New Brunswick man shares every part of his fitness journey with the world

Sharing the good, the bad and all the relatable facts, a New Brunswick man is showing a behind the scenes and fully transparent look into his fitness journey.

“Ever since I was a kid, I was a little bit chubby, so it’s been a long time goal, basically my whole life, wanting to get slim, wanting to get fit,” said Brent Gogan from Salisbury, N.B.

“As time has gone on, I’ve pretty much gotten skinnier and then fatter, a lot of yo-yo dieting throughout my life and it’s ended up being a journey where it has its ups and downs, but this is one of the bigger downs I’ve had in a long time.”

The 25-year-old is documenting his health progress, telling the world an important message: fitness is for anyone.

“Showing people someone more average, more relatable, like me, is really helpful to show that fitness is something that anyone can do. You don’t have to be this tiny, muscular guy that has done fitness all his life. You can start fitness at 20, you can start fitness at 30, 40, 50,” he said.

Finding motivation can be hard, but Gogan has found a community to support him. His TikTok has grown by at least 200,000 people and his Instagram went from only 8,000 to 156,000 in the last year.  

“I wake up every morning and I read all my comments and they’re all just wonderful people being amazingly kind to me and you know, the internet can be hard for some people, but for me, they’ve been amazingly kind,” he said.

It’s a two sided relationship. He says he finds support through his followers' comments and in exchange, he provides truth and positivity to them.

“I’m not a person who feels a large amount of shame, so if I can just come out here and say something that’s completely honest and speak the absolute truth, I find that helps people live like me and, you know, be more honest and live their truth and live in a more healthy way,” said Gogan.

He’s also very honest with his followers, showcasing obstacles that you don’t always see from a fitness influencer like hanging from a pull up bar or standing up from the ground without using his hands.

“When I was at my fattest I was 570 pounds and that was very limiting. I could barely go out and do anything, so it came out of a desire to get back out there,” he said. “Start kayaking again, going on hikes, spending time with friends, you know, living the life, you know, I feel like I deserve to live.”

His goal is to reach around 250 pounds and right now, he only takes a day off when his body tells him he needs to.

Although it’s something he’s always struggled with, he has nothing but support.

“I’m very proud of him, always have been proud of him,” said Brent’s aunt, Lana Wheaton, who has watched his transformation first hand.

Originally, Wheaton says she was impressed with him for wanting to get healthier, adding that he quickly found his niche and it has been so much more beneficial than she originally thought it would be.

“As he sees himself being more fit, even at his weight and size, you know, he sees an improvement and he shares that with people and it just makes him feel good that he’s doing this not only for himself, but hopefully to encourage others,” she said.

Even with his positive attitude and realistic videos inspiring both those closest to him and complete strangers, Gogan says there’s still days when he feels down or discouraged.

However, he has a small statement to help him get through those days.

“It’s always going to get better and the next day is going to be an opportunity to do better and you just have to keep that in mind. You got to remember that it always gets better. There’s ups and downs,” he said.