Measure of a Man

Nick Decker weighed 270 pounds at 27 years old.

“I think sharing my experience is going to help people because I’m just a normal dude,” Decker says.

Nicknamed “pudge” as a kid, Decker had numerous markers of chronic disease already in his early twenties. His a-ha moment came when he found himself out of breath while playing with his 10-month-old son.

“For my 10-month-old son to be able to crawl circles around me was just unacceptable,” he says.

Having dabbled in CrossFit before, Decker decided to commit himself to the methodology. Fast-forward four years and Decker weighs 195 pounds, and he’s found countless other reasons to remain dedicated to his health and fitness: “To be able to move well, to feel better, to be able to wake up not in pain, be able to squat all the way down, be able to open up my hips, be able to play around with my son.”

Decker says his wife, Whitney, and their young son are the reasons he is in pursuit of better health — and why he’s inspired to help others be better, too. The Deckers own CrossFit Chesapeake in Chesapeake, Virginia, where they’ve made it their mission to help others initiate positive change in their lives.