Julie Champlin

Steve Virgen

There’s a story in Julie Champlin’s past that explains basically

everything about her.

When she was 22, she quit her job as a teacher in Kansas, packed

up everything in her white 1965 Mustang and drove to California. She

had always been captivated by Hollywood and she saw her chance to

immerse herself in its glamour.

She found a friend to stay with for six weeks, before she had to

find a way to make a living. Champlin became involved in retail and

learned to get by. Ever since, she has tried to live life to its

fullest, and without regret.

It was a similar whim that led the 60-year-old Newport Beach

resident to her latest adventure ... kickboxing.

“I’ve always been active,” Champlin said. “I have a hard time

winding down. If you have always been busy, you stay busy. I’ve heard

people say ‘Give it to the busy person and they’ll get the job done.’

It’s true.”

Which brings us to the topic of kickboxing. What convinced

Champlin, who will be 61 Thursday, to walk into L.A. Boxing in Costa

Mesa and become a member?

“I was bored with high-impact aerobics,” she said. “If I’m sitting

around lazy, I don’t want to get up and go. With kickboxing, you can

be so dog tired one moment, but go to a class and you get so

energized. People think that it’s going to wear you out but, for me,

it has been uplifting.”

Champlin trains at the gym three times a week. She has been doing

so for the past six years. She does not fight others or spar. She

says she is involved with kickboxing to sweat. Usually, she’ll look

around when she is in a class and notice there are people in their

late 20s or mid-30s. She is usually the oldest.

But that seems to motivate her. Throughout her life, she has

always thrived amid challenges. Coming out of high school in Kansas,

at a time most people her age would marry and raise a family,

Champlin went to Wichita State to study to become a teacher.

However, after one year of being a teacher, she realized the job

was not her calling and off she went to California. Ever since, she

has worked in sales or customer service. It’s safe to say she’s a

people person. She has the ability to communicate with different

types of people, which is a reason she loves to travel.

Champlin left for Morocco Thursday for a two-week stay, her 90th

trip outside of the United States. She has traveled to Vietnam, Cuba,

India, Asia, even Myanmar, and Burma, among many other stops. Last

year, when she went to Thailand, she saw live kickboxing and was

fascinated by the sport’s attention to tradition. The visit reassured

her choice of kickboxing as a fitness activity.

For Champlin, kickboxing is not about competing, but rather

staying in shape and allowing the workouts to energize her. These

days, she works in hospitality and has met many celebrities

throughout her life. She met Johnny Unitas and Gale Sayers.

In addition to kickboxing, Champlin stays active with dancing.

She’s also very social, attending musicals and dramatic plays in

addition to her traveling.

She said she wants to continue kickboxing until she gets tired of

it. The way Champlin lives life, hardly anything gets old for her.