Spirit Magazine - January 2014 - (Page 78)

RAVEN RISING His daily routine includes three sets of 20 on a South Beach pull-up bar, and the notation of his soaring mileage. was shuttling back and forth from the bathroom with an exhausting bout of food poisoning when his internal clock struck "eight miles." He walked to the beach, taunting Mother Nature with the thought, At least it can't get any worse. Just then, he recalls, "The sky turned black. There was a coldness in the air, with lightning everywhere. I knew it was going to be bad." After three-tenths of a mile, golf ball-size hail hammered his shoulders and face. Pulling his glasses off so they wouldn't break, he felt lumps rising on his scalp. "The surfers had their boards covering their heads. You could hear the pounding-boom, boom, boom." During that same storm, Giggler took refuge in his lifeguard stand. "I remember the captain pulled up in the truck and told me to get in, and I was like, 'Uh-uh, no way. I'm not stepping one foot out there,'" Giggler recalls. "All of a sudden, I see Raven coming towards us with blood running down his face. He was getting bludgeoned- like, stoned by God. All I could do was laugh." One lifeguard stand later, Raven ducked under an awning to take refuge. "If I had run two or three more minutes, I could've died. So I stopped and ran in place for 10 minutes," he says. "That was a hairy one. But the fear at least made my food poisoning go away." A story like that should finish with, "That was the worst weather I've ever run through." But it doesn't. On October 15, 1999, Hurricane Irene 78 SPIRIT JANUARY 2014 blew 86-mph winds in Raven's face. "It wasn't the strongest hurricane we got," Raven says. "Andrew was stronger, Wilma was stronger, but those came in the morning. Irene came at 5 p.m., just as we got to the beach." Three runners- Gringo, Springman, and Raven's girlfriend, Miracle-joined him. While his companions wore hooded windbreakers and goggles, Raven, as always, went shirtless. "Gringo was having a blast, doing airplanes," recalls Raven. "But for me it was extremely painful. In those winds, the sand feels like needles. And it stuck to me for two weeks." E VEN ON A RAINY Friday evening South Beach is astir. Louboutin stilettos click against the pavement. Couples hug under umbrellas, and valets park Maseratis. Waiting on the sidewalk for a sit-down interview, Raven is wearing his street uniform of black pants and a shoelace belt. Up top, chest hair pours out of his unbuttoned black Levi's jacket. "I'm sorry I'm late," I say, wiggling out of my raincoat. "I tried to call, but you'd already left." Without a cellphone or a computer, Raven can only be reached in person or on his landline. As we take our seats at a busy Starbucks, customers stare, making Raven uncommonly self-conscious. "I think they're trying to figure us out," he says, pointing to a family of four whose eyes are fixed on our table. The background music steals his focus. When "What Becomes

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spirit Magazine - January 2014

Spirit Magazine - January 2014
Contents
Gary’s Greeting
Gary’s Greeting en Español
Star of the Month
Freedom Story
From the Editor
Your Words
Your Pictures
Do Detective Work
Media Center
Eat Drink Sleep
Blend Bourbon and Bitters
Munch on Mozzarella
Rendezvous in Rosemary Beach
Wise Guide
Communicate With Confidence
Put a Stop to Stalling
The Numbers
Make or Break a Beauty Habit
Keep a Secret
Business
Plan a Day in Providence
Secure a Career Coach
Get in the Games
The Long Run
Your Adventure in Wichita
Promotional Series: New Year, New You
Calendar
Fun!
Spotlight
Community Outreach
Products & Services
Flight Service
Terminal Maps
Information
Rapid Rewards and A+ Rewards Partners
Route Map
The “If” List

Spirit Magazine - January 2014