P
loke’s story began in Agana,
Guam. He and his family
relocated to San Francisco
when he was 10 years old.
By the time he was in high school
they’d moved to the South Bay.
At the age of 16 Ploke discovered
martial arts, which turned out to be
a perfect companion to his love of
physical fitness.
“I tried it out and just fell in love
with it,” Ploke said.
“What I liked about it was the
physical fitness portion of being strong,
being flexible, having the mental
discipline.”
Ploke is quite accomplished in the
area of martial arts and has advanced
to a six-degree black belt (out of 10),
level. Throughout his 10 years of
competing he has received numerous
trophies in both the Kata and Kumite
styles of freestyle fighting.
After high school Ploke attended
Foothill De Anza College where his
interest in martial arts transitioned
from participant to teacher. The
encouragement of a De Anza martial
arts instructor led Ploke to accept an
assistant instructor position. He was
only 21 at the time.
This move was instrumental in his
career as it introduced him to the world
of teaching.
His love of teaching prompted him
to return to San Jose State University
in pursuit of a Master’s degree in
Kinesiology (the study of body
movement). In 1980, degree in hand,
Ploke went from part-time teacher
at De Anza, to a full-time teaching
position at Foothill College, where he
remained for the next 30 years.
“I loved it, and I stayed with the
community college, I couldn’t ask for
a better job,” Ploke said, adding, “The
passion of teaching and exercise have
always been with me.”
Ploke retired from Foothill College
in 2010. He and his wife of 30 years,
Rose, moved to Gilroy to begin a new
chapter in their lives. Six months after
the move instead of basking in his
freedom from a nine-to-five workday
Ploke returned to teaching.
On a walk through the campus of
Gavilan College he met up with Susan
Dodd, who at the time was head of the
Kinesiology Department.
In the space of their conversation
Ploke went from newly retired to newly
hired. Dodd offered Ploke a part-time
teaching position in Gavilan’s Physical
Fitness department, which he happily
accepted.
In addition to his teaching, Ploke
has also been instrumental in imple-
menting a personal training program.
“I’d already done that at Foothill
College,” Ploke said.
“Basically I took my program and
kind of fused it into theirs. So I now
teach the classes in that program.”
In 2012, Ploke noticed the opening
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
december 2018-january 2019
of a new business, Anytime Fitness,
at the Nob Hill Shopping Center. His
interest in the gym led to a meeting
with the owners, Russ and Jaime Allen.
After a conversation with them, Ploke
was once again offered a job, this time
as a personal trainer.
“I never saw myself teaching at a
gym because I’ve been an educator all
my life,” Ploke said.
Just like teaching, personal training
was a perfect fit for Ploke.
“What I like about it, [Anytime
Fitness], is that the atmosphere there,
it’s very non-threatening,” Ploke said,
adding, “When people come in they
feel comfortable.”
To accommodate his client base of
forty people, he teaches at the gym five
days a week in addition to his part-time
teaching at Gavilan.
“At Gavilan it’s more of a group set-
ting where I may be teaching anywhere
from 20 to 30,” Ploke said, adding that
each job is equally enjoyable.
“At Anytime Fitness it’s one-on-one.
It’s a little bit more personal, so I get to
know my clients. They become more
like extended members of my family.”
All of Ploke’s clients agree, he has
a winning style.
Five years ago, Denise Giffin, 62, of
Gilroy, reached out to Ploke for help.
“I got invited to hike the Inca trail
into Machu Picchu, and I said yes,”
Giffin said.
“And then I Googled that. It goes
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