaining healthy lifestyles.

Jean Allenby-Weidner,
Board President/CEO, Designing Women Boutique, Age 63, Sarasota Resident 21 Years
Jean Allenby-Weidner stands differently than most. When she turns her head, her chin is high; her shoulders press back, her legs rest loosely in fourth position, and her arms seem to float as she gestures, like an Edgar Degas painting. There is a graceful seriousness, then an unexpected humor and lightness of heart about her. Dancers (and people educated by nuns with sharp rulers) have perfect posture; the former explains Weidner’s demeanor. Yet, there’s more to this former internationally-renowned Prima ballerina from South Africa. After a life-long celebrated career—where she turned down a scholarship at the famed Royal Ballet School in London to join the Cape Performing Arts Board Ballet Company in Cape Town rising to Principal Ballerina, and later joining the world-acclaimed Stuttgart Ballet in West Germany partnering with some of the most renowned male stars, like Rudolph Nureyev—Weidner moved to the U.S. and founded two ballet companies, in Indiana and our own Sarasota Ballet, and the Designing Women Boutique, a 501-c-3 charitable organization. She continues to make a difference in the arts, endowments, and human services daily. All the while, she is a living, breathing reminder that beauty, health, determination, and elegance can be lifelong attributes.
“Sometimes people think that ballerinas are hothouse flowers (fragile flowers),” Weidner says, “We’re pretty sturdy in body and mind.” She attributes her vigorous spirit to her upbringing, where a healthy balance of family life, a superb education, sports, and a love of animals, adventure, and the outdoors shaped what continues to thrive within her today. Growing up in a country where taking a walk might entail encountering a lion or an elephant does have all the makings of sturdy. However, let’s get to the stuff Floridians can emulate.

Skincare
This 63-year-old’s translucent skin looks as if it never saw the light of day, and you know that is not possible for someone born and raised in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Weidner’s life-long beauty bible is, The Natural Way to Super Beauty by Mary Ann Crenshaw (1974). “I’ve carried it with me for years,” she says. She has always prescribed to cutting-edge skincare regimes. Weidner used the Erno Laszlo anti-aging dermatological skincare for 18 years. For the past six years she has been using Dr. Perricone’s products (perriconemd.com) for mature skin, which has no heavy oils, and a tightening effect that doesn’t make you feel stretched.
A homemade body exfoliate of olive oil, sugar, and sea salt (her mother’s recipe) has kept her skin soft since she was a child; she rubs the sugar and sea salt off in the shower. She admits to happily tanning in her youth, but these days she wears a hat and a sheer scarf over her shoulders and arms while walking the beach, along with SPF 40 on her face, and SPF 25 on her body.

Exercise
Ballet masters always guided her every step; yet, Weidner no longer dances. “I don’t want to do bad bar or bad ballet after I’ve been a professional,” she says; “If I looked at myself in the mirror and saw I couldn’t do it correctly, I’d be most unhappy.” Weidner has Fibromyalgia, a chronic or acute muscle and connective tissue pain disorder, so stretching and keeping muscles pliable is critical to her exercise regime. She exercises at her own pace, stretching every morning, and jogging and walking on her indoor trampoline three times a week while working her arms with light weights. She swims in the ocean once a week in summer; in winter she walks and lightly swims a couple times a week in her pool. And she loves fishing, canoeing, and boating.
Weidner also meditates, and practices Biofeedback, a health treatment technique used by physical therapists and psychologists that uses the body’s own signals as feedback to improve movement, help cope with pain, or help regain movement in muscles. “I’m a very highly-charged person, and you need to counteract that tension,” she says. “I don’t do anything by half; I go full out on everything. If the mind is relaxed, your body relaxes. It’s very important for me.”

Diet
With Maturity Onset Diabetes in her family, Weidner keeps a close watch on her sugar and carbohydrate intake, but treats herself to sweets. “You can’t always be perfect,” she says. “Every now and then you need to have a little comfort food; you’ve got to enjoy life.” She takes a 12-in-One multivitamin for women daily.

