Man now nearly half his former 500-pound self thanks to cycling
Dangerously overweight, Chris Quick needed to make a change
Dangerously overweight, Chris Quick needed to make a change
Dangerously overweight, Chris Quick needed to make a change
They all used to call him 鈥淏ig Chris.鈥� But Chris Quick, now 33, hated Big Chris.
Sure, it seemed like a fun nickname for someone with his frame. By the time Big Chris hit the sixth grade, he was 6 feet tall and 200 pounds. When the high school football coach in his Montana town took one look at him, he saw someone who could push around other massive young men in the trenches of the gridiron. The coach was stunned he鈥檇 have to wait three years to add Big Chris to the team.
Eventually, Quick fulfilled his nickname, as a wide-shouldered, thick-necked, big-bellied lineman, even though he didn鈥檛 care much for football. When he started college at North Dakota State University, he hung up his cleats and fell victim to the affliction that affects so many freshmen: college weight gain.
In his case, however, he packed on 50 extra pounds instead of the traditional 15. No matter; that was Big Chris.
鈥淚t鈥檚 funny how your brain plays tricks on you,鈥� Quick told over the phone. 鈥淚 assumed since so many people knew me as the big guy, my weight wasn鈥檛 really a big deal. In my mind, I was just always going to be that guy. So I got used to it.鈥�
As Quick continued growing after college, he blew up. First to 300 pounds, then to 400. He took A/V sales jobs after graduation and worked concert security on the side. Any time a popular musician rolled through town, Big Chris was the beefy ringer called in to guard them. No other human barricade was better suited for the job.
Once Quick reached his late 20s, he had settled into a life he knew was unhealthy. He鈥檇 chug three Mountain Dews in the morning, down a few Burger King Whoppers for lunch, and polish off an entire pizza for dinner. In between meals were endless bags of corn chips and bottles of pop.
It turns out a 4,000-calorie daily diet takes its toll. For Quick, even the simplest physical tasks were a struggle: Walking up stairs left him winded, bending down to tie his shoes was a burden.
Air travel proved tricky, too. 鈥淲hen I鈥檇 fly somewhere for work, I鈥檇 have to request one of those seat belt extenders,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat broke my heart.鈥�
To avoid embarrassment, he stayed at home and retreated inward. 鈥淚 was depressed,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 found myself not doing anything, period. I didn鈥檛 want to go outside and deal with being that giant sweaty guy. It was much easier to withdraw and pig out.鈥�
Eventually, Quick stopped weighing himself altogether. It wasn鈥檛 so much out of fear of the number on the scale, but mostly because he couldn鈥檛 actually find one strong enough for his size.
It was only at the doctor鈥檚 office when he was 31 that he finally heard the verdict: He had topped out at 475 pounds.
The doctor put it more bluntly: 鈥淐hris, you鈥檙e too f---ing fat.鈥�
Something had to give, his foul-mouthed physician reasoned, or Quick鈥檚 body would ultimately give out. Soon after hearing the doctor鈥檚 orders, he found himself on the couch in the summer of 2016, staring at the beautiful Bismarck, North Dakota, sun waiting outside his window. 鈥淚 just realized how much I was missing,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 knew I needed to get outside. So I thought about riding a bike.鈥�
The only problem? He didn鈥檛 have one. He hadn鈥檛 even sat on one since he was a kid. So he ventured to his local sporting goods store, gave his pitch to the salesman; "I鈥檓 almost 500 pounds; got anything that will support me?" and walked out with a . 鈥淭he bike is meant to get people moving and 鈥榮hift鈥� their lifestyle,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat concept really spoke to me.鈥�
The first ride was short: a few miles, maybe 5, along his neighborhood bike path. It was so painful that he could barely sit down the next day. 鈥淏ut I felt a kind of enjoyment that I hadn鈥檛 felt in such a long time,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wanted to go for another ride right away.鈥�
That was the day Big Chris began to outgrow his nickname.
Quick quickly fell in love, immersing himself deeply in the world of bikes: how to ride them, fix them and even build them. He spent hours at a time falling down YouTube and Reddit rabbit holes, acquiring all the information he needed to gear up, gain endurance and replace the pesky parts that occasionally fell apart.
鈥淪ure, I broke some spokes here and there because of my weight,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 a $30 fix. And I wasn鈥檛 going to let $30 keep me from living a better life.鈥�
As the miles increased, the pounds disappeared. Quick was fitting in 20-mile rides after work every weekday and rapidly dropping pants sizes in the process. Within a few months, he was down 50 pounds. Before long, 100. His reward: a decidedly faster , to satiate his need for speed. 鈥淚t made me feel like I was flying,鈥� he said. Still, he had his eyes on an even bigger prize.
When Quick found himself approaching 275 pounds earlier this year鈥� he credits a strict adherence to the ketogenic diet for aiding in his weight loss 鈥� he knew he鈥檇 soon make it under the rider weight limit for . After clearing the benchmark in June, he pulled the trigger. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just beautiful,鈥� Quick said of his new ride.
In two years, Quick has . He no longer has to specially order 6XL-size shirts for work (he鈥檚 a 2XL now), or steer clear of carnival rides because he couldn鈥檛 fit in the seats, or huff and puff when he gets in and out of cars. 鈥淓verything just feels easier,鈥� he said. Call him Medium Chris.
Quick said his ultimate goal is to crack 200 pounds and eventually compete in a triathlon. But for now, he鈥檚 happy helping others kick-start their own weight-loss transformations on two-wheelers. He often pokes around in bicycling forums and offers words of encouragement to riders hoping to shed their own spare tires, sharing the advice that inspired him when he was first starting out: 鈥淛ust get out there and ride.鈥�
If you can manage 2 miles today, he鈥檒l tell them, try 3 next week. Then, go for 4 after that. 鈥淢ostly, I want people to know that they shouldn鈥檛 let their size keep them from doing new things in life,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or so long, that was me, until I got fed up and decided I wasn鈥檛 going to do that anymore. So I got on a bike. And then I just kept going.鈥