Casey's Testimony

Here is Casey's story!

"I struggled with my weight my whole life. It’s a common story…pressure from my mom, society, and everyone else on the planet. I was in High School in the late ‘90s at the height of low rise jeans and stick thin models. It was very rough as a size 12, and as a very emotionally sensitive person. As I continued throughout my life, my weight always haunted me and inhibited everything I did. I gained double the freshman 15 in college, gained another 20 when I got my first big girl job, and then yo-yoed until finally hitting 230 lbs on my 5’2” frame in 2019.

At the end of 2020 I finally had a serious breakdown, and everyone close to me encouraged me to get Gastric Sleeve surgery. Over the course of the next year and a half I lost 85 lbs, but my muscles had atrophied very badly during the rapid weight loss phase after my surgery. I knew it was a problem when I couldn’t get a 30 lb bag of dog food across the threshold of my house into my home without getting winded. So in the fall of 2022 and at the age of 40, I decided to get back into the gym to regain my strength.

The gym I joined started me out with a different personal trainer who was ok, but after 3 months I switched to Deion. I cannot begin to tell you the impact Deion made on my life. My goal was not to lose any more weight at all. I just wanted to get strong and reverse the muscle atrophy. Deion made getting in the gym fun again, and over time I found myself excited to work with him twice a week. In the first three months of working with him, I lost another 25 lbs and my body began to change and reshape itself in ways I never expected it as capable of. My friends, neighbors and coworkers started commenting on the definition in my arms, or how I could carry two 5 gallon jugs of water like it was nothing. I was even motivated to go in by myself! I would start my weeks with him on Monday and Tuesday, and he wrote me supplemental workouts I’d do on my own on Thursday and Friday. (And he’d usually find time to pop over and say hi to me for a few minutes when I was doing my gym homework). I was Deion’s first client who had ever had any kind of bariatric surgery, and he educated himself on what that meant for my body, my nutrition, and my expectations.

Within the first year, I was in a car accident and tore a muscle in my right shoulder. Deion knew how to adjust our workouts to promote my healing while still making good progress. By our 1 year “lift-aversary,” my body had changed so much and I had become so lean that I had the loose skin from my weight loss removed from my lower body. I was out of the gym for about 6 weeks, and when I came back he knew exactly what to do. We focused on stretching and mobility, and making sure we got back to lifting heavy again in a safe way that my new body could handle. We had one more hurdle to overcome in the fall of 2024. I was rear ended twice in 90 days, just minding my business. The recovery from those accidents was a lot more difficult and intense, but Deion was up to the challenge. We spent weeks just stretching. Then moved to mobility. Then moved to machines, and finally back to dumbbells and barbells.

All of these physical challenges were mentally very difficult for me, but I’ve told Deion over and over that he is absolutely the best hype man. He keeps me motivated, smiling, and enjoying our hour long sessions together. (Even when I’m whining at him about how he’s destroying my legs or shoulders). His personality and demeanor, in addition to his skill with the weights are what makes him special. He’s not just a gym bro who is going to put you on a machine while he stares at his phone. Deion watches my every move. Corrects my form. Tells me if I’m wearing the wrong shoes. If I’m struggling on a specific day with a specific exercise, does what I call “muscle magic” and somehow activates an opposing muscle to reduce my struggle. This man knows the human body on a level that is so much deeper and more advanced than any of the other dozen or so personal trainers I’ve had throughout my lifetime. He is a total nerd abut what he does. And he is simply one of the best humans I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.

I started with him twice per week. Then moved up to three. And now I look forward to starting 4 days of my week in the gym with him. He has changed me so much, both on the inside and outside. Through him I have found not only my self esteem, but both a physical and emotional strength that I never knew I was capable of. I will never be able to repay him for that gift, and he will hold a special place in my heart for that forever."

Below are Casey's before and after pictures!

This picture is dated July of 2021

This picture is dated Thanksgiving of 2024