An interview with John Pepper, Author on August 4, 2023 by George Ackerman, Ph.D, J.D.
Biography
I was born in the United Kingdom in London, however I left the UK to come to South Africa in 1952. Before leaving the UK, I was employed by Barclays Bank in Winchester. When I was 18 years old, I immigrated to South Africa where I joined Barclays Bank DCO. I spent a good number of years working my way up the corporate ladder before joining a company called Burroughs Machines as a sales representative. I did extremely well in that position and was able to pay cash for a house, a new car and all the furniture needed by 1963, which was a great achievement for me.
Then the entrepreneurial bug bit me and I decided to start my own business with my partner, Eric Sulter in 1963. The company grew so quickly that we were able to go public on the JSE in 1987. The company was called Lithosaver Systems Ltd. We grew from strength to strength, however, my health deteriorated with Pd and by 1982 I had to relinquish my position as General Manager, although I remained Chairman of the Board until 1999. I had been attending Gym classes at 5-30 am, six days a week, for one hour a day between 1978 and 1994, when I quit because it had done nothing to slow down the PD.
Please tell me a little about your background.
I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 1992 and retired as CEO of my company, freeing myself to find alternate ways to heal myself. I was diagnosed by four different neurologists over time, who all confirmed that I had PD. After diagnosis, I joined Run/Walk for Life in 1994 to find out if fast walking could help me overcome the disease. They taught me how to walk properly and as fast as possible. After four months, I noticed my symptoms starting to improve. In 2002 I quit my PD medication and have been living medication-free since then. I am now 86 years old and need to tell the whole world what can be done if you are serious about wanting to overcome many Pd symptoms through alternative methods.
Can you tell me more about your advocacy?
I have a book on PD and a couple of others I have written about my life. You can find them here: https://reverseparkinsons.net/
I wrote this book because I am the only Parky I know, who has been able to overcome most of its symptoms. That does not mean that I am cured, it means that I do not suffer from any of its
symptoms, unless I cease doing what I have found, works for me, the details of which will follow.
I believe that the way we live, work, and think, all influence our overall health, and you might benefit from reading this book. It is not going to tell you all the details of
how I overcame my PD problems because, that is fully covered in my book, ‘Reverse Parkinson’s Disease”, which has been in print for many years.
What is your passion and how did you get involved in Parkinson’s awareness and hope for a cure?
My book tells the story about ‘Run/Walk for Life.’ After I started the walking, my PD started getting better and after 2 years, nobody would ever know that I had PD. I still have many non-movement symptoms.
What type of goals do individuals with Parkinson’s have when working with you?
If they have improved, as I have, I have been all over the English-speaking world, showing PD Patients how to immediately start walking properly, including those already bed ridden.
What type of training and how long are the programs?
I only show people how to walk FAST, properly, thereby reversing their movement symptoms. At those meetings, they ask me questions on many aspects of PD, and I tell them what I have done about each problem or anything. I have been to:
USA
Hawaii
Canada
England
Australia
New Zealand
Tasmania
Holland
On various Boat Cruises I gave talks in Israel
I field about twenty emails a day from PD patients.
What effect can your writing and advocacy have on individuals with Parkinson’s?
It should encourage them to start doing the fast walking, which is the only known way to reverse PD symptoms.
What would you like to see as a future goal for your advocacy?
I would like to see more people actively corroborating my contention that fast walking, as tested by the mayo clinic report, is the only way to go about reversing the symptoms of PD.
What events do you participate in (for awareness)?
I live in far-away South Africa, and we do not have many events.