Weighty Contribution

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Sonny Astani knew a run-down gym with little more than some rusted free weights was no place for National Football League hopefuls.

So the veteran developer, 57, felt he had to do something when he saw Baldwin Village’s Susan Miller Dorsey High School football team – which has produced a long line of future NFL players over the years – work out in such a room at a sc hool event several years ago.

Last month, he funded a total renovation of the school’s weight room, which included fresh paint, new free weights, treadmills, stair-climbers and flat-screen televisions. It was completed by the Dorsey Football Booster club.

“I saw how desperate the situation was,” Astani said. “These guys have been producing NFL champs for 30 years but the room was out-of-shape. You couldn’t even call it a gym. I kept it in mind for years and just decided to get serious about it.”

He said the students were “totally amazed” when they saw the new room for the first time last month.

When asked how he would feel about seeing any of the students join the NFL one day, Astani didn’t hesitate.

“That would be a dream, absolutely,” he said.


Pest Position

Not every exterminator gets stopped on the street by adoring fans.

But for Mike Masterson, 52, chief executive at Isotech Pest Management Inc. in Covina, it’s a regular occurrence.

That’s because Masterson and his business were featured for two seasons on the Discovery Channel reality show “Verminators.”

He still makes on-air appearances on news programs as an expert in pest control.

The upshot? He’ll often be walking down the street, minding his own business, when he’s stopped by a fan asking how to get rid of rats, ants or other vermin – people often address him as the Verminator.

But Masterson said he doesn’t let it get to his head.

His first brush with fame was in the 1980s when he worked as a bodyguard for Joan Rivers as well as some prize fighters.

What’s more, his wife doesn’t allow him to get full of himself.

“I have a wife who keeps me humble and tells me what a jerk I am,” he joked. “It allows me to do what I do and then go home and live a normal life.”

Staff reporters Jacquelyn Ryan and Jonathan Polakoff contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].