Spotlight: Alec Brooks

For most of my life, food was a source of comfort. I used to think food was either inherently good, or inherently bad. I hated the “good” food and loved the “bad.” I stuffed myself at every meal almost every day, drank soda like it was going out of style, and hated anything to do with exercise.

The first time I ever had to do anything in the realm of fitness was 7th grade. I thought some kids were naturally good, and some weren’t. I placed myself in the not naturally good category. I never thought I could run a mile in under 11 minutes. I had many rock bottoms through high school.

My first time going to a big and tall store was my sophomore year. I had to buy jeans that were 44 inches at the waist and 32 long. That same year I couldn’t complete the gym final exam, which was a simple 20 minute run around the gym floor. I don’t know exactly how heavy I was, but I would estimate from 315-320 lbs. I thought I was going to be out of shape my entire life and that this was who I was.

A year after I graduated, one simple video changed my life. I’m a pro wrestling fan, and Chris Jericho had just returned in the best shape he’d ever been in. He attributed this to changing his fitness routine to only do what is known as DDP Yoga. DDP Yoga is a form of yoga developed by Diamond Dallas Page. I watched a video on YouTube titled “Never Give Up.” It’s the story of a paratrooper that served in the Gulf War. Years of jumping out of planes messed up his knees and back. He was told he’d never walk unassisted again, he was well over 300 pounds and felt lost. He had every excuse to accept that’s who he was but he didn’t. He used bands, bricks, and chairs to help himself complete the workouts and within less than a year he was sprinting in a park. I watched this 5 minute video and it single handedly changed my life.

I ordered the DDP Yoga DVDs and my journey began the summer of 2012. I didn’t pay attention to diet or anything, I just did the workouts and saw almost immediate progress. Over the years I would stop working out for weeks or months at a time. I would join a gym and then quit, or I’d continue bringing food at an unhealthy rate.

I eventually made the decision in 2016 to refocus myself and really put in the work. I learned about nutrition, I held myself accountable and made sure to do my workouts, and overtime the weight just started melting off. In 2018 I weighed in at 215, effectively losing 100 pounds. It was the proudest thing I had ever done and I can honestly say I’m a better person for it.

Fitness is no longer a burden and food is no longer a source of comfort. I still enjoy a meal from time to time, but I’m much more intentional about my food and don’t feel the need to overeat. Currently I jump rope as my main form of fitness and it’s the most fun I’ve ever had. I’ve even had people tell me I inspired them to begin a journey of their own, which is absolutely wild to me.

I hope people know that fitness can be a positive thing and I hope my story can help change someone’s mind about fitness or nutrition.

- Alec Brooks