Teacher Loses 100 Pounds, Gains Confidence

Zachary Lewis played collegiate football and later stayed active playing basketball, but after a series of injuries sidelined him, he began gaining weight and dealing with anxiety.

“I couldn’t do everything I wanted to with my kids. You know, you hear those stories where the dad is pushing them and running with them and teaching them how to ride their bike, and I had to sit and watch that,” Lewis says. “I wanted to be able to provide for them, but with my injury and things, I never thought I could.”

Lewis reached about 395 lb. when he decided to start moving the needle with his fitness and health. He began taking CrossFit classes, practicing better nutrition, and eventually attended a Level 1 Certificate Course at the Rogue Headquarters in Columbus, Ohio.

Lewis recalls being nervous about being the “big guy in the room” and “not looking like everybody else” but says the instructors quickly put him at ease.

Now 100 lb. lighter and much more confident, Lewis is taking what he learned at the L1 back to the students in his second-grade class and after-school fitness program in Middletown, Ohio.

“The Level 1 is definitely worth it,” he says. “This has been the most impactful time that I’ve learned in a classroom setting.”