Facebook’s Oldest Intern: How a 60-year-old fitness trainer reinvented himself with the most unlikely of companies by Howard Waldstreicher
Maybe it was a sign to switch careers?
That’s what I thought when the pandemic hit and I was struggling to pay the rent at the gym I owned. I had created HalfHourPower, a proprietary training system for athletes and had taken my method on the road opening studios. I was burnt out from the business after so many years anyway. At age 60, could I really get back into tech?
I was twenty-plus years out of this industry and corporate work in general. But I had been keeping myself biologically young and strong with diet, training, lifestyle and some genetic good luck. I knew I had things to offer, if only I could prove myself an asset to these companies (and to myself). I just needed one shot, and as my mother always told me, “It only takes one.”
I started applying. Nothing – no acknowledgements, no responses, no signs of life. I applied everywhere. I applied for programs set up for people re-entering the workforce. I tried to use whatever connections I had. I networked. I got certifications for data science and data analysis and practiced regularly. Crickets.
My wife was my biggest champion though and encouraged me to apply for a job posting at Facebook. “There’s no way,” I said incredulously. “Facebook? The best of the best?”
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