Vladimir Yakovlev’s “The Age of Happiness” Shows Seniors in a Whole New Light

Russian journalist Vladimir Yakovlev
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In our youth-obsessed culture, negative stereotypes of aging people are everywhere. Conjure up an image of an elderly person and what do you see? A stooped old man with a walker, perhaps? A frail, gray-haired woman being tended to in a nursing home? Whatever you imagine, it’s almost certainly not an image of a vibrant, healthy, fulfilled human being in the prime of life.

When he was barely into his 50s, Russian journalist Vladimir Yakovlev set out on a journey to discover just how true our negative stereotypes of the elderly are. Motivated by the desire to learn how his own life might unfold as he aged, he traveled through Europe, China and the United States talking to and photographing people who were not letting the aging process slow them down — people in their 60s, 70s and 80s who were accomplishing things they never thought they could. His photo series, “The Age of Happiness” documents what these amazing people are doing with their lives.

Greta Pontarelli at 63
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Take 63 year-old Greta Pontarelli, who started pole dancing at the age of 61 to “strengthen my bones.” After being diagnosed with osteoporosis, she needed to exercise to increase her bone density, but found weight lifting “too boring.” So she began dancing with a pylon instead.

Then there’s 80 year-old Montserrat Mecho, a swimmer, windsurfer and downhill skier who also parachutes out of airplanes for fun; and John Lowe, who began taking ballet lessons when he turned 80 and is still dancing today at the age of 95.  

Montserrat Mecho at 80
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Yakovlev also introduces us to Toa Porchon-Lynch, a yoga instructor who began dancing competitively at the age of 87 and has racked up more over 600 prizes in the nine years since then. Photographed in 2011 at the age of 93, she is now 97 and still teaches  yoga classes each morning and dancing each afternoon. “People should stop talking about getting old,” she said in a Tedx video in 2014. “There is no such thing as age.” 

In an era when far too many of our elderly are living stagnant, lonely lives, “The Age of Happiness” is both an inspiration and a warning to those who believe a quality life is only for the young. As dancer John Lowe said to Yakovlev in 2011, staying youthful is simply a matter of wanting it badly enough. “Find something that will completely change your life,” he said. “It’s hard…but I think everyone can come up with something.”

Tao Porchon-Lynch at 93
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Henry David Thoreau said “None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.” These amazing seniors prove how right he was.