Weidner’s Advice
“Try to do worthwhile things in life, and be realistic,” she says, “and try to have a generosity of spirit.”
Her late 50s ushered in a new perspective. “I don’t feel I have to be all things to all people,” she says. “Everybody learns that; it’s what comes with age. You learn to relax a little, take things easier. I really don’t take myself too seriously; that’s the key. I look serious, but basically, I’m not.”
Weidner surrounds herself with positive people. “I don’t get into negative situations, and I find people I can laugh and be happy with,” she explains.

The Honorable Larry L. Eger,
Public Defender, 12th Judicial Circuit, Age 51, Sarasota Resident 39 Years
What drives a longtime Bradenton prostitute to suddenly rob a bank? You’ll have to ask recently elected 12th Judicial Circuit Public Defender Larry L. Eger, who has heard thousands of explanations for human behavior from the humorous and trivial to the deadly serious. The Public Defender’s office provides council to those who have been accused of a crime who cannot afford an attorney. Prior to Eger’s election, he worked as an assistant public defender for 23 years in the same office he now heads, which covers Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. Eger’s new role can be likened to the CEO of a company, only with clients on crack. By the way, the answer to the question about the prostitute is that she just couldn’t turn another trick. “I see the underbelly of society,” Eger admits, “and the way I cope is to remember the lesson I learned from my parents: Always treat people with respect and dignity regardless of their circumstances.” Eger is unequivocally the quintessential all American good guy who goes to bat for the underdog.
He is also a longtime community leader, co-founder and president of the Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences charter school, and director on the board of Legal Aid of Manasota. He serves the community on multiple board and leadership levels. He’s witty, upbeat, candid, and possesses an erudite innocence. In a career that could transform Happy Gilmore to a pessimist, he remains self-assuredly hopeful. “I’m an eternal optimist despite all the evidence to the contrary,” he says.

Skincare
“I constantly chide my children to protect themselves,” he quips, then admits that he doesn’t apply sunscreen daily. He does, however, wear a broad-brimmed straw hat and a long-sleeved shirt while working outdoors.

Exercise
“The nature of our profession could drive a number of attorneys to drink,” Eger says; “My drug of choice is clearly exercise.” Every morning as the moon reflects on Sarasota bay and the sun rises, Eger and his two dogs, Russell and Jack, pass the time at the 10th Street boat launch park. “It’s just quiet. There’s nobody there. It’s a settling way to start the morning,” he says. “And their needs are quite simple; they just want to chase a ball. It’s almost a form of meditation.” He’s also sort of a legend at his neighborhood gym for his disciplined approach to exercise. He rarely misses a day, alternating cardio and weight training Monday through Friday after work or during lunch, and a couple hours on weekends.
Weekend gardening is another Eger meditation. “It started as a chore that I despised, but was required to do as a child with my father. When my father became more infirm, I took over the responsibility,” he explains. “Now it’s one of my greatest pleasures. It was his, too. I still have some of my father’s orchids.” Nearly everything Eger does has some utilitarian value. He recommends a book entitled, The Edible Landscape, by Tom MacCubbin. His yard is filled with edibles, such as mangos, bananas, oranges, papaya, key lime, and carambola (star fruit).
Eger has a passion for surfing, but is no daredevil. A group of attorney friends who call themselves “The Firm” meet once a year to surf in places like the Bahamas, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. “I like to experience all aspects of life, but in moderation,” he says. “My plan is to be able to enjoy activities, especially with my family, for as long as possible. I don’t want the quality of my participation in life reduced because I haven’t taken care of myself.”

Diet
A recurring theme of moderation also applies to Eger’s diet, along with quality. He enjoys fresh produce and seafood, and does most of the cooking in his household. “Susan (his wife) is grateful for it, and there’s a great division of labor—I cook and she eats,” he says with a grin.

