Crusade for Kids - Kevin Sorbo's Herculean Effort For Kids

American Fitness; January/February 1998; pages 26-28; "Crusade for Kids"

Kevin Sorbo, the actor who plays the half-man, half-god who protects humankind from fire-breathing dragons, evil centaurs, and capricious deities has undertaken a current-day crusade. The strapping 6’3", blue eyed star of the syndicated hit "Hercules: the Legendary Journeys" is helping kids fight their battles of low self esteem, gangs, drugs, and violence. Following the keys to his own success, Sorbo leads a program, A World Fit for Kids, that trains teen mentors to become heroes to the kids in their own neighborhoods by using the vehicles of school, fitness, sports, and positive role models.

The success of the 39 year old heartthrob and his top syndicated TV series have propelled Sorbo into a position to reach millions of children around the world. The show, now winding down its fifth season, is one of the top-rated syndicated dramas in the country. "The success of the show hasn’t sunk in yet," explains Sorbo. "I’m quiet amazed at how huge it’s gotten around the world."

Sorbo attributes his phenomenal success playing the flaxen-haired demigod to his upbringing, tenacity, and belief in the power of fitness and sports. Growing up in the Midwestern suburbs of Minneapolis, in a family of five kids, sports and fitness were a part of his everyday life. "I grew up playing everything you can possibly think of: basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, bike riding. It has always been important to me; important in terms of camaraderie between peers, learning how to deal with other people, and developing social skills."

Fitness also played an important role in his career. After playing varsity sports in high school and becoming a marketing major at the University of Minnesota, he broke into show business via modeling, commercials, and bit parts on television. "I’m a fifteen year overnight success," says Sorbo. "Some people don’t realize the number of failures you must go through. It’s the same thing in sports. I wasn’t always on a winning team. But I think it helped build morals, character, and a fighting spirit. Sports have prepared me for a lot of the things the business world and Hollywood have thrown at me."

It was Sorbo’s love for kids that drove him to bring these lessons to A World Fit for Kids program. "I am driven to give back the lessons that have worked for me. A World Fit for Kids instills the importance of being physically active and bonded with other people. I think that translates into bigger and better things for these kids and a better society."

A World Fit for Kids started in an area of Los Angeles where violence is a way of life. It teaches kids to become mentor coaches, and then they, with the help of the program coordinators, run a program that engages elementary through high school students in fitness activities that build self esteem, teach conflict resolution, and foster leadership skills. "It’s easy for these kids to fall into a bad group of people," says Sorbo. "That’s what gangs are about. It becomes their family because they may not have that at home or school. We need to provide alternatives, and that’s what this program does."

Drawing from the attributes of its Hercules leader, the A World Fit for Kids coalition has a superhuman ability to bring together teachers, local businesses, police, city and public health officials, churches, youth services organizations, and national sponsors. The all-volunteer mentors are made up of matriculating layers including professional fitness instructors, university administrators and students, and high school students who teach the middle and elementary school kids. All the participants are encouraged to move up the levels.

Sorbo sees A World Fit for Kids spreading across the world. "The program deals with learning responsibility, commitment, and a sense of achievement and success in life," he explains. "It becomes a pyramid. If you’re saving one kid, that can translate into that kid doing something for another kid and another kid. It just multiplies itself."

Sorbo practices what he preaches. True to his mid-western work ethic, Sorbo puts in a strenuous 90-minutes workout per day despite a grueling production schedule of 14 hours per day, 6 days per week, and 10 months per year. Known for doing most of his own stunts, he studies under martial arts master Douglas Wong.

"I have to work out every day, one way or another," says Sorbo. "It was just something that always stayed with me. It became a noble routine that I crave to this day. I go nuts if I don’t. It has to do with my own well being. It’s a great stress reliever and a good way to let off steam instead of other avenues."

The Hercules character Sorbo has developed is conducive to the message he has for kids. He is the superhero of the 90s; he has a sense of humor, is strong yet sensitive, resorts to violence only when absolutely necessary, possesses a Midwestern approachability, and a Joe Montana appeal for which the producers were looking. "I think I represent something to these kids, especially these inner-city kids," explains Sorbo. "I represent some kind of hope, a hero, someone who cares, high with morals, high with the family."

Staying in school is a big issue with Sorbo and a goal of the A World Fit for Kids program. Working in Europe for three years, and for over four years now in New Zealand where the Hercules series is filmed, taught him a lesson about education. "I’ve seen the difference in the importance placed upon education in other countries," says Sorbo. "I believe these things can be changed (in America), and I can see the role fitness and sports can play. I think education and physical fitness go hand-in-hand."

Sorbo believes in the power of mentoring. "Heroes are really, really important," says Sorbo. "A World Fit for Kids is about bringing out the hero inside us all. When a teen is given the opportunity to become a mentor, it is saving at least two lives in the process. The positive effects ripple out to touch more and more lives. It gives everyone involved the chance to use the power waiting within."