Let me introduce myself; I am a woman of experience and some notoriety. I was born Gail Hire in Chicago, raised on the beaches of California, educated at numerous institutions, and enriched by the exciting experiences of life: sports, cars, modeling, acting, design, marriage, painting, childbirth, non-profit development, and business. All of which contributed to who I am today and to how I will move into the future.

I live my life with gusto, and I love every minute of it. The three main topics covered; The good, the bad, and the ugly have all been parts of my life; each arrived to teach and to help me grow.

For, I believe the reason we are born into this time and existence is to move our level of “consciousness” one step further to the next level. Everything is a life lesson; everything is enriching. I was blessed to be born into a family that encouraged me to have fun with sports: surfing, tennis, golf, and even car racing — I enjoyed them all. But most importantly, these passionate pursuits left me with a love of exercise, fitness, and life.

I still remember when I prepared to venture out into the world, my father said to me, “You can do or be anything you want in life. The only requirement is to love what you do, and if you give it more than 100%, you will be successful. On the other hand, if you don’t like it, quit immediately and go on to the next thing!”

Now, more than 60 years later, I still find myself saying, “I don’t know what I’ll be when I grow up.” I am having so much fun and experiencing so many new things. I am also blessed to have beautiful people of all ages in my life and excited that the future is still full of possibilities.

But as I moved into my seventies, it occurred to me that I’d had plenty of advice from my parents and elders in my youth, but there was no one to prepare me for living this long and dealing with all the newness that has come into our generation’s lives in the last 15 years.

I grew up as part of a groundbreaking generation, a generation that changed the 20th Century beyond all recognition. We are the Hippies who stopped a war with flower power, the Mad Men who changed advertising, the feminists who burned their bras, and fought for women’s equality. The artists and designers whose creative work encapsulated the sexual and spiritual revolution, and the musicians whose music defined war, love, peace, and change.

We are the “hip” generation that has turned silver. We are the “HipSilvers.”

Only in the last three years, when the “boomers” began turning 60, did anyone pay attention to the third phase of our existence. In fact, the media doesn’t even know what to call us….

We are the first generation to live longer than our parents, to embody the benefits of exercise and healthy eating (thank you, Jane Fonda) by not only living longer but by living well. We are spearheading the way for the boomer generation, who are moving into their 60’s, to come to grips with aging gracefully.

We HipSilvers are here to take the fear and terror out of the third phase of our lives. To abandon the “boomer” title that defines when you were born, and take up the title of “HipSilver” that describes how we intend to live. We grew up as a generation who broke new ground, and it’s time for us to do it again.

I’ve been lucky to have so much inspiration around me, to know amazing people who embody my ideal of what being a HipSilver is all about. They taught me to “live brightly” to push myself to learn new skills and to practice and develop those skills I learned years ago.

Most importantly, it has inspired me to SHARE my story, to put myself out there to help and guide those of my generation. I am creating a roadmap for those coming behind me and want to move beyond the standard definition of aging.

- Gail