Eger’s Advice
Count your blessings. “It seems really trite to say, but I’m blessed. I count my blessings, and if there are any doubts, I look at some of the people I represent and what they’re facing, and clearly realize what my blessings are—my wife, my children, my friends, a job I love, and everything in between.”
“Marry well,” he says. “That’s the best advice I can give you. I met my wife when I was 19. She’s stood by me and believed in me for 32 years.” Eger’s wife is Susan Burns, founding editor of Biz941 magazine.

Ian Black,
President, Ian Black Real Estate, Age 62, Sarasota Resident 26 Years
“Goud mawnin, Diane. It’s Eean Block speekin. Let’s hava chaat. I’m entreegd that u think I wood be a goud subjact for helth and beewtey. I kinda soogest that Rowsie wood be abettar subjact, but enniway, gimmie a caul. I laak fooward ta talkin with ya,” Ian Black says in his heavy Irish brogue, reacting to Scene Magazine’s choice of him for this story.
The craic is always good when you speak to an Irishman. Craic is Irish colloquial for a good time. “What I love about being Irish, what keeps me young, is a sense of humor,” Black says. “I can go back home, meet with friends, and we’ll be ‘lawfen’ our heads off. It’s our ability to almost make fun of ourselves.” Home is Belfast. His Irish Jewish heritage gave Black his moral compass, a foundation of ideals that continues to guide his life today. “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything,” is his father’s acumen (a Mark Twain quote) that Black has always practiced. “The truth is hard to come by,” he says. “I’m always seeking it. It’s what drives me.” After a successful 18-year real estate brokerage career in Northern Ireland, Black moved to Sarasota and continued in commercial real estate where he’s been a prominent fixture since the early 80s. Now celebrating a 45-year career in the business, retirement is not part of his game plan, as long as the work is pleasurable and fulfilling. He’s well-known in Sarasota for his creativity, integrity, and commitment to community. He has served on multiple boards in real estate, city, and the arts, and in 2007 was named one of the “Sarasota 100 The Most Powerful People in Sarasota.” What makes him tick isn’t the question. What keeps this 62-year-old handsome, athletic, successful Irishman ticking so vigorously with a sense of humorous calm is the question? Hauw duya dooit, Mr. Black?

Skincare
“We don’t see the sun for a greater portion of the year (in Belfast),” he says. When Black first moved to Sarasota, sunbathing was a given. Like many seasoned Floridians, sun worshiping wore off and was replaced by the regular use of sun block, hats, and bi-annual dermatological check-ups.

Exercise
Black was a champion swimmer in Ireland, and played rugby until age 36. “All my life I was able to look at not just the physical side of taking care of myself, but also the emotional and mental.” He’s been practicing the ancient martial science of Tai Chi for 16 years thanks to his wife, Rosann Argenti, a master Tai Chi instructor. He took her advice to heart years ago when she said to him, ‘Don’t just do something, sit there.’ “We’re all kind of ruled by our day-to-day existence and our businesses,” he says. “This gave me a different perspective.” He calls Tai Chi a moving form of meditation, and has studied Buddhism and other meditations. “You have to take time out to calm the mind, so you’re not using unnecessary energy, so you can balance energy throughout the day,” he explains. He adds variety to his workout with spinning, body sculpting, weight-training, and golf.

Diet
Black and his wife adhere to a meatless diet. “I think it’s healthier; and from a humanitarian standpoint, the old expression, ‘You are what you eat’ applies,” he says, “and if you’re eating the flesh of tortured animals, I think, down the road, it’s not a good thing.” His cholesterol levels improved, too. He takes D3 daily; D3 is the only vitamin the body can manufacture from sunlight, and is lauded as improving overall health, including bone and immunities.

Black’s Advice
“I don’t like to preach, other than to my children,” Black says. “I think you’re almost better trying to live for today, dealing with today, enjoying today, taking responsibility for today, and the future will take care of itself.”
Having a grandchild and another on the way has changed everything for him. “Whatever free time we may have, we want to spend it with him,” Black says of his two-year-old grandson, Jaden Malley, pictured with Black. “Just to experience his appreciation of everything he sees in his life, which is all new, helps us get back to experiencing life from a child’s point of view, which I think is important as you grow older.”

