It’s a refreshingly rainy day in Austin and we’re gearing up for a photo shoot at Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop with JB Hager and Sandy McIlree – the two Mix 94.7 radio personalities who’ve become local legends over the last two decades (though their modesty might keep them from agreeing). We’re setting up a shot near the check-out area, among rows of colorful Trek bikes, and these two grown men look more like two kids in a candy store.

Sandy is carefully considering the purchase of a LIVESTRONG cycling jersey, while JB is recommending his favorite bike for cruising the Town Lake trails. After observing them for a few minutes, it’s difficult to imagine either one has ever struggled with living a healthy lifestyle.

But as it turns out, in their mid-20s, both fought excess weight and a lack of motivation to do anything about it. Sandy, an athlete in high school, lost all interest in fitness during college, and JB’s erratic work and sleep schedule eventually zapped his energy.

Then something, or rather someone, happened. New baby girls brimming with pure joy gave JB and Sandy a new enthusiasm for health and fitness and a reason to get in shape.

“I was a slob in my 20s but after having a kid, you have to step it up,” JB says smiling, as he explains how his now 7-year-old daughter keeps him going.

“She swims, surfs and does karate, and when you have a kid who wants to spar with you, you better whip it into shape!”

Today, the 42-year-old father is a competitive cyclist who hits the weights mostly in the off-season. Most of his exercise time is spend on the bike, clocking at least 15 hours a week. And when he’s not riding, JB can be found cross-training with his coach at Pure Austin.

“My wife and I both have coaches, he says. “It’s funny, I never paid much attention to coaches when I was a kid. But now, I guess I’m paying for it.”

Relatively new to fatherhood, Sandy also finds having a 4-month-old daughter to be a constant source of inspiration when it comes to hitting the gym.

“Just like JB and his wife do, my wife and I try to lead by example. I want our daughter to have an active life,” he says.

When the strain of work or juggling the demands of a newborn baby get the best of him, Sandy turns to the advice of friend Chris Carmichael (Lance Armstrong’s long-time coach): Fitness without goals is impossible.

“I’m not one of those people who can just go for a run…there has to be a prize at the end,” says Sandy.

“Yesterday I was driving to the gym feeling like crap, but by the time I left, I felt 1,000 times better. That’s kind of a goal – you feel better after you get an hour-long, hard workout in; then you can go drink a beer guilt-free. And while I’m exercising, I never think about any of the other stresses in my life. For that one hour, it’s a great escape.”

It’s this goal-oriented perspective that’s helped Sandy get back on the fitness wagon, successfully completing a 100-mile bike ride as part of the LIVESTRONG Challenge in his training.

In fact, cycling is just one of many things these chummy radio hosts have in common. Therefore, it seems logical that their popular Bikes for Kids annual charity event, now in its 14 year, is just an extension of that hobby. But when asked about it, JB and Sandy joke that it’s just a coincidence.

“When we started Bikes for Kids, I was obese, smoking cigars and drinking whiskey,” JB says chuckling.

“Yeah, I actually do that while bike riding,” quips Sandy.

Their comedic chemistry is the hallmark of an entertaining and oftentimes thought-provoking radio show, one that has kept loyal Austin listeners tuned in since it hit the airwaves more than 13 years ago. And amazingly, during all but one of those years, the duo has helmed Bikes for Kids: raising money all over the city to give underprivileged children the coolest gift they could ever want: a shiny, brand new bike.

“There are a lot of organizations in town that give kids the necessities, like blankets, coats, food and formula which are incredibly important. But we thought, ‘What do kids really want?’” explains JB.

“Everybody has great memories of bikes. If you ask anybody about their first bike, they’ll be able to describe it in detail.”

Although Bikes for Kids is by far the largest, most publicized philanthropic event they’re a part of, JB and Sandy constantly find ways to give back to the Austin community, even if it’s in less visible ways. For instance, a family activity center at Dell Children’s Medical Center and an East Austin Youth Association baseball team both exist today because of their collective generosity. In the case of the baseball team, a heart-breaking letter from one of the player’s moms was all it took for them to reach into their own pockets and make a trip to the local sporting goods store.

