2,700 mi. Rotund Challenge
Donation protected
Hi, my name is Joe Cooke. On May 17th, my brother Chris, myself and our best friend, Jason Rogers, will set out on a walk from Western New York to Southern California. Whether or not we'll be able to make it isn't a matter of will for us, but a question of money, which is why we're here, so I'd like to share about ourselves and why we're doing this walk.
A series of recent but separate events have served as a catalyst for change in each of our lives that lead us all to want to take up this challenge of walking 2,700 miles across the country.
Last year Jason weighed the heaviest he ever did in his life: 478 lbs. Chris weighed 340 lbs. Now at the time of this posting Jason has lost a total of 90 lbs, bringing him down to 388 lbs. Chris a total of 15 lbs, bringing him to 325 lbs. How? Daily walks and a healthier diet, but most important of all, they made the decision to change.
Chris has always been a pretty big guy after a certain age. And he never really minded and it never really bothered him, it was fine and there was never anything to be concerned about until his doctor warned him that he was at risk of fatty liver. He was warned that if it got to that point, the chance of death would be almost certain from the many possible complications. The prospect of facing death shook Chris out of his apathy. He began to make personal strides in his diet that brought him back from the brink.
His liver may have no longer been in danger, but his weight and family history still put him at great risk for many other things such as diabetes. He knew he had to change. He knew he could no longer spend his time idly. He realized he needed to do more than just change his diet, he had to get outside and get going. It was during this same time that Jason was also coming to a similar realization.
Jason's poor eating habits coupled with depression began early when he found comfort in food during his youth. Food helped with his boredom from moving place to place and starting new schools and not knowing many people during those transitional periods. This was a bad foundation that only compounded in his early twenties when he suffered from a back injury and couldn't walk or exercise for an extended period of time. He would make attempts at weight loss but ultimately couldn't make the life changes to keep the weight off.
Throughout the years he's struggled with depression. His last bout with depression in 2013 saw him gain 80 lbs which brought him to his heaviest weight of 478 lbs.
Life went on and much like Chris, Jason was content with his weight and lack of activity. Then in March of 2014, Jason's father, who at the age of 65 and 560 lbs, was hospitalized and near death due to the numerous ailments he suffered due to his morbid obesity. Jason glimpsed what waited for him at the end of the path he was on. He was ready to change.
Jason's struggle to transform truly began last August with the challenge to walk half a mile a day. Chris became his walking buddy to help keep Jason, as well as himself, in check and on schedule. In walking, Jason and Chris found something that they not only could do, but had the potential to excel at. The two stuck with it and soon their stamina grew. It wasn't long before they were walking over 4 miles a day. And with each passing month Jason would see his weight drop: 458, 438, 418, 400, 380. Chris dropped 15 lbs. during the five months. They were ready for more. And the more they walked, the farther they wanted to go, and despite how far they went, they still felt that they could go even further.
Walking became more than an exercise to Jason at this point, it was an awakening of possibility. A vision of himself that until now seemed unreal, began to root itself in reality. A new Self began to form not just in the mind but in body and from it spawned a clear vision of his transformation's completion through the crazy idea of a couple 300 plus pound guys making the long trek all the way to the West Coast and they asked me to come to document the experience. I hesitated at first and said no.
Chris and I were never close with our estranged father, so it was a surprise when we received the next of kin call. The man who we barely knew as children and who wasn't much more than a voice on the phone, was gone. I always held the position to feel that since we weren't in the streets fighting off death with our mother and brothers that it was probably for the best that if he wasn't fit for the responsibility that we were all probably better off with his absence. I told him this after he reached out a few years ago to make amends. He sounded a bit relieved and maybe I did let him off easy with that rationalization, but it is what it is. Our conversations during this period were fairly mundane and always with the undertone of regret with what could have been, especially our last call, which turned out to be the last time we'd ever talk.
He asked me about where have I been in the world and I had to answer nowhere. There was no disappointment in his voice, but that regret that always seemed to loom became painfully present in his voice, almost pleading. It stood out to me. He continued to tell me "don't do that to yourselves. Get out and see the world." Kind of clichéd, I know, and he didn't make me promise to travel or anything like that, but what he imparted to me in his own way, and something I didn't fully realize until I was faced with breaking my daily routine, and giving up the next half a year of my life to do this walk, was a warning. A warning from a man who had missed big and realized too late.
I'm doing this walk because there's no place I'd rather be than right beside Chris and Jason as they lose the weight with each step, out there in the world making memories with the time that we have.
Nobody and I mean nobody thinks that we'll be able to do this, they think we'll reach our city limits and catch the first bus back, but we know the only thing that'll stop this walk is death or serious injury. No one doubts my ability to do this, but just about everyone thinks Jason and Chris will quit. When I imagine what it must be like for them to work so hard for the gains they've made this past year, only to be met with such unfailing discouragement, I'm amazed that they don't let it phase them in the least. They're constantly being told that they can't do something that they know they're capable of, that they've done, and in all honesty, they probably do more walking-for-exercise than the average person. I believe they can do this and that's why I'm doing what I can to make this happen. We've been able to put aside enough money to get us started with equipment and enough for food to last us about a month, but the reality is we have enough cash to launch, but not enough to finish, not enough to even get close to halfway, really.
The plan is to travel as light as possible with the bare essentials and primarily camping, but Chris and Jason our big guys, and because of their size, their gear will wear down quicker than they would the average sized individual, which brings me to the big cost in this walk: food, clothes, and possibly the most pricy, sneakers. We'll need all the help we can get to meet these cost along the way.
We have discussed postponement in an effort to save up enough money to fund this completely ourselves, but it's very unlikely. The cost of living has already chipped away at our savings. In a year or two's time, any kind of progress or gain that could possibly be made by pushing back the date would be negated. So we've decided to take our chances with what we got, could get, hope to get, and work towards making this happen no matter what.
