After hitting his breaking point, Jelly Roll reached out to “Ultimate Human” founder Gary Brecka for help turning his life around.
“I got a DM from him one day and he said, ‘Do you work with fat people?’” Brecka said during a recent appearance on the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast.
After doing bloodwork and gene testing, the health consultant told the “Need a Favor” artist, “In 10 weeks you’re just not gonna recognize yourself.”
“To his credit, he didn’t exactly, everything that I said. To a T,” he added.
He explained that he instructed Jelly — real name Jason DeFord — to follow his 10-week regimen which included daily cold plunging and a 10,000 step challenge. Jelly also began training for a 5k, which he completed in May 2024.
Brecka doesn’t take all the credit for Jelly’s incredible transformation, however, as he explained the singer worked with other trainers and coaches, including the founder of Ways2Well, Brigham Buhler.
According to Brecka, the “Son of a Sinner” singer explained a day in his life as a 500-pound man, admitting that he felt like he was “going to die.”
“I have to sleep on my side and wedge myself in with pillows because if I roll on my back at night, I’ll suffocate. I’ll vomit,” Brecka recalled Jelly saying. “I never turn the radio down in the car because when I pull up to a stoplight, I can hear myself wheezing. So I just turn the radio up to bury the sound of my own breath wheezing.”
Jelly has since lost more than 200 pounds and crossed off many weight loss milestones.
“I got fat, like, really, really young,” he said on Stephanie McMahon’s “What’s Your Story” podcast. “I was over 300 pounds coming out of middle school. I’m gonna be under 300 pounds for the first time since middle school the night I walk to that ring at SummerSlam.”
