Ralph Zuranski was born May 9, 1949 at Mercy Hospital in San Diego. He was 3 months premature and weighed only 3 pounds, 8 ounces. The miracle is he survived this early trauma. The tragedy is his early years were plagued with chronic sicknesses, hyperactivity, delayed growth, bursitis of the ankles, and unexplained physical pains.
A big nose, large protruding ears, black horn rimmed glasses, a Polish surname, and the stature of a 99 pound weakling Ralph was a focal point for the cruelty of his classmates. Being Polish, only added to his misery. He heard so many Pollock jokes, his self confidence was next to zero. His only escape was the land of fantasy.
Comic book super heroes like Superman and Batman provided a vehicle to escape a hostile world. At times the physical and emotional pain were so severe, Ralph created a hero in his mind to help him survive. This hero was strong, handsome, and intelligent. He had a perfectly muscled body and could overcome any obstacle.
A poor diet was a major contributing factor to Ralph’s health problems. Candy, soft drinks, donuts, pastries, and ice cream were eaten in large quantities. When he arrived home, the perpetual diet of spam and fish sticks was not appealing. The incredible amounts of sugar and caffeine caused hyperactivity, poor scholastic performance, and disciplinary problems.
In 1964, at the age of 13 Ralph was fed up with his life and constantly considered suicide. He desperately wanted plastic surgery to shrink the size of his nose and ears. Unfortunately, it was a hopeless cause. The ugly black horn rimmed glasses remained. The thought of being a Nerd forever perpetuated the feelings of depression and despair. The money was not there. His struggling middle class parents worked their fingers to the bone to provide clothing, food, and shelter.
A choice had to be made–death or life. The unnamed hero Ralph had created so many years ago would not let him give up. Finally, after days of reflection the decision was made. Life! In one of the comic books, an ad for Joe Weider protein and a course on how to build the body of a super hero provided the inspiration for transformation. A set of free weights, an Exer-Geni, and a book on nutrition by Adele Davis were the tools.
As Ralph changed his diet and worked out, the changes were nothing short of incredible. His mind started to work and performance in school soared, resulting in a scholarship to high school. His muscles started to grow in a matter of months. The wimp who always had sand kicked in his proverbial face, started to grow. Skinny arms and legs began to fill out. A flat chest blossomed. Confidence increased with the measurements. Ralph thought, “If I have muscles, I’ll beat up anyone who is mean to me, calls me Pollock and tells stupid Pollock jokes.”
This created a problem. Ralph did not fit in. He gradually became a Nerd with muscles. Group activities and sports held no attraction. Ralph became a loner. His social skills were retarded. Attending an all boy school, minimized any interaction with the opposite sex. After a few rejections at dances, Ralph devoted his time to reading books on every subject, surfing, and tennis.
He experienced success in these areas, becoming an honor student, tennis champion, and skilled surfer. But happiness eluded him. He wanted to fit in and have relationships with girls.
After high school, Ralph attended Revelle College, at the University of California of San Diego. The La Jolla campus was populated by others who were tops in their schools. The scholastic competition was intense. There were only a few hundred students in the Freshman class and no graduating class in 1967.
The pressure of school, working full time at the Mission Valley May Company, and no social life was intense. Extreme alienation from the ethics and morals of his parents created family problems. The flower power of the late sixties with drugs, promiscuous sex, and rebellion against all authority was too tempting.
The breakdown of Ralph’s Catholic upbringing and respect for authority created alienation and depression. In December of 1971, after his first great love affair ended in disaster, the desire to end it all returned with a vengeance. Life had lost it’s meaning. He did not know where he was or going. Again the unnamed hero inside made the difference between life and suicide.
After college Ralph continued working for May Co but was moved to the Whittier store because he refused to sell TV and stereos he considered inferior. He hated L.A. because of the smog but did fall in love again.
Ralph decided to go into real estate, took the course, and passed. He got transferred to Carlsbad May Co and worked 3 months before entering real estate full time. His girlfriend moved to San Diego State to work on her masters.
In December of 1973, the relationship faltered. The interests rates went up to 12% and Ralph’s deals in escrow fell through. The financial pressures and distance contributed to an unhappy ending to the relationship.
In January of 1974, Ralph decided to go back into tennis and give tennis lessons. Part time he worked on an earthworm farm and taught people about organic farming. He became a vegetarian and an early crusader for protecting the environment. Smoking and growing the ultimate organic pot became an addiction.
Unfortunately, he could not shake the feeling of failure and emptiness. He had more tennis students than he could handle. He had the unique ability to improve his students tennis proficiency by 100% with every lesson . Women and children loved his method of teaching and made the greatest progress. He was recognized as one of the top tennis instructors and players in North County.
He became a health counselor and tennis instructor for a successful local band composed of four beautiful sisters and two brothers. He traveled to concerts with them, acted as a body guard for the girls and loved to party. He had money, recognition, beautiful women, an apartment on the beach, the best drugs but no happiness.
Ralph’s alienation and dissatisfaction increased until he decided to become a total recluse. He moved out of his apartment, and decided to live out of his Mazda station wagon. At this time, a friend turned him on to the science of biorhythms. Ralph read every book and analyzed his life.
