Ryan Naccarato

Transcript

it was August of 2020 when Chris reached out to me he was easily over 400 pounds he was struggling to breathe and could barely walk I could feel his hopelessness he wanted so desperately to take his life back but even in the best of times Chris would have struggled to regain his health the lockdowns meant that all Fitness facilities were closed when he needed it most been a lockdown in my tiny apartment for months because of the covid-19 pandemic feeling anxious and demoralized Depression had begun to set in in effect the walls were closing in I could feel my body getting weaker my mind growing

feeble and my usual positivity beginning to vanish I've been a really active guy pre-pandemic going to the gym playing sports spending much of my time Outdoors but as reality sank in it felt like bricks were being placed on top of me one by one as I struggled to breathe prioritizing my health and fitness was much more than a hobby it was my passion people know me as coach as somebody who leads by example suddenly I felt like my identity was stripped out from underneath me as I sat on the sidelines and watched time pass by my mental health suffered hitting an all-time low I lack

confidence Direction and purpose physically I didn't like the person I saw looking back at me in the mirror I gained weight lost muscle it was a dark time for me I wanted to desperate again my life back when people think of physical fitness there's so much more to it just our physical health I was worried about my mental health I lacked the confidence the direction I wonder who else is feeling like this their physical health was deteriorating their mental health suffering their social health was non-existent I had to get creative in my tiny apartment of mine doing pull-ups on my spiral staircase training in my

couch for a bench press doing push-ups and working on my planks and from the darkness Hudson Valley and Bishop was born I created a 100 outdoor group fitness program to help people take back their lives people needed me I wanted to give them Something to Believe In A Team to be a part of I wanted to give them a safe haven for those who were locked away to join our team and take control of their life once again during Chris's first few workouts I could see it in the size of hopelessness he wanted to quit he wanted to give up he said to me coach

I thought I was going to die running up that hill I refuse to let Chris abandon the program and quit but as each workout progressed he grew stronger and more confident in himself today Chris has earned many career promotions and is currently a training coordinator at his job Chris has unleash his potential on the world and unlocked his greatness I'm proud to say Chris has lost a mind-blowing 200 pounds now covert proved to be an extremely anxious dark and depressing time for all of mankind but in the darkness a light began to shine I'm a firm believer that adverse time and events have the ability

to show our true colors to reveal them we will develop the resilience to keep going the grit to keep fighting and the opportunity to turn our struggle into our success perseverance was like being a minor we must keep digging and digging and digging and when we get tired you have two options we can stop we can quit or we can keep going keep fighting I have learned that when all hope seems lost as long as you continue you will eventually find that dime when you were searching for so find your diamond and keep digging when the odds are stacked against us we all have the

ability to turn pain into our passion we have the ability to turn adversity into our advantage we tackle it head on with innovative solutions and out of the darkness we choose to illuminate the world and transform it for the better we can be the light

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.