I GREW UP AS THE KID WHO PLAYED EVERY SPORT POSSIBLE. FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL, SOCCER. YOU NAME IT, I WAS IN IT OR AT LEAST TRIED IT.

BUT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY, I GAINED WEIGHT, LOST MY CONFIDENCE, AND LEANED ON FOOD FOR COMFORT. I TOLD MYSELF THIS WAS JUST WHO I WAS GOING TO BE. OVERWEIGHT. OUT OF SHAPE. NO OTHER OPTION.

THEN CAME THE BACK INJURY. THE ONE THAT TOOK ME OUT OF THE SPORTS I LOVED AND LEFT ME WITH A NEW IDENTITY: THE “BROKEN BACK GUY.” DOCTORS TOLD ME IT COULDN’T CHANGE. MY ENVIRONMENT REINFORCED IT, AND I BELIEVED THEM.

FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS I LIVED IN PAIN—OVERWEIGHT, INJURED, AND STUCK.

EVENTUALLY, I PULLED THE TRIGGER AND CHOSE BACK SURGERY. TO PREPARE, I STARTED LOSING WEIGHT, THINKING IT WOULD JUST MAKE RECOVERY AND PROCEDURE EASIER. BUT SOMETHING SURPRISING HAPPENED: MY BACK STARTED TO FEEL BETTER. LIFE STARTED TO FEEL BETTER. FOR THE FIRST TIME, I REALIZED MY HEALTH WAS IN MY HANDS.

THAT SHIFT CHANGED EVERYTHING.

I BUILT RELFFITS (AND @STIFFHEALTH) OUT OF THAT JOURNEY. FROM BROKEN AND OVERWEIGHT TO TRAINING FOR MY FIRST MARATHON. BECAUSE NO ONE SHOULD EVER FEEL LIKE THEY DON’T HAVE A CHOICE WITH THEIR HEALTH.

THIS PAGE IS WHERE I SHARE THAT JOURNEY. WHAT I’VE LEARNED, WHAT I’M STILL LEARNING, AND THE WAYS I’M PUSHING FORWARD. IF MY STORY CONNECTS WITH YOU, STICK AROUND. WE’RE JUST GETTING STARTED.