Canton man shares story of weight loss, excess skin to inspire others

CANTON, Mich. (WJBK) - Excess skin is a part of major weight loss that few reveal. But a man from Canton, Mich. is showing us all sides of his success story, including the woman who inspired his transformation -- a stranger in Europe.

Brian's journey has been anything but normal. In 2012, he weighed more than 600 pounds. He was at his heaviest -- and at his lowest. But then something strange happened.

He was playing the gaming app Draw Something and was randomly paired with a stranger in England named Jackie. He eventually began talking to her about his obesity, depression and alcoholism. She delivered tough love.

"She has something called myotonic dystrophy; it's a form of muscular dystrophy. She has to stay very healthy, very active, to keep those symptoms at bay. She has very little patience for people who don't eat well and don't take care of themselves," Brian says of Jackie.

From thousands of miles away, her voice prompted Brian to change his life. He stopped drinking, quit eating fast food and started moving. Four years later he hasn't stopped.

"I just started walking in place five minutes every morning; that's all I did. And it gradually just increased and increased and here I am running marathons," he says.

And now Brian wants to share the full story, which isn't easy.

After losing almost 400 pounds, his skin couldn't bounce back. The excess skin is embarrassing, uncomfortable and expensive to surgically remove.

But after searching for a solution, Brian landed a spot on the TLC reality show "Skin Tight," a show that is all about cutting away massive amounts of excess skin.

"I have incisions that go from my elbows all the way up into my armpits and I have incisions from my knees on my inner thighs all the way up to my groin," he shows us.

By bearing his scars and his soul, Brian simply wants to connect with others to help them make the healthy change he did. He and Jackie have started the Team 383 support group and reach out to people all over the globe online and in person with their message.

And to think it all started with a simple online game. Brian is proof no one can predict what will inspire you to change your life.
 
"Jackie and I are very very close. We're best of friends. She saved my life," Brian says. "If she hadn't of come into my life when she did, I don't know if I would be around today to be honest."

Brian is now doing weight loss coaching. You can connect with him online at his Facebook page or at his website, www.team383.com.