Joe MacMahan admits unapologetically that he is the quintessential “Y-guy.” Most every day he’s at the Bath Area Family YMCA at all hours, supervising a diverse schedule of activities. The thing of it is, Joe would probably be at the Y even if he didn’t work there. That’s what a Y-guy does.

A “Y-guy” is the YMCA’s version of a “gym rat.” The Urban Dictionary website defines a gym rat as:

“One who spends entirely too much time partaking in muscle building, strength training, cardiovascular, or aerobic activity. Specifically, one who does so at a health club or gym. Often used derogatorily by people who do not partake in or understand this lifestyle; some self-proclaimed gym rats use the term as a status symbol or for positive reinforcement.”

Joe wasted no time turning his hobby into his job. A year after graduating from Morse High School the Arrowsic native joined the Y staff in 1997.

“I was always a Y-guy,” he says. “At the old Y downtown there was always something going on. Even if it was just shooting baskets.”

Joe comes by his “Y-guy” title by dint of his efforts spanning the entire gamut of Y activities.

His official title is “building supervisor” but the culture and the collective attitude of the Y does not emphasize titles, so MacMahan has made the job his own as the years have gone by. Kevin Chute, the Y’s program director, says that Joe is more than what you see.

“What Joe does is really what the Y is all about. He probably knows every kid in the after school program by name, he’s comfortable with himself and makes everyone he works with comfortable.”

“He helps to make the Y a kind of ‘neighborhood,’” says Chute. “Young or old, Joe is someone who will help you if he can.”

“What I like about my job is that every day is different,” he says. “Like on a typical Monday I’m doing our “Muscle Time” senior exercise class, then I help when the after school crowd gets here supervise their pick up games, then there is adult volleyball in the evening. Some days I’m here til closing, on Thursdays I leave at Noon. I like it.”

On a typical December day Joe arrived an hour before his Muscle Time class. After class he helped set up Christmas trees for the annual Festival of Lights fundraiser. Then back to the Y where he helped supervise the after school crowd. It’s a busy day and one full of diversity – a balance of physical and mental, moving and mulling (as in mulling over the mind of an eighth grader).

“One day I’m putting up Christmas trees, the next I’m setting up the volleyball net,” he says. “It’s all part of it and it’s why I like it here.”

Other notable Y-guys include Russ, Peter, Becky, Kelly, Ethel, Helene, Andy, and so on. For Joe and all the Y-guys out there, thank you.