Overcoming Obstacles

David Brown was in his early 20s, living out the life he dreamed of as a child. At age 22, while earning a communications degree at Oklahoma City University, David got married to his collegesweetheart Andrea. It was just six months after the wedding when a tragic turn of events turned itall upside-down. Three days before their first Christmas together, Andrea had a seizure and wasdiagnosed with a brain tumor. The ‘dream-life’ quickly gave way to fighting for life. Two years intothe marriage, while Andrea’s cancer was in remission, they became pregnant, but lost the baby inthe third trimester. Several more years of remission and the birth of two daughters followed, before Andrea’s cancer returned as stage 4 brain cancer and ultimately took her life nine years after theywere married. David was devastated and left to raise their two surviving daughters, then 4 and 6years old.

David has lost a lot in his life, a wife, a child, his dream… and his health. In losing himself while caring for everyone around him, David put on more than 200 pounds since his first wife’s cancer diagnosis. In the fall of 2013, David got a wakeup call from his doctor. Diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, David was told “If you don’t change your health right now, you are going to die young andleave your family without their father.” A fighter for others his whole life, David now had to take onthe fight for his own life.

Second Chances

David was happily remarried in 2004 to his best friend Melissa and is now father to three girls(ages 6, 16 and 19). Still battling his weight, David had the chance of a lifetime and was selectedfor the hit NBC show, The Biggest Loser Season 15. David started the show at 409 pounds. At the Week 1 weigh-in, David revealed a tattoo over his heart that means “Warrior,” and immediately putthat “Warrior” spirit on display with a record loss of 38 pounds, quickly setting the tone for his dedication to the journey ahead! Over the course of the season, David openly shared his story ofloss and captured the hearts of countless fans, while fighting relentlessly to gain his health back. David lost an astounding 222 pounds and finished runner-up, losing more than 54% of his bodyweight. As a result of his lifestyle transformation, David no longer suffers from sleep apnea, high blood pressure, hypertension, high cholesterol and the diagnosis that started the fight, Type 2 diabetes.

Stronger Than The Story

David started an online community Inspire, Challenge, and Change those who are ready to fight for their own health. Today, David enjoys sharing his inspirational story whilespeaking to audiences around the world about “Overcoming Obstacles,” “The Winning Step,” “The Warrior’s Heart,” and “Leadership Lessons from a ‘Big Loser.’” In 2014, David started a communit yrace series, The 1STRONGER CHALLENGE (1 mile, 5k, 10k, Mud/Obstacle course fun runs andcorporate challenges), to promote an active and healthy lifestyle.