Michael Garvey has been telling his City of Hope® stories over and over for three decades — which makes sense when you know he works in an industry built on “reps”— in the language of bodybuilding. The strategy is working.
Garvey is president of the Las Vegas Spa Association and owner of The Dumbell Man Fitness Equipment, and in three decades he has raised about $250,000 for research at City of Hope through his events and storytelling.
“We’ve done golf tournaments, rock-paper-scissors contests, a billiards tournament — anything I could think of,” Garvey said. “I did little things that fed into the Workout for Hope fundraiser for the people who couldn’t come to that or didn’t want to do an exercise class. It’s been a crazy story.”
His story centers on how acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) showed him at age 32 that his freewheeling fitness life couldn’t save him; he needed someone else’s help.
“I didn’t do anything to beat cancer. The people at City of Hope did it. That thing was kicking my butt,” Garvey said. “The guards at the gate, the nurse’s aides, the volunteers — they were always the best. Everybody there. And what I learned later was: By telling my story, I could help people and help City of Hope. So, I am willing to put myself out there.”
Garvey’s fundraising is part of City of Hope’s community fundraising program, which provides staff guidance, online fundraising and toolkits for volunteers who want to honor a loved one or a physician or want to energize their own community to support City of Hope.
Diana Keim, associate vice president of Community Fundraising at City of Hope, said, "Michael Garvey has turned his personal challenge into a rallying cry for support, raising significant funds and awareness for City of Hope. His journey is a testament to the strength of community support in our mission, reminding us all of the great impact one individual can have on our collective fight against cancer.”
Garvey started Dumbell Man in 1990 to sell exercise equipment, and by 1995 he had a small staff and an office in Torrance, California. But suddenly he could no longer jog 10 miles on The Strand. He was losing weight rapidly. He went to Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance and got the AML diagnosis and 50/50 odds to live.
“I naively thought about blackjack and thought those were really good odds! I was 32 and pretty darn fit. I was pretty confident.” He laughed.
“I’ve told these stories for 30 years. I can remember every moment of it, a lot because I’ve retold the story so many times because I got involved with fundraising for City of Hope. I’ve got a whole speech I give.”
— Michael Garvey
Garvey went through eight months of treatment that harvested his own cells for a bone marrow transplant at City of Hope and then gave him chemotherapy and radiation to kill the AML. He lost 50 pounds. He had a stroke.
A year after his transplant, Garvey was active again and fundraising for City of Hope. He served as the chair of the Workout for Hope event for a decade and met his wife, Andrea, in 1999 while raising money for the event. She had donated her bone marrow to save his sister’s life from AML at City of Hope three years before Garvey’s treatment.
He’s still going strong in 2024. Garvey’s 11th Annual Climb for Hope event at Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas in March raised $11,330.
“Early on, I had all these visions of making a million dollars and being on TV and everything, and then I just settled in to: I’m going to do the best I can. I’m going to create awareness. And I’m going to create a network of people who want to help City of Hope,” Garvey said.
Top Photo: Michael Garvey (third from left) with City of Hope physicians