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BEACHBODY CHALLENGE® CONTEST ANNOUNCES TOP EIGHT INSPIRATIONAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE YEAR
$100,000 Male and Female Grand Prize Winners to be Revealed Live at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium in front of 30,000 Beachbody® Coaches
Los Angeles, California (July 18, 2016) – The eight finalists for the 2015 — 2016 Beachbody Challenge were just announced to highlight the inspirational stories of four men and four women who have surpassed even their own health and fitness goals. The $100,000 Grand Prize Winners, one male and one female, will be announced at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Saturday, July 30, 2016.
Consumers who sign up to participate in the Beachbody Challenge earn the chance to win prizes by submitting their personal story and achievements with fitness and nutrition. To date, the Beachbody Challenge contest has awarded over $10M in prizes.
“The Beachbody Challenge empowers people with a proven system of fitness programs, nutrition plans, and peer support to help them achieve their health and fitness goals, and it offers rewards for putting that system to good use,” said Arthur Maier, producer of the contest. “We are always inspired by the number of people who change their lives and achieve awesome transformations with Beachbody programs. This contest is our way of celebrating their success, and showing millions of people that they can do it too.”
Over the last year, the contest received over 66,000 unique submissions from satisfied Beachbody customers, and none of them walked away empty-handed. Every single contestant earns a free gift and a chance to accumulate additional cash prizes as they progress through the competition. Every single day, a new inspirational Success Story wins $500. The ten most inspirational transformations of the month advance to win $1,000 each, and those who inspire the most votes from the online community each quarter earn an extra $5,000 and an expense-paid trip to Los Angeles. But the biggest and best prizes are awarded at an annual celebration event — this year held in Nashville, TN — where the top eight goal-getters of the year will win at least $25,000 each, and two will walk away with the Grand Prize of $100,000.
“The Beachbody Challenge was created to add an additional layer of motivation as people do this very hard thing of lifestyle change to get healthy,” said Carl Daikeler, CEO, Beachbody, LLC. “It’s just so easy to quit a fitness and nutrition program without an additional source of accountability. But the prospect of winning a $500 daily prize all the way up to the $100,000 Grand Prize has really resonated with people. And none of it is based on pure weight loss. This is about inspiration to achieve a goal. That’s what Beachbody is all about.”
The 2015—2016 Beachbody Challenge Finalists include:
Kailin Turner – Age 28 from Georgia, went from a size 18 to a size 2 all by working out with Beachbody programs. Kailin is a military veteran who suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which makes it notoriously difficult to lose weight. She started her weight loss journey while her husband was deployed in hopes of surprising him upon his return, but just weeks into her journey, she received an email saying he wanted a divorce. But, that didn’t stop her. She continued with her workouts despite the divorce, moving across state, the challenges of PCOS, and her newfound life as a single mom. “I’m proud that I stuck with it, no matter how long it took,” she says, and her hard work paid off. She lost 68 pounds and achieved an elite physique of a bikini figure competitor. She has gone from following people to leading and inspiring people and is working as an independent Beachbody Coach. The biggest difference in her life has been helping other women feel confident about who they are, giving them advice, and sharing the knowledge she has to help them achieve their fitness goals.
Carmen O’Quinn – Age 35 from Georgia, Carmen lost 161 pounds in 2 years. Prior to losing weight, she was morbidly obese, constantly tired, and could NOT keep up with her two small children. She dreaded airplanes and amusement park rides, because she didn’t know whether or not she would fit into the seats. She read an alarming fact that children with an overweight parent were twice as likely to be overweight, and those with two overweight parents were 2.4 times as likely to be overweight. At the time she and her husband were both overweight. “Enough was enough,” she said. “It didn't matter how many times I had tried and failed in the past, or how far I had to go.” She started her lifestyle change and was surprised how quickly she saw results, losing her first 100 pounds in just 202 days. Overall she has gone from a size 22 to a junior size 4. Carmen is now an independent Beachbody Coach.
Nicole McMillin – Age 42 from South Dakota, lost over 100 pounds in less than a year and never realized being healthy could be so easy. Before her lifestyle change, this mom of three had absolutely no idea what proper nutrition and portion control were really about. She lived all her life in the Midwest and grew up in a single-mom home with little money, where she was forced to clean her plate at every meal, which was always loaded with comfort foods that really “stick to your ribs.” Her inspiration to change her lifestyle came in July of 2014 when her family’s house caught fire and burned to the ground. She lost pretty much everything, but she seized the opportunity to let go of the past and start fresh with a healthier new life. She is now an independent Beachbody Coach.