The biggest mistakes had been made on unstable days predicted by biorhythms. Ralph realized if he had known about biorhythms, he could have saved himself a lot of grief, agony, mistakes, and injuries. He became a biorhythm advocate, stopped smoking pot, and decided to clean his mind and body.
He tried to teach people about biorhythms and how to cut down on accidents and injuries. HIs research led to the realization of the percentages of biorhythm compatibility that created the strongest male/female relationships.
Unfortunately, no one was interested. The science of biorhythms was too new, a ridiculed.
Ralph wanted to find ways of balancing the body and strengthening the mind and emotions. He was tired of life being like a roller coaster. He assumed that if he became healthier, expanded the powers of his mind, and developed his emotional stability, he could minimize the fluctuations in his life energies and have a balanced existence.
For a couple of months, Ralph slept in his car and read books on subjects about health. During the day he would surf, swim, and run 5 miles at Swami’s in Encinitas. He perched on a rock protruding from the side of the cliff, getting a full body tan, and watching the nude sun bathers stroll by. Occasionally, he would drive to Black’s Beach if the surf was up and check out the nude action.
In March of 1976, Ralph saw an add for salesperson for Rolls Royce Skateboard Wheels Company. He answered the add. This was the beginning of the resurgence of the Skateboard Industry. The urethane wheels expanded the horizons of skateboarding. Skateboard parks sprang up everywhere. Slalom races were held on steep La Costa streets. Everyone thought they could get rich in skateboarding.
The sport exploded through out the United States. Ralph became instrumental in the development of skateboard and safety equipment. He felt the need to skateboard himself, to find out how dangerous it was and how good the safety equipment was. This was a major mistake, Ralph sprained both wrists, broke his foot, wore the ankle bone flat on the right foot, and had two serious back injuries. The skaters respected him for having the courage to participate. He became a sales representative and consultant for many of the companies. He became a biorhythm consultant for many of the top skateboarders.
He was general manager of Sidewalk Surfparks in Fountain Valley. He evaluated accidents using biorhythms and saw a strong correlation. He tried to get other skateboard park owners to us biorhythms to cut down on injuries in the parks, but they were only interested in profits.
An opportunity presented itself to put together the Pepsi Skateboard Safety Program. Ralph became director of Imperial Century and developed the program that went to 2000 elementary and high schools in L.A.
He helped put skating demonstrations on at professional football games and parades. He organized the first National Skateboard Convention. He worked on a Hang 10 Skateboard contest at Magic Mountain and the movie Skateboard.
He created the character Captain Biorhythm on Halloween October 31, 1976 at the Masters Slalom race at La Costa, to promote safety in skateboarding and biorhythm awareness
Unfortunately, the skateboard park owners would not listen. Liability insurance was unattainable in most cases. Many of the parks went under. New wider multiple ply wood boards and wide trucks made the smaller boards and trucks obsolete overnight. The skateboard industry collapsed overnight. Many who would not listen lost large sums.
During this time, Ralph moved in with a friend who had helped put the Pepsi program together. Unknown to Ralph, the friend was deeply involved in the coke industry. Ralph was concerned and did every thing he could do to try to get his friend to stop.
He lost his job as the Pepsi Program Director as the industry collapsed. Temporarily, he was dependent on his friend for money and shelter. The coke involvement escalated to such a degree, Colombian mafia dealers visited the house. Large quantities of coke and money became routine.
Ralph feared for his life. One night he packed a few belongings and escaped, back to living out of his car. The coke dealers extorted all the money he had with the threat of death. Ralph was lucky. He escaped shortly before those involved in dealing coke met tragic endings. Ralph was thankful to still be alive, but still could not see all drugs destroy lives, not just coke. He still looked at marijuana as a harmless herb to be smoked for relaxation.
Ralph sold solar energy for a couple of month. Then he moved in with some other friends who were cultivating marijuana to help with the harvesting and marketing preparation. To help make ends meet, he worked at a racquet ball club in San Marcos, called Racquet Time. He produced one of the first organic salad bars in San Diego. Unfortunately, most people were not interested in health.
Ralph’s recurring problems from the previous back injuries plagued him. He went through a painful form of massage called postural integration. It was one of the most painful experiences of his life.
He then moved into Point Loma Tennis club with a childhood friend and started giving tennis lessons again. Family fitness Centers was just beginning. He became a marketing and health consultant to Family Fitness Centers. He received the best Technical Directors award in 1980.
He researched the Holistic Health Industry by becoming a human guinea pig. He developed a barter program that provided merchandice for promotions and services for the center maintenance.
He traded spa memberships so successfully, he became known as the Trade-Out King. He created a sales presentation manual that was used for 2 years, trained the fitness staff on the use of the high tech exercise equipment, and developed the Professional Personal Fitness Trainer Program.
Ralph Zuranski the left brain personality right hand is logical and judgmental. He is competitive and aggressive. His mathematical and verbal skills are adequate. Live or die by the clock is his motto. He loves computers because they are so logical and powerful.
Biorhythm software provides Ralph with valuable knowledge about his physical, emotional, and intellectual cycles of performance. He can always maximize each hour spent by scheduling activities to take advantage of his ups and downs.
The square utility knife comes in handy. Whoever is forewarned is forearmed.