Not by accident, their patronage often reflects a connection to kids, which might just be a symptom of fatherhood. Whether it’s fundraising for Bikes for Kids or buying uniforms and gloves for a kid’s baseball team, JB and Sandy have been the benefactors of several children’s charities. And this sense of giving not only comes naturally, but it’s informed by a lesson they learned from financial guru Suze Orman.

“Suze says that any client she’s ever had who started giving for the first time, had more come back to them,” says JB, while Sandy nods in agreement. “She doesn’t have an explanation for it, but it’s been true for me personally and for the show.”

“It [Bikes for Kids] is important. We have this big giant radio station to do something with,” Sandy chimes in. “If you really think about it, we’ve got it very good. We live in a great city, have great homes, great jobs. You’ve got to do something and give back.”

For these donating dynamos, this is a bit of an understatement. Consider this: just last year Bikes for Kids raised $128,000, which translates to about 900 to 1,000 new bikes for kids of all ages. From tricycles to mountain bikes, row after row of them line up outside Mellow Johnny’s on giveaway day, making for a stunning sight. Though Freescale Semiconductor has a matching funds day (they will match every dollar donated up to $20,000), Sandy says the bulk of the contributions come from regular people in the Austin community.

“Our biggest donors are the people who donate $20,” he says. “It really does make a difference.”

So, if you remember those wonderful care-free days cruising around the neighborhood on your bike, perhaps it’s time to join JB and Sandy in giving back to Bikes for Kids this year. You can create a memorable holiday season for a kid who may never enjoy the freedom and fitness of having their own ride. Donations are graciously accepted through Tuesday, December 19th, the big giveaway day, on JB and Sandy’s morning show Web site – mix947.com.

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Q&A

J.B. Hager and Sandy McIlree Talk Fitness and Philanthropy

How do you find energy to stay active and fit while working an early shift?

JB: It’s difficult because the first thing you want to do is go home and crash. There a lot of people who get up at 4 or 5 a.m., but for us it’s not a slow wake-up. You just hit the ground running and then you’ve got to be “on.” It’s like doing a presentation for four hours. And you just want to go to sleep afterwards.

S: And everyone else is just starting their day; they’re all fired up and on their second cup of coffee.

JB: In my twenties, I’d sleep four hours during the day and four at night. But when I hit 30, I was like, “Wow I have to do something about this.” I was huge…like 50 pounds larger then I am now. So yes, it does make it difficult and you get this third-shift syndrome and it just drains you and messes with your hormones and sleep. But it would only be worse if you weren’t exercising.

S: The good thing about our schedule is that when I do go to the gym, no one is there. So I have the whole place to myself. I go to Wild Basin at Steiner Ranch…I love that gym, it’s simple and smaller (just what I like).

What kind of stuff do you guys do to stay in shape?

JB: I go to Pure Austin, but I’m not in the gym that often…I’m usually outside biking. I need cross-training. I’ll bike ride 15 hours a week but I’m still fighting the weight which is crazy. I guess the buzz term is “muscle confusion” but I get it now. So yeah, I’ll go the gym more in the off-season and shake it up…I’ll play tennis, which is a lot of fun.

S: I’ve completely turned my body over to Ryan Helms at Wild Basin Fitness and I don’t ask questions. We do different things all the time. In fact, just yesterday we did speed skating. When it comes to fitness, there are people who really know what they’re doing, so I think it’s wise to get help.

JB: Whatever you learned in high school, doesn’t apply.

S: In high school, it was all about how much you could bench press, how much you could squat, how fast you could run a mile. It’s different now. It’s more about your core, your aerobic capacity.

JB: Yeah, everybody is talking about their strong cores and I’m thinking, “I gotta get one of those!” How come I don’t have that? (laughs)

How did the idea for Bikes for Kids (BFK) come about? Was there anything in particular that led you to come up with this charitable program?