Laura House – Age 55 from Ohio, lost over 90 pounds and is now training for marathons. This grandmother of eight was massively overweight, unhealthy, and suffered from clustered migraines, depression, and low self-confidence. A family friend who had also gone through depression posted on Facebook about the results she achieved with Beachbody programs and how happy she felt; it gave Laura hope for a happier and healthier future, and she decided to get started. Ultimately, with the support of her Beachbody friends, she lost the weight. And, more importantly for Laura; “I’m loving life,” she says, “and the biggie: I finally love myself, which allows me to be a better mom, wife, and grandmother. I will never go back.” Laura is now an independent Beachbody Coach.
Travis Nutting – Age 27 from New York, overcame the challenges of hypothyroidism and lost 159 pounds! He was inspired to go through this journey to transform his body due to his declining health and the fact that he had to drive a half hour just to find a store that carried 4XL shirts or anything in his size. While attempting to jog down the street one day at a conspicuous 350 pounds, he was surprised by a woman who drove by, got out of her car, and chased after him on foot; it was his future Beachbody Coach, Ginger, and after talking with her about his health and fitness goals, Travis agreed to join her Beachbody Challenge support group. There, she connected him with a 90 day fitness program, which he has now completed many times, and the support that he needed to stick with it. “Being able to shop in the normal-sized sections of stores has brought me to tears,” he says. “I am down to a medium from a 4XL, and that’s incredible. I feel like I’ve added at least 20 years to my life.” Travis is now an independent Beachbody Coach.
Justin Wells – Age 36 from Kentucky, lost 164 pounds to keep a promise he made to his son. “Daddy’s gonna get healthy for you,” said Justin to his newborn baby boy. But, many months later, he still had done nothing to change his lifestyle. He was disgusted by what he saw and was full of self-loathing for letting himself get that badly overweight and out of shape. He often isolated himself from others, because he could never seem to shake the feeling that he was being judged. Things changed when he survived a serious car crash and realized that, if he had died, his legacy to his son would be that broken promise. Justin started working out and eating clean, which was difficult at 360 pounds, but he didn’t give up. He persevered no matter what, and his life has completely changed. Two and a half years later, he now feels incredible about himself and what he’s accomplished. Justin is now an independent Beachbody Coach.
Bryant Manning – Age 48 from Maryland, lost 75 pounds and more than 6 inches off his waist in a year and a half. Bryant is a busy single dad doing his best to raise a teenage son with special needs while working full-time as an IT professional. Being such a busy guy, the greatest challenge he faced during his fitness transformation was finding time to exercise. He did not have time to go to the gym, but fortunately he found fitness programs that he could do from home in 30 minutes or less per day. Once concerned about blood pressure and sleep apnea, Bryant is now a beacon of good health and has no intention of turning back. He is now an independent Beachbody Coach.
Michael Morrow – Age 56 from Illinois, lost 110 pounds and knew he had to go all or nothing to lose the weight. He had already had two knee surgeries in the past three years and was sure he was going to need a replacement soon. At home and work he was very sedentary, eating dinner on the couch and watching TV until it was time for bed. His wife got started with exercise and good nutrition, and her lifestyle changes inspired Michael to get on board and make some changes too. It was admittedly difficult. At 313 pounds, Michael had never exercised seriously before in his life, but he did his best and followed the modified exercise routines until he built up his strength and confidence. Soon enough, he was able to keep up with most of the people he saw in the workout videos, and he found that he needed a whole new wardrobe, which he was more than happy to purchase somewhere other than a big and tall store.
“The Finalists this year have so far lost a total combined weight of 936 pounds and are still going,” said Maier. “They all have extraordinary stories, and it’s inspiring to see how many votes of support have come in from the online community to help decide the two $100,000 Grand Prize winners.”
For more information on Beachbody and all the fitness products they have to offer, please visit www.Beachbody.com. For more information on the Beachbody Challenge, visit www.BeachbodyChallenge.com.
About Beachbody, LLC
Beachbody, a worldwide leader in health and fitness headquartered in Santa Monica, California, was founded in 1998 by Carl Daikeler and Jon Congdon with the mission to help people achieve their goals and enjoy healthy, fulfilling lives. Beachbody's formula of world-class fitness, nutrition, motivation and support has proven again and again to deliver results for its customers. Whether through Beachbody On Demand (BOD), the streaming platform featuring Beachbody's portfolio of iconic fitness brands like P90X®, INSANITY®, 21 Day Fix®, and CIZE®; via its superfood protein shake, Shakeology®; or through its premium line of sports nutrition supplements, Beachbody Performance™, the Beachbody name has come to define the power of putting a healthy lifestyle within everyone's reach. Beachbody products can be purchased on its websites, and via its more than 450,000 strong Team Beachbody® Coach network of independent distributors. Beachbody On Demand, featuring more than 400 streaming workouts, is available through its own mobile app for iPhone®, as well as on Apple TV®, Roku®, Amazon Fire™ and Google Chromecast™, and now in over 120 countries around the world through BeachbodyGlobal.com. For more information please visit Beachbody.com.
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