How Cōpare empowered Drew Swift’s Transformation

A former Marine, Drew spent 20 years in the restaurant business and managed to stay in great shape until the stresses of his business and family life started taking a toll when he turned 40.

“I quit smoking, had a second child, opened three restaurants — and didn’t handle it all well,” says Drew. “I gained 25 pounds one year, 25 the next year, 50 pounds the next year, another 50 the following year. It was crazy.”

Topping the scale at almost 370 pounds, Drew realized during a family vacation in Maine while playing with his kids in the river that if one of them broke loose and got swept along in the current, he wouldn’t be able to catch them.

As an ex-Marine who had grown up on the water and been a fitness machine in his younger life, Drew says, “That was a humbling moment for me.” Two weeks later, Drew made an appointment with Cōpare and started the program the next day. He had heard about Cōpare on Sports Talk radio from our first client, Grant Paulsen, on “Grant and Danny,” then later saw one of our centers by chance on his way to a 7-Eleven. The name stuck in the back of his mind until that experience in the river made him decide to invest in his health.

Drew says his weight affected how people saw him. “I was extremely aware of it all, every bit of it,” he recalls. “How people looked at me, interacted with me.”

But that gradually changed as he made progress in his weight-loss journey. He still remembers the first time he was able to go to a hockey game and sit comfortably in his seat. He also remembers being able to bend down and tie his shoes. All of these simple tasks are things people who have never struggled with weight don’t think about. Getting back in the pool was another milestone for Drew and provided both a physical and mental boost throughout his journey.

Drew achieved his target weight loss goal of 170 pounds in an impressive eight months. His energy levels have returned, his pre-diabetes is gone and several of his friends have commented that “the old Drew is back.”

“The people who watched me gain — and then lose — all that weight have welcomed me back to my former self,” Drew says. “The people who originally met me as ‘the big guy’ were just amazed at the transformation.”

But, as anyone who has lost weight knows, the real test is keeping it off. That’s where the Cōpare coaching-for-life approach makes all the difference.

“Having someone there who goes through this with you — in a nonjudgmental way, but holding you accountable — is huge,” says Drew. “Cōpare has a whole team of people working with you to keep you in the zone where you want to be.”

Drew continues to check in with his coaches. With Cōpare’s support and Drew’s dedication, he has maintained a healthy weight and incorporated everything he has learned into his daily life.