Sweat Life 180 is the real stories of 6 selected Anthem contestants participating in a 12 week challenge. The challenge incorporates exercise, diet, life coaching and counseling to allow participants to “Turn it Around.” Watch Sweat Life 180 weekly beginning January 4th, 2010 to see how a comprehensive program focusing on body, mind and spirit can change and inspire the lives of many.
Contestants:
Jacob Smith
I was born in Castle Rock, CO and have lived in Arizona since 1991. I left Arizona in 1999 to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Interactive Multimedia from Columbia College in Chicago where I met and married my wife, Renee. After putting up with one too many winters in the Windy City, we decided to pack up and move back to Phoenix and begin our careers and now, a family. We are expecting our first child, a baby girl, January 16th.
When I moved back to the Valley in 2003, I began my career as a Graphic Designer/ Multimedia Artist. I currently work at the Corporate Headquarters of PetSmart as a Senior Graphic Designer in the Creative Department in Marketing and have worked for Petsmart since 2006 and really enjoy my job. I also have a side business doing freelance graphics and multimedia design.
I love watching football and have been a Denver Bronco fan my entire life. I also love watching Hockey (Go Avalanche!) and playoff Basketball (Go Nuggets!). I also enjoy reading sci-fi/fantasy novels, playing Call of Duty with my coworkers on XBOX Live, and spending time with my wife…
Lisa Orr
I was born in Mississippi, but spent most of my childhood in Missouri. I moved to Arizona when I was about 13. I lived here until I moved away to California for college. When I was growing up my favorite place in the world was my grandparent’s farm, so you could say I am probably a farm girl at heart. Some of my favorite years (besides the ones I’m in now) are my college years. I attended Bethany Bible College and will be forever grateful for those days. It was there that I really took a leap into becoming the woman that I am today. I also met my husband Toby, who I have now been married to for 17 years. In the beginning, we were both young and our start was pretty rocky, and by pretty rocky I mean Grand Canyon rocky. In spite of this, we remembered our covenant to each other, our love for each other, and our love for God. We are now happily married with 6 children whose ages range from 17 to 1…
Krendi Ford
I am 35 years old, a native to Dearborn Michigan. My family and I relocated to Arizona last summer, and we love it! It was a difficult move for me; I had never lived anywhere other than Michigan. But I can truly say Arizona is my home now.
I am married to my best-friend; we were friends in High School but never dated. It wasn’t until two years after that I came to visit him and his family here in Arizona. (They had moved from Michigan to Arizona and then back to Michigan…long story) that we fell in love and started dating. Soon after we were engaged and married. I have one son Tyler (13) who keeps me on my toes, he is quick witted, and a joy to have around. Currently, I am unemployed, and am enjoying my time at home, although I am looking for employment…
Phil McGeary
I am a 33 year old Michigan native now dwelling in the hot desert of New River, Arizona. I have spent the majority of my life doing what I wanted, how I wanted it, and when I wanted it. As a teenager I developed the attitude of “I’ll try anything once”; a mentality that eventually cost me everything short of my life.
At age 23 I was freshly divorced with custody of my 3 year old son, Jared. Struggling as a single dad, and dealing with a divorce, I began turning to alcohol to “unwind”. This lifestyle eventually led me to an addiction to crack cocaine. I lost everything, including Jared. Over the next seven years I attempted to get clean. There were periods of sobriety followed by relapse. This ongoing cycle tired out my friends and family. It seemed I would never “get it”, but I kept trying…
Jason Kitson
I was nominated to join the SWEAT Life 180 challenge by my good friend, Jamie Nollette, back in early December. At first I was a little reluctant to be honest, because I knew I was out of shape and probably at the heaviest weight I had ever been in my life. But the more I thought about it, the more excited I became knowing the opportunity included working out at Sweat again.
Out of the 8contestants participating in the Sweat Life 180 challenge, I was the only one who had actually done the Sweat workouts before. I did my first weight loss challenge in 2007 (back in the days before there was actually a gym and we worked out of a casita in Josh’s home), then followed that challenge with several toning challenges. Finally I was in the workout group with Josh himself. (If you ever want to be challenged with something in your life, try working out side by side with Josh 5 times a week for several months at a time.) I’ve never been pushed to the physical and mental limits then I had been at that time and had never been in better shape in my life at age 33. This is coming from someone who was an all state performer in high school and went on to play football in college…
Homer Lopez
Hi, my name is Homer Lopez. I am a 42 year old resident of Anthem, Arizona. My beautiful wife and I have been blessed to live and raise our children in this wonderful community for the past 9 years. I was born and raised in the small farming town of Rupert, Idaho with 9 siblings and two of the most loving, God fearing, hardest working parents any kids would be proud to call mom and dad. We were migrant farm workers who spent our youth working in the beet, onions and potato fields as a family and during the harvest season doing the same to make sure the farmers who employed our family had their crops out before it got too cold.
I struggled in my youth as a lot of the farmers we worked for were parents of the students and friends I went to school with and living the migrant worker life everyone knows your family doesn’t exactly have money. Amazingly though, my mom always managed to make our family meal seem like a feast and we could eat until the food was gone. Some of my best memories are of our whole family including cousins, uncles and aunts with their family just as big as ours, getting together to for meals. You know what they say, mess with one bean you get the whole burrito. It’s a Hispanic thing…