Who was Gin Miller's original partner in stepping?

[mghorton]

I was on a flight into Nashville in December and happened to be seated next to a guy to who told me a fascinating story I had never heard before. Of course, I have forgotten the names of all involved, so I thought I'd throw this out there and see if anyone else had heard this as well...

It came up while we were chatting that I am a part time fitness instructor. The guy told me his wife was a lifelong fitness professional, and somehow stepping and Gin Miller's name came up. He knocked me over when he told me that Gin Miller was in fact NOT the inventor of the step, but a latecomer to the group that did invent it. His wife and one other guy actually invented step training, and originally, Gin had come to them looking for help in slimming down her naturally bulky bodybuilder's body. They turned her on to step and through some series of events that were difficult to hear over the puddle jumper's engines, he told me the idea was taken to investors with all of them as partners and the Step Company was born. And Gin led the first video that was packaged with the step.

He then said Gin took the idea to Reebok to get a contract on her own, and the Reebok step was born. Lawsuits flew and although Gin is often credited as inventing Step training, she can never actually claim that herself or she'll be sued.

I had NEVER heard this before, and wish I had been awake enough to write down his wife's name. I've been searching the internet to find some verification of this story and/or some detailed history on the origins of step training and have come up with NOTHING.

Has anyone out there ever heard ANYTHING like this? Does anyone know the name of her original partner? Who is Dawn Brown? Any suggestions on how I can find out more about this story?

[Peggy T]

Originally Posted by mghorton

And Gin led the first video that was packaged with the step.

I had heard that she turned to step to trim down her bodybuilder physique.

I also think I have that tape - is it called The 29 Minute Step Workout? I know it came with a step, and Gin leads it but her name isnt mentioned anywhere.

[Hazel Porter]

Interesting, though. I thought I read an interview with Gin once, though, where she claimed to have come up with the idea for what became step aerobics when she was rehabing a lower body injury (knee? dont' recall off hand) and found that doing step-ups was great exercise apart from the rehab.

But I also recall Cathe being uncharacteristically peevish when someone referred to Gin as the inventor of step aerobics on the one trip I took to her studio in late 1998. I recall Cathe saying that she was using wooden steps for various types of moves long before "the" step first hit the big time.

Dawn Brown? Why am I thinking that was the name of one of Princess Diana's personal trainers (who made an earlier step video, circa mid-90s)? That can't possibly be right, can it?

[antbuko]

I think Gin's story was that she started using wooden steps to rehabilitate her knee and it just caught on. I've wondered about this because I always believed Gin to be the inventor of step, but even in the video that came with my original step, it's attributed to The Step Company.

Could it be that Gin invented the step choreography concept and the Step Company invented the step?

[Vintage VFer]

I rememberd being confused about this when I visited the Plyorobics website. It mentions Dawn Brown being the "Inventor of Step Aerobics".

http://www.plyorobics.com/

[Jane P.]

I had a step tape led by Gin Miller. Tim Culwell was a background exerciser and they used a Step Company step (and hand weights) rather than the Reebok one. I got it for an SASE so I don't know where it was originally marketed.

I was getting the Collage catalog at the time the first step workouts were introduced. There was a step tape by a Conni somebody (don't remember the last name). There was also Step It Out with Dawn Brown which I never ordered, but definitely remember the name.

I also remember reading an article that said that Gin Miller "was one of the inventors of step aerobics."

There is also the old Harvard Step Test which I remember not so fondly from my PE classes. I guess if anyone invented the concept of going up and down on the step to increase the heart rate, it's them.

Diana's trainer was Carolan Brown.

[Barkley]

Stepping up on a box is a physical therapy move that has been around for a long time. Gin does claim to have gotten the idea for step aerobics from rehab for her knee. She takes credit all the time for inventing step aerobics. Pilates is another example of rehab moves being popularized as exercise.

[dnk]

I read an article Gin wrote in Cooking Light years ago in which she wrote that she starting stepping over a box as part of her knee-injury rehab, and that was how she came to invent step aerobics. Cooking Light isn't hugely read, but it's got enough exposure that you would think that if she had something to be afraid re: lawsuits, she wouldn't be that sloppy.

Deb

[Kathryn]

Originally Posted by Hazel Porter

Interesting, though. I thought I read an interview with Gin once, though, where she claimed to have come up with the idea for what became step aerobics when she was rehabing a lower body injury (knee? dont' recall off hand) and found that doing step-ups was great exercise apart from the rehab.

But I also recall Cathe being uncharacteristically peevish when someone referred to Gin as the inventor of step aerobics on the one trip I took to her studio in late 1998. I recall Cathe saying that she was using wooden steps for various types of moves long before "the" step first hit the big time.

The knee rehab story is what I've always heard in reference to Gin inventing step aerobics.

The promos at the begining of Cathe's earlier workouts all stated that she was the inventer of "power stepping," (or some similar term) but NOT of stepping in general.

[Rivercat]

Originally Posted by dnk

I read an article Gin wrote in Cooking Light years ago in which she wrote that she starting stepping over a box as part of her knee-injury rehab, and that was how she came to invent step aerobics.

I think Cooking Light was where I first read that story as well, but from other things I've read (Gin's site maybe? Can't recall offhand and too lazy to check), the implication is that Gin was the pioneer in choreographing step movements with music into a fun aerobic routine that could be done in gyms and clubs.

But I could be totally making this up!