Linda Carson,
ABC 7 News Anchor, Age 70, Sarasota Resident 13 Years
In a typical week, you might find Linda Carson sitting in a children’s alligator ride at the Manatee Fairgrounds with a microphone in her hand, or on stage at the Asolo watching performers twirl on ropes from the rafters, or sitting on Santa’s lap at a holiday boat parade, or reporting the news. As a local ABC 7 weekend anchor, Carson also covers the Suncoast Scene on Wednesdays reporting upcoming events in colorful and humorous ways. During her 44-year broadcasting career she has worked as a weathercaster, anchor, and a sports and consumer reporter at 12 different stations in major U.S. metropolitan cities, including Pittsburg, Los Angeles, and Baltimore. Her reporting style is a mixture of contagious enthusiasm, journalistic professionalism, and a cheek-to-cheek smile that makes you grin just watching her. It’s not surprising that in 1959 she was chosen as the Studebaker automobile company’s “The Happiest Girl in America—a Girl as Happy as a Lark” for the Lark automobile advertising campaign.
What might surprise you looking at Carson’s fit 126-pound physique is that she weighed 202 pounds only three years ago. She sites determination and will power as her greatest strengths. No kidding! It’s tough to lose just five pounds. “Once I make up my mind, I’m usually going to do it,” she says of her diet and career success.

Skincare
Carson prepares herself to report in all weather conditions by applying multiple layers of sun protection SPF 45 or greater on her face. And it works. She has never suffered a sun burn in Florida. She uses Jergens tanning face cream, and MAC cosmetics, because they both reflect well on television.
Carson proudly admits to having Botox injections every four months between and around her eyes, and her forehead, as well as Restylane injections around her mouth every six months. “I’m looking for anything to help,” she jokes. “It keeps me young; I can really tell the difference when it wears off.”

Diet
Three years ago, Carson was two points from diabetes and sluggish. The only way she could get into the live ABC 7 news truck was to lie on her stomach and roll in. She went on an 800-calorie a day diet (1,200 on weekends). She treats herself to popcorn after dinner, and keeps a check on her weakness—Kellogg’s Special K cereal. Carson lost 73 pounds in two years—40 the first year. “I can step into the live truck now, just like everyone else,” she says. “I’m 40 years older than everyone, but have more energy.”
She attributes her success to her will power, and the guidance of her psychotherapist, Dr. William Anderson, whose new book, The Anderson Method is available at Barnes & Noble, or at andersonbehavioralhealth.com. “It’s not easy being a fat person, and he made me a thin one,” she says.
She created a vision board of pictures and goals. One photograph was a perfect body with her face. “Every one of them came true,” she says. “I think it’s all attitude, and being willing to get out and do something.”

Exercise
“Dr. Anderson said to me, ‘What if I told you I had a magic pill that would speed up your weight loss? Exercise is the pill,’ and he was right,” Carson explains. She started losing weight prior to her exercise regime, but it accelerated and maintains her loss.
Carson walks her dog two miles every morning and evening. She goes to the YMCA four to five times weekly prior to her work day, and has an exercise routine a trainer designed for her needs. She also sails on Sarasota bay once a week in a Pram (6-foot sailboat) with a sailing squadron.

Carson’s Advise
“I treat others the way I want to be treated,” Carson says.
She agrees with the premise of the book, The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. “I believe you attract the things you focus on; so if you think positively, then positive things will come to you,” she says, then jokes, “It hasn’t worked on the economy yet, but I’m working on it.” She advises to keep close ties with positive people.
Carson attributes her positive attitude to her father, a Baptist Minister. “He was inspiring, and always made life good when he was around,” she says. “I’ve always carried him around in my head, knowing life can be good, always. The way you feel inside is the way the world sees you.”