JB: We first talked about BFK 13 years ago. Even as it’s changed since then, with iPods, cameras, videogames, etc., a bike still holds up. It’s going to get them out, connect them with neighborhood kids and its their first taste of freedom. And everybody has great memories of bikes. If you ask anybody about their first bike, they’ll be able to describe it in detail.

Can you tell us who some of your biggest donors are for BFK?

S: Our biggest donors are all the people who donate $20…it really makes a difference. Freescale Semiconductors also does a matching day (in early December), so every dollar that’s donated they will match, up to $20,000.

How can people donate and when is the last day donations will be accepted?

JB: You can donate through the Web site (mix94.7.com). Donations are accepted up until the bike giveaway on Dec. 19th.

How much did you raise last year and do you have a new goal this year?

S: This marks the 13th year of BFK. Last year we raised more than $125,000 with about the same goal this year.

JB: This is the second year that Travis County Medical has donated helmets for all the bikes. We buy locks for all the new Trek Bikes, which range from tricycles all the way to mountain bikes.

S: We give away lots of tricycles. When we give a bike to one kid in a family, all the kids get bikes.

How would you describe the giveaway?

S: It’s a pretty spectacular setup with row after row of bikes. And there are volunteers that walk the families to their new bikes, get them all fitted and help them put them in their car. We never get to see this since it takes place while we’re on the radio but JB’s cycling club and the Austin Huns Rugby Football Team witness the emotional breakdown which usually happens as they’re walking to their cars. They know as they’re about to drive off, a week from Christmas, that the kidthey wrote to us about, is going to get a bike for Christmas. It’s a pretty cool scene.

JB: Lance Armstrong has come out to help sign autographs and in the past he has even helped put the bikes in the car. Imagine having Lance help you out; it’s a great story to tell.

In both your opinions, how does the act of giving relate to a person’s wellbeing?

S: A lot of people have a habit of taking, taking, taking. As far as well-being is concerned, well, if you’ve never donated a dollar to charity, you might want to think about it. You know, after you do it, it makes you feel pretty good. It’s kind of a selfish thing to do too and its good karma!

JB: Yeah, that’s true. That’s the thing with BFK — there are a lot of great organizations out there but you don’t see directly where your money is going. And BFK is so concrete; that money you donated is going to buy a bike. Every penny of it.

In terms of philanthropy, what makes Austin different than other cities?

JB: You notice that in Austin people start getting into charities when they are in their twenties. Like LifeWorks (Shelter for Homeless Children) has a lot of young people in it and people are onboard having dinner parties and going to happy hour. In every other city I’ve lived in, charity was something you did after age 50; after you accumulated money. I seem to feel like in Austin, it’s part of your lifestyle and you just jump right in. Austin is pretty giving.

How do you decide who gets the bikes?

JB: Usually you are bawling, in tears – those are the letters that we know we have to pursue. We do get thousands of letters; we feel that we’re doing the right amount (of bikes) in terms of the amount of really solid letters that we get. A couple of years ago we had some surplus funds and we bought some mountain bikes for the Camacho Activity Center in East Austin because they have a bike racing program for at-risk kids. And two years later, the kids won the state championship.

Since you’re both DJs we had to ask: What music do you listen to when you work out?

S: I get hooked on one thing and I’ll listen to it over and over again. Right now, it’s Kings of Leon. I went to ACL, but I left…I’m not a big crowd person.

JB: I listen to a lot of artists you’d hear at ACL. But this summer, while I was riding, I started really using my iPod apps and I’ve been listening to these morning shows in Australia/New Zealand. It’s a trip…they’re doing tomorrow’s morning show and they’re talking about the same stuff we are. It’s so bizarre to listen to the other side of the world starting their day.

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Catch JB and Sandy on the big screen! Their radio show is now being filmed live from 6 to 7 a.m.
on local CBS affiliate, KEYE-TV Austin.