Nautilus inventor Arthur Jones: Alcoholism would explain his life.
Sometimes, it takes a (likely) addict:
Nautilus inventor Arthur Jones, the “flamboyant” entrepreneur whose weightlifting machines were instrumental in creating the health club industry, dead at 80. At various times in his eclectic career Jones operated an airline in South America, collected big game for zoos and circuses, worked as a pilot, produced movies and hosted a syndicated animal show, “Wild Cargo.” Jones’ 600-acre estate in Ocala, Florida (part of a series of estates that Jones developed consisting of fly-in only properties, the most famous resident of which is actor John Travolta), included 90 elephants, 300 alligators, 400 crocodiles, a gorilla, three rhinos and a collection of poisonous snakes and insects. He was self-taught in most of his careers, including physiology, for which he studied cadavers and, according to his daughter, “kept a freezer full of frozen limbs.”
As is often the case for alcoholic entrepreneurs and scientists, there are no reports of heavy drinking. There was, however, one key observable symptom of addiction reported in the obituaries in conjunction with his extraordinary risk-taking behaviors: the number of marriages and ages of his brides. Jones was married and divorced an incredible six times to women whose ages ranged from 16 to 20 on their wedding day. The odds of alcoholism in someone divorced just four times are about 85%, and even higher when there are dramatic age differences. This, shall we say, inspired me to dig deeper.
Jones was reportedly gruff, profane and a nearly lifelong smoker, all of which are consistent with a diagnosis of alcoholism. He was indicted for failure to pay income taxes in the 1970s and, virtually putting the nail in the coffin, as many as six former business partners and distributors accused him of threatening to kill them. While alcoholics may threaten violence and even act on such threats, non-addicts rarely if ever do so.
A number of distributors accused his company of failing to ship merchandise for which they had paid. He also spoke disparagingly of his competitors, calling them “thieves, frauds, fakers, slanderers and incompetents” and said that the number of scientists who “know literally anything of value about exercise” was, in his typically colorful language, “equal to the number of thumbs on your left ear.” One common way by which alcoholics inflate their ego is by making disparaging and belittling remarks of others.
He often carried a Colt .45 and famously said, “I’ve shot 630 elephants and 63 men, and I regret the elephants more.” After collecting exotic animals and ferrying them to zoos and researchers, he claimed he was accused by the CIA and FBI of running guns or bombs to Cuba. Alcoholics are often paranoid and speak as if everything is a conspiracy. He once explained, “When I was broke, I was crazy. Now that I am rich, I’m eccentric.” He also asserted, “There is no limit to my abilities. I can do anything.” Indeed. Arthur Jones may be one of those in whom alcoholism drove overachievement, in grand irony, for the benefit of mankind, even if his personal life was a mess.
Note to family, friends and fans of the above: the benefit of the doubt is given by assuming alcoholism (they are either idiots and fundamentally rotten, or they are alcoholic/other drug addicts–which would explain the misbehaviors). If alcoholic, there is zero chance that behaviors, in the long run, will improve without sobriety. An essential prerequisite to sobriety is the cessation of enabling, allowing pain and crises to build. Thus far, many have done everything they can to protect the addict from the requisite pain, making these news events possible. The cure for alcoholism, consequential bad behaviors and, ultimately, tragedy, is simple: stop protecting the addict from the logical consequences of misbehaviors and proactively intervene.