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Syracuse Man Loses 450 Pounds and Gains a New Life Syracuse Man Loses 450 Pounds and Gains a New Life

Ronnie Brower couldn't get up to leave his home. Now, he's able to do much more.

By Sarah Al-Shaikh

Ronnie Brower: He said, ‘Ronnie. You’re going to die, if you don’t make a change you’re gonna die. I won’t even see you in a year or two. You’re gonna be gone.’

Reporter: A doctor said that to Ronnie Brower. Ronnie was addicted to pain pills, food and alcohol. He was 675 pounds and depressed.

Ronnie Brower: I was almost at the point where it’s like, ‘why am I even here anymore?’

Reporter: For some people, just making it to the gym is a struggle. For Ronnie, that wasn’t even an option. He couldn’t get up to leave is home. So for the first 100 days, trainer, Nick Murphy, brought the gym to Ronnie.

Ronnie Brower: Some days I was thinking, I’m like, I don’t want to get up.. I don’t want to get up. But then
I’m like yeah, you know what? I have to get up, I have to do this.

Reporter: As Ronnie started losing the weight, he started adding things he could do now, that he couldn’t before… He’s even excited about doing things some people say is a chore.

Ronnie Brower: The world to me. I can get up in the morning, just go outside. I’m mowing my own lawn.
It’s phenomenal.

Reporter: Ronnie couldn’t afford a personal trainer so Nick trained him for free. But Nick says he got paid in a different way…

Nick Murphy: What better payment could a person receive than to watch the person you help live life, be free from drugs, alcohol and food addiction.

Reporter: Before his weight loss journey, Ronnie couldn’t even walk on a treadmill like this. Now, he can run five miles. And that means all the world to him, because there’s someone new in his life who he’ll be running after soon…

Reporter: Meet Cooper Brower, Ronnie’s four-month-old son. Ronnie met his wife at the gym and they’ve been married for two years. Ronnie says Nick made a promise to him at the beginning that turned into a reality.

Ronnie Brower: Nick told me, he said, ‘I believe you’re gonna, after this weight loss, you’re gonna get married, you’re gonna find a wife,’ and I’m like, ‘dude, how do you know?’ And he’s like, ‘trust me. Just trust me.’ And here I am.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Six years ago Ronnie Brower couldn’t get up to leave his house.

“I was kind of depressed. I was actually addicted to pain pills, alcoholic, just my life was spiraling out of control. I felt like I had no direction in life. You know, couldn’t even get out of my house. I was 675 pounds,” Ronnie said.

Ronnie Brower standing in his living room.
Ronnie Brower standing at 675 pounds. He could not leave his house at this weight.
© 2013 Ronnie Brower

Ronnie was going down a dark path until one doctor’s appointment changed everything.

His doctor told him, “ ‘You’re going to die. If you don’t make a change, you’re gonna die.’ ”

Ronnie said that was a wake-up call. He reached out to Nick Murphy, a personal trainer and life coach.

Ronnie couldn’t afford to pay Nick, so Nick did it for free. For Nick, training Ronnie was priceless.

“To see him flourish and live life is worth more to me than all the money in the world,” Nick said.

Ronnie couldn’t leave his house to go to the gym, so for the first 100 days, Nick brought the gym to Ronnie.

“We had like almost a one-way street and I would like look out the window and watch him back down my road to come to the front. And I was just sitting there waiting for him,” Ronnie said.

 

Ronnie Brower and Nick Murphy at Ronnie's home.
Nick Murphy brought the gym to Ronnie Brower for the first 100 days of their training.
© 2013 Ronnie Brower

Ronnie lost 100 pounds in 100 days. He was able to go to Nick’s gym, Mission Fitness, where he continued his weight loss journey.

 

All that hard work paid off because now, Ronnie is able to enjoy things like, “going to the mall, going to the movies, having a wife.”

Ronnie and his wife met at the gym. They’ve been married for two years and just welcomed their son Cooper, four months ago

.

Ronnie, his wife, and his son take family picture.
Ronnie is living out his dream of being a father and a husband.
© 2019 Ronnie Brower

Ronnie said he never imagined he’d become a father and a husband, but he said Nick always knew.

“Nick told me, he said, ‘I believe you’re gonna, after this weight loss, you’re gonna get married, you’re gonna find a wife,’ and I’m like, ‘Dude, how do you know?’ And he’s like, ‘Trust me. Just trust me.’ And here I am,” Ronnie said.

Since June of 2013, Ronnie has lost a total of 450 pounds. He said now he is focused on maintaining his weight.

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