Marshawn Lynch inspired man to lose 170 pounds, start running marathons
Marshawn Lynch is a man of few words, but a few of them got through to Jake McCluskey, who dropped 170 pounds in less than two years and now runs marathons.
McCluskey was “a 380-pound sloth” who “spent his free time gulping down beer and snacking on sweets,” according to Matt Calkins of the Seattle Times, before Lynch’s famous “I’m just ‘bout that action, boss” comment to Deion Sanders at Super Bowl media day two years ago roused McCluskey to make a change.
Incredibly, these words inspired McCluskey to turn his life around. Now, instead of pounding beers and munching snacks, he’s running marathons and has lost almost half his body weight.
“I had been thinking that it had been time to make a change for a while, and after I watched that interview, I immediately went out for my first run,” said McCluskey, 42. “It wasn’t anything I was seeking out, but somehow it came to my attention at a time that I needed it most.”
After his first initial run at 3 a.m., McCluskey kept it up and was running five miles at a time within two months. It wasn’t long before he finished his first half-marathon and was eager for more.
McCluskey still watches the YouTube video of Lynch’s interview “about 50 times per week,” according to Calkins. He refuses to give himself any breaks as he continues transforming his body from obesity to fitness and won’t skip a day of training.
“I can’t,” said McCluskey, who dropped more than 140 pounds in those first 12 months. “Because if I skipped one day, it would be easy for me to skip two.”
He wanted Lynch to know how much he helped him, saying “he saved my life.” So Calkins showed Lynch the pictures of McCluskey and told his story.
“That’s gangsta,” Lynch said.
And that’s all that needs to be said.
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