Longevity has a new role model in Wang Deshun, an 80-year-old Chinese man who is creating a stir in his country and beyond. He is not content to just look good as he ages; the artist, actor, athlete, and model is also focused on keeping his brain fit, mind sharp, and attitude fearless.
The Rise of a Runway Model at 79
Wang Deshun became an actor at 24 but gained international attention when he became a model and walked a runway show at age 79. For his 80th birthday in September, he enjoyed techno music and has plans to go parachuting, the Times reported. Wang Deshun explains how he became a runway model last year. Wang Deshun is driven to push his passions to the limit, refusing to use his age as an excuse to pump the brakes. Want proof? Look no further than these images from a recent fashion runway exhibition, where Deshun proudly struts the catwalk with confidence.
Wang Deshun's Philosophy on Aging
“One way to tell if you’re old or not is to ask yourself, ‘Do you dare try something you’ve never done before?’” he told The New York Times. “Nature determines age, but you determine your state of mind.”
Wang Deshun feels that by staying active mentally and physically, he doesn’t need to.
Wang Deshun's Diet
He also drinks less alcohol now, he said, but that is about as far as his dietary restrictions go. “I am not picky at all about what I eat.
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Wang Deshun's Exercise Routine
Wang stepped into his first gym at 50 and really got into working out at 70, he said in his video. It didn’t happen overnight for Deshun. As a matter of fact, he didn’t start working out until he was 50. But once he set his mind to it there was no stopping him. Now he’s in better shape then most men half his age, and he has no plans to slow down anytime soon.
An avid swimmer as a child, he still swims more than half a mile each day. He’d always been a swimmer. But he decided to be more disciplined about it. Today, he says he does not hit the gym as often.
The Benefits of Swimming
- It burns about 600 calories per hour.
- Swimming is a non-impact exercise. It causes very little stress on the knees and back.
- Moving in the water is a form of resistance training. That’s because it is 14% harder to move through water than air.
- Studies show swimming reduces anxiety, helps with weight loss, and improves bone health.
- A 2014 Australian study found that no exercise lowers the risk of falls better than swimming. Researchers looked at 1,700 men over 70. Men who swam were a third less likely to fall. Other forms of exercise showed no protection against falls.
Mental Fitness
He calls morning his learning time, when he reads books and news. “Morning is my learning time,” he said. “I read books and news. Each morning he exercises his brain by reading challenging books and newspapers. “Being mentally healthy means you know what you’re going to do,” he said.
Early Life and Career
Mr. Wang was born in the northeastern city of Shenyang in 1936, one of nine children of a cook and a stay-at-home mother. “I liked acting, singing, dancing, playing musical instruments so much that I joined my work unit’s band,” he said. At the Workers’ Cultural Palace in Shenyang, he took free lessons in singing, acting, and dancing. He later took a job at a military factory and joined its art troupe. “Even if there was just one sentry, say, at the top of a hill, like once in Dalian, we’d surround him and perform,” Mr. Later he worked in radio, film, and theater. In the early 1980s, Mr.
In 1982, the clothes Chinese wore were so out of date,” he said. “I went to the city’s biggest department store and told the sales clerks, ‘Give me your nicest clothes, and I’ll organize a show.’ They agreed. Back then, he said, “Chinese had no sense of color or style. People wore black, white, gray, or blue. Some people wore army uniforms. I wanted to start a sense for fashion among ordinary people. We did a swimming-suit show. The girls refused at first, thinking it was indecent. By 49, Mr.
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By 49, Mr. Wang was eager to move to Beijing, China’s cultural capital. He began working out, determined to have a lithe body that would allow him to interact, almost naked and covered in metallic paint, with copies of Auguste Rodin’s and Camille Claudel’s sculptures of women. After the first show in Beijing, in 1993, the authorities, disturbed by its sensuality, barred Mr. Wang from performing in public.
Inspiration to Others
“I really admire him very much,” said Xiao Lu, 54, a performance artist. “I do body art, and you know, after a certain age. a person’s abilities decline. But he has this amazing sculpted body and spirit. Such power for life really comes from the inside. His appearance on the runway earned him a cultlike following.
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