Philipp Kellner spends most of his days pursuing physical fitness. Kellner, who recently turned 80, looks like he'd be a good fit for just about any NFL team.
“I've always been involved in fitness,” Kellner said.
Mr. Kellner was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1943 and attended the Graduate School of Business at Northwestern University (now known as the Kellogg School) in 1966, earning a master's degree.
“At the time, the Vietnam War was in full swing and the U.S. Navy offered me the opportunity to join the cadet program, which I accepted,” he said.
In December 1966, Kellner was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He was then sent to the Naval Supply Corps School, then located in Athens, Georgia. Over the course of his naval career, Kellner was assigned to various missions around the world, including assignments in the Asia-Pacific region.
“During the Vietnam War, I was assigned to the Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC) in Thailand. Our mission was to search, locate, and recover POWs and MIA. Later in the war, I Our organization was tasked with establishing and supporting refugee camps for Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees following the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive.
After retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1990, Kellner contacted a retired colleague living in Florida.
“I ended up visiting Melbourne and fell in love with the local feel and proximity to Patrick Space Command,” Mr Kellner said.
It was also during this time that he pursued his interest in recreational scuba diving and became a certified scuba instructor. “This opened the door for me to travel around the world as a cruise ship diving instructor,” Kellner said. During his trip, Kellner was able to participate in a marine archeology program sponsored by the University of Haifa in Israel.
“I travel to Israel every year to support graduate students who participate in water projects that are essential to their research for several weeks a year,” he said.
As a volunteer, Kellner has participated in assisting with excavations from the Byzantine period to the Napoleonic period. Kellner used his spare time to earn his Emergency Medical Technician and Diving Medical Technician certifications and eventually became an instructor with the American Heart Association.
Kellner emphasizes her love for fitness above all else. “Fitness has become a core value of my lifestyle,” he said. “Without health and fitness, you can't pursue anything else. I usually do a full-body program in the morning that includes light weights, strength training, and cardio on my home rowing machine. ”
This routine is sufficient for most people, including those over 80, but Kellner, who goes to Viera's Health First Fitness Center every day, likes to spend her afternoons lifting weights or riding a stationary bike.
“I also like to take long walks at the end of the day,” he said.
When it comes to fitness, Kellner doesn't like to leave anything on the table at the end of the day.