(CNN) -- John Drury is a
6-foot-7 truck driver with tattoos on his head, neck and arms. Not
surprisingly, he's known as "Big John."
During
the week, Drury spends 50 hours behind the wheel. But on weekends, the
43-year-old is a certified dance fitness instructor who breaks it down to
Rihanna and Justin Bieber.
Living
by the T.I. song lyrics permanently tattooed on his head -- "The old me is
dead and gone" -- Drury has danced away 97 pounds since February 2011.
"The
main purpose of that tattoo is exactly what it says," he said. "That
400-pound man was the old me and who I am today is the new me."
"Big John" wasn't
always big.
Drury
grew up on the west side of Cincinnati in a poverty-stricken area where sports,
music and dancing kept him out of trouble.
"I
grew up in the hood," he said. "I was poor growing up, and that's
what we did -- we danced. It was our culture."
Drury
participated in break dancing competitions with his high school friends and
often attended community dance functions. Some of his favorite places to visit
in the '80s were the clubs in downtown Cincinnati.
A
year after Drury graduated from high school in November 1989, he was at a club
showing off his moves on the dance floor. At that moment, his future wife,
Lori, spotted him from across the club.
"I
saw him dancing, and that's what attracted me to him," said Lori Drury,
42. "I told my friend somewhat jokingly, 'That's the guy I'm going to
marry.'"
And
in January 1994, that's exactly what happened.
But
as they settled down and had two kids, Drury picked up more and more shifts at
the trucking company, until he found himself working 70 hours a week. With
little time to exercise or sit down and eat a proper meal, his motto became
"grab and go." When he did stop, he ate the fast and greasy food
offered at truck stops.
"I
was big on sweets and eating doughnuts for breakfast," he said.
"Everything about my eating habits was just out of whack."
From 'Big John' to 'biggest loser'
Prior
to becoming a truck driver, Drury weighed 260 pounds. After more than a decade
of truck driving, Drury had piled on 140 pounds and his health was
deteriorating. Doctors prescribed medications to control his high blood
pressure and cholesterol.
But
the seriousness of his situation didn't hit home until a fellow truck driver,
who was taking the same medications as Drury, died from complications of
diabetes in late 2010. The truck driver weighed 450 pounds -- only 50 more
pounds than Drury at the time.
A
few months after his friend passed away, Drury heard a commercial for a local
radio station that was hosting a "biggest loser" competition. He
entered the competition and was selected to participate.
For
three months, Drury had a gym membership, a personal trainer and a
nutritionist. He began drinking a lot of water, preparing his meals and walking
around the truck stop area.
"I'm
a very competitive person," Drury said. "I would just do whatever I
had to do to get to the top. I decided there weren't going to be any more
excuses."
With
his new attitude, Drury not only finished in second place, he also lost 54
pounds.
"For
a person who says 'no excuses' now, I used to be the first person to make an
excuse," he said. "I used to say, 'I'm too busy with my job.' It's
just so empowering to know that regardless of my situation, I made it
happen."
Paying it forward
Now
it was time to make some of his own dreams a reality.
Through
the gym membership, Drury discovered Zumba. He realized he could lose weight
through his passion for dance.
"When
they say, 'Feel the music,' I really feel the music. I get lost in it," he
said. "Even though I was the only man in the class, it didn't stop
me."
Thinking
back on his early days of break dancing, Drury thought he could make the idea
of weight loss through dancing relevant to the public.
"I
just thought I could help people, because I think people can connect with me
and my story," he said.
After
entering yet another room full of women, Drury decided to get certified as a
dance fitness instructor. In April 2011, he created his own dance fitness company
called Big John's Dance Fitness.
Drury
helps people dance off their weight through routines set to the songs of Usher,
Rihanna, Flo Rida and other pop and hip-hop music he thinks people can
recognize and move to. They sometimes even do the "chicken dance."
He
holds hour-long classes every Saturday and Saturday starting at 9 a.m. for a
fee of $5 per class. He's had as many as 30 attendees.
"I
have people who can't afford it, and I'm never going to turn anyone away,"
he said. "I have a longing for helping people and paying it forward. I
care about the people, not the dollars."
But
Drury is having some financial challenges of his own. To accommodate his new
lifestyle, Drury now works 50 hours a week rather than 70, and it's sometimes
difficult to make ends meet. At the moment, he teaches his classes in his home
because he's trying to find an affordable dance studio.
"Ultimately,
my dream is to make a dance fitness DVD, because the obese public can relate to
me," he said. "In these Zumba videos, there's no big people in those
videos. How can the obese people relate to that?"
Open road ahead
Drury's
target weight is 260 pounds. He's gained a few pounds back since he first lost
the weight and now weighs in at about 315 pounds.
"It's
still hard," he said. "I'm not going to sit here and say I'm perfect.
... It's still a battle for me, and everyone knows that."
Drury
is now inspiring others by leading through example. Not only does he encourage
his wife and sons to dance with him, but he and his wife prepare much healthier
meals for the entire family.
They
have replaced the French fries and fast food with baked chicken and fish. Drury
no longer gets greasy meals at the truck stops; instead, he brings his food
from home. He allows himself to consume up to 2,000 calories per day.
As
a result of his new lifestyle, Drury has come out of his shell, his wife said.
Believe it or not, he used to be a shy and reserved man.
"He
has so much more drive and just ambition for life," she said. "It
seems like he wants so much more out of life and he's more confident because he
knows he can do it."
Drury's
mission is to inspire overweight people to "just get out there and
move." And despite the laughs and jokes he hears from fellow truck drivers
about his passion for dance, Drury isn't hitting the brakes anytime soon.
"I
can't think of a male truck driver anywhere out there doing what I'm
doing," he said. "I'm breaking all the stereotypes. I'm so passionate
about dance fitness. This is my calling in life."
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