Peter & Lisa

Following a serious knee injury 6 years ago, Peter has since returned to the things he loves – a life on the water. Rowing, paddle boarding and sailing keep Peter fit and busy. Whilst Lisa runs a dance school offering ballet style exercise classes for seniors and those with cognitive impairments or Alzheimer’s.

Read Peter and Lisa’s full conversation below or watch the video.

Peter: “I’ll be 79 in two weeks. I was born on the 8th of July 1949.”

Lisa: “And I’m 53.”

Lisa: “So, I do run these dance schools here in Perth, and we teach children as young as three years, through to our oldest student is 82. And we are moving more in the direction of teaching ballet to seniors, so those over 60 years. I lost my mother to Alzheimer’s a couple of years ago and, on the basis of that, I thought I would put together an exercise program based on ballet movement for those who suffer from mild cognitive impairment or early stage Alzheimer’s.”

Peter: “I enjoy rowing. I’ve got a single skull so I do that. Also, I paddle board a lot. We’ve got a yacht, so we sail around in that too. In 2013 I fell 5 meters from the top of a ladder. Got a comminuted fracture to my tibial plateau, that was the only bone that was injured. It was quite a messy first operation. Finished up with my leg bent out to the side. Second op straightened it up with a long stem prosthesis and after that I was able to paddle board, row and all those things. In fact, I could, I mean I can even run.”

Peter: “I haven’t got any, apprehension about aging because I don’t feel limited by aging. That’s in all honesty! Mainly because I’ll tackle about anything unless I see its foolish. I’ve had many challenges in my life and every time I’ve set out to overcome that challenge. Neither of us can get our head around the ages we are.”

Lisa: “We’re timeless.” Laughs. To Peter. “Thought you’d like that”.

Peter: Laughs. “I like that.”