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this.
A series of recent but separate events have served as a catalyst for change in each of our lives that lead us all to want to take up this challenge of walking 2,700 miles across the country.
Last year Jason weighed the heaviest he ever did in his life: 478 lbs. Chris weighed 340 lbs. Now at the time of this posting Jason has lost a total of 90 lbs, bringing him down to 388 lbs. Chris a total of 15 lbs, bringing him to 325 lbs. How? Daily walks and a healthier diet, but most important of all, they made the decision to change.
Chris has always been a pretty big guy after a certain age. And he never really minded and it never really bothered him, it was fine and there was never anything to be concerned about until his doctor warned him that he was at risk of fatty liver. He was warned that if it got to that point, the chance of death would be almost certain from the many possible complications. The prospect of facing death shook Chris out of his apathy. He began to make personal strides in his diet that brought him back from the brink.
His liver may have no longer been in danger, but his weight and family history still put him at great risk for many other things such as diabetes. He knew he had to change. He knew he could no longer spend his time idly. He realized he needed to do more than just change his diet, he had to get outside and get going. It was during this same time that Jason was also coming to a similar realization.
Jason's poor eating habits coupled with depression began early when he found comfort in food during his youth. Food helped with his boredom from moving place to place and starting new schools and not knowing many people during those transitional periods. This was a bad foundation that only compounded in his early twenties when he suffered from a back injury and couldn't walk or exercise for an extended period of time. He would make attempts at weight loss but ultimately couldn't make the life changes to keep the weight off.
Throughout the years he's struggled with depression. His last bout with depression in 2013 saw him gain 80 lbs which brought him to his heaviest weight of 478 lbs.
Life went on and much like Chris, Jason was content with his weight and lack of activity. Then in March of 2014, Jason's father, who at the age of 65 and 560 lbs, was hospitalized and near death due to the numerous ailments he suffered due to his morbid obesity. Jason glimpsed what waited for him at the end of the path he was on. He was ready to change.
Jason's struggle to transform truly began last August with the challenge to walk half a mile a day. Chris became his walking buddy to help keep Jason, as well as himself, in check and on schedule. In walking, Jason and Chris found something that they not only could do, but had the potential to excel at. The two stuck with it and soon their stamina grew. It wasn't long before they were walking over 4 miles a day. And with each passing month Jason would see his weight drop: 458, 438, 418, 400, 380. Chris dropped 15 lbs. during the five months. They were ready for more. And the more they walked, the farther they wanted to go, and despite how far they went, they still felt that they could go even further.
Walking became more than an exercise to Jason at this point, it was an awakening of possibility. A vision of himself that until now seemed unreal, began to root itself in reality. A new Self began to form not just in the mind but in body and from it spawned a clear vision of his transformation's completion through the crazy idea of a couple 300 plus pound guys making the long trek all the way to the West Coast and they asked me to come to document the experience. I hesitated at first and said no.
Chris and I were never close with our estranged father, so it was a surprise when we received the next of kin call. The man who we barely knew as children and who wasn't much more than a voice on the phone, was gone. I always held the position to feel that since we weren't in the streets fighting off death with our mother and brothers that it was probably for the best that if he wasn't fit for the responsibility that we were all probably better off with his absence. I told him this after he reached out a few years ago to make amends. He sounded a bit relieved and maybe I did let him off easy with that rationalization, but it is what it is. Our conversations during this period were fairly mundane and always with the undertone of regret with what could have been, especially our last call, which turned out to be the last time we'd ever talk.
He asked me about where have I been in the world and I had to answer nowhere. There was no disappointment in his voice, but that regret that always seemed to loom became painfully present in his voice, almost pleading. It stood out to me. He continued to tell me "don't do that to yourselves. Get out and see the world." Kind of clichéd, I know, and he didn't make me promise to travel or anything like that, but what he imparted to me in his own way, and something I didn't fully realize until I was faced with breaking my daily routine, and giving up the next half a year of my life to do this walk, was a warning. A warning from a man who had missed big and realized too late.
I'm doing this walk because there's no place I'd rather be than right beside Chris and Jason as they lose the weight with each step, out there in the world making memories with the time that we have.
Nobody and I mean nobody thinks that we'll be able to do this, they think we'll reach our city limits and catch the first bus back, but we know the only thing that'll stop this walk is death or serious injury. No one doubts my ability to do this, but just about everyone thinks Jason and Chris will quit. When I imagine what it must be like for them to work so hard for the gains they've made this past year, only to be met with such unfailing discouragement, I'm amazed that they don't let it phase them in the least. They're constantly being told that they can't do something that they know they're capable of, that they've done, and in all honesty, they probably do more walking-for-exercise than the average person. I believe they can do this and that's why I'm doing what I can to make this happen. We've been able to put aside enough money to get us started with equipment and enough for food to last us about a month, but the reality is we have enough cash to launch, but not enough to finish, not enough to even get close to halfway, really.
The plan is to travel as light as possible with the bare essentials and primarily camping, but Chris and Jason our big guys, and because of their size, their gear will wear down quicker than they would the average sized individual, which brings me to the big cost in this walk: food, clothes, and possibly the most pricy, sneakers. We'll need all the help we can get to meet these cost along the way.
We have discussed postponement in an effort to save up enough money to fund this completely ourselves, but it's very unlikely. The cost of living has already chipped away at our savings. In a year or two's time, any kind of progress or gain that could possibly be made by pushing back the date would be negated. So we've decided to take our chances with what we got, could get, hope to get, and work towards making this happen no matter what.
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this.
Organizer
Joe Cooke
Organizer
Buffalo, NY
