June Employee Spotlight – John Cressler
Some might say John Cressler is a lucky man. Others might say it’s a miracle he’s alive. His boss would say he’s a hard worker. Whether luck, miracle, hard work, or a combination, John’s career and life at Oxford have been pretty darn cool, to say the least.
“Anne Lewis hired me as a janitor at the Racquet Club in 1982 after I was laid off from my job in retail. She was the general manager at the time.”
From there John went on to work in the fitness department where he started a basketball program.
“In 1999 Scott Bergstein called me up to become the general manager of the club 18 years after I started as a cleaner. Then we sold it.”
John moved over to the Oxford Athletic Club in the North Hills where he had the opportunity to work with a lot of different people, including tennis legends Marina Navratilova, Chrissy Evert, and Billie Jean King as the club hosted the Virginia Slims Legends Tournament. He even met the Menendez brothers in a tennis tournament (and yes, John confirmed that their father was crazy. Maybe not worthy of murder crazy, but I digress.).
When spinning came out, he met personally with Johnny G, the founder of spinning, and then designed and built the spin studio at Oxford Athletic Club himself.
He met his wife at the Club and raised his kids at the Club, both of which became all-time leading scorers at Plum High School and went on with full scholarships to play basketball – one at Cornell and the other at Vanderbilt (even playing professionally for a while in Estonia).
Then Oxford Athletic Club was sold, so John moved over to manage One Oxford Centre. Then that was sold.
“I’ve been through three major dispositions. Steve Nicotra always joked with me that if we ever need to sell a property, just hire me as the manager.”
Last spring, John found himself frequently not feeling well, and not his normal active self. He thought it was indigestion and went to see his PCP, who promptly sent him to the ER where five people met him at the door. Within an instant, he was given a room at the Oxford project-managed Wexford Hospital.
When he failed a stress test, he was immediately taken for heart catheterization surgery and learned that he had blockages in three valves – 90%, 80%, and 60%. The next morning, he underwent a 6-hour triple bypass surgery.
“Steve Nicotra was on my mind at this time. We were both active, both went to work that day, and both drove ourselves to the hospital,” John said. “I was lucky that I was given the opportunity to survive.”
After a short stint in intensive care, John was moved to a room for a few more days and then was released home. The cardiac rehab was full and could not take him. There aren’t enough cardiac physiologists in the region, so John did his rehab with the help of Zoom and an online rehab facility. Connecting weekly and daily through a Fitbit, his physiologist monitored John’s progress from California. He was provided strength training exercises and walking goals for eight weeks.
Not being able to walk half a block when he started, John set a goal to walk the Pittsburgh Half Marathon in May 2024 (rehab started in August 2023).
“I ran two marathons back in the late 80s, so I thought this would be a good goal. When I asked my cardiologist, he said go for it!”
This past May John successfully completed the half-marathon in 18 minutes per mile, an accomplishment for even the healthiest among us.
“I’m continuing with my rehab, trying to incorporate more anaerobic workouts now. I learned that my condition was genetic which made me prone to high cholesterol, but I didn’t know, and it waited to show itself. I still take medications daily, but including the exercise and surgery cut my cholesterol in half.”
Getting ready to celebrate his 68th birthday, John knows his time at Oxford is nearing an end.
“Having had several careers before Oxford, it was amazing to me that I was allowed to better myself at the club where I was allowed to be in meetings with the Owners and upper management. The clubs were Eddie Lewis’ babies, he was very invested in their performance.
How many companies do the Owners and CEO know who you are? I moved my whole life and Oxford provided me stability. I think they saw my willingness to learn and that I was good with people, and they saw my worth. I found compassion in them. I never had the opportunity to go to college. What Oxford has provided me has been life-changing.”
John is currently working at our U-PARC campus for the University of Pittsburgh.
“And now they’re selling it. I know Nic is up there laughing.”
John brings enthusiasm, creativity, and a sense of calm to work each day. Please take a moment to celebrate John and the energy he brings to Oxford!
