“As a kid I was extremely overweight,” says British CrossFit athlete and gym owner Zack George. “I was very self-conscious, didn’t like taking my top off anywhere.” In a new video from CrossFit, Zack opens up about the physical and mental transformation that took him from being shy and self-conscious to one of the fittest athletes in the country.

When his parents saw how much he was struggling with body confidence, they decided to help him lose weight by encouraging him to eat healthy and work out, and incentivising him with rewards. “I didn’t know back then what I was doing, but I was goal-setting, obviously,” he says. “My dad knew what he was trying to instill in me… Setting a goal, putting a plan towards that goal, working hard to achieve it, and then you get a reward at the end.”

The boost in self-esteem that Zack got as a result of his weight loss prompted him to explore fitness even further, and he eventually began to work as a personal trainer. “I knew that I would enjoy giving the people the feeling that I experienced losing that weight,” he says. His training sessions became so popular that he ended up opening his own gym.

It was then that Zack’s dad recommended he try CrossFit as a way of pushing himself even further. “I was like, oh my god, I want to be them,” he says. “Ever since then, I’ve wanted to go to the CrossFit Games.”

And true to his word, Zack qualified for the Games this year, ranking 26th globally and taking the Number 1 spot in the United Kingdom at the 2020 CrossFit Games Open.

“The commitment I put in every day is definitely worth every result I get,” says Zack. “The hard work I’ve put in over the years to get the fittest I can, the strongest I can, the best at gymnastics I can, has not only made me win the Open and qualify for the Games, it’s made me extremely strong mentally.”

While hugely disappointed to learn that he wouldn’t be able to attend this year’s Games due to the pandemic, Zack was not disheartened for long, and has now shifted his focus to making sure he’s in the best shape possible for when he can go.

“I always want to make the people around me proud, and I always want to motivate and inspire everyone that follows me,” he says. “And if that hard work inspires just one person to get on their fitness journey, then I’ll feel like I’ve achieved something.”

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