This week on Here’s What We Know, we’re sitting down with the hosts of The Fit Mess Podcast, Zach Tucker and Jeremy Grater, to dive into their personal stories of fitness, friendship, and transformation. If you’re looking for a little inspiration with a touch of realness, you’re in the right place.
This episode is sponsored by:
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In this Episode:
- Discover how they started their unexpected podcast journey and open up about life beyond fitness.
- Learn about Zach and Jeremy’s 13-year friendship, which began through their wives during pregnancy.
- Hear how their stories go beyond fitness to explore mental health, personal growth, and the power of forgiveness.
- Listen to Zach’s inspiring transformation from nearly 300 pounds and a smoker to a long-distance runner.
- Discover how a knee injury became Jeremy’s wake-up call, leading him to embrace bike commuting and mindfulness practices.
- Zach and Jeremy emphasize the power of vulnerability and learn why they believe small steps, both in fitness and mental health, make the biggest impact over time.
- Zach opens up about how forgiving his mother brought him peace, while Jeremy shares valuable lessons from therapy, including how to challenge inherited negative self-talk.
- Discover their refreshing, realistic approach to wellness. Their advice? Focus on small, manageable changes—whether it’s a short walk or five minutes of mindfulness.
Quotations:
“If we just share our experience, we don’t necessarily have to be experts. But if it helps other guys the way it helps us to hear the conversations that we’re having, why not? Let’s do it.” ~ Jeremy Grater
“You can’t just fix things. Like you got to understand why something’s broken in the first place.” ~ Zach Tucker
“I am the happiest, healthiest I’ve ever been because not only did I lose a ton of weight, but like all the exercise and all the clean eating, it really helped me manage all the mental health issues, anxiety, and depression that were running rampant because of it.” ~ Zach Tucker
“All the imposter syndrome I was having about, like, they’re going to find out one day that I don’t really belong in this job I’ve had for a decade. Like it all just started to go away because I found that just by focusing on what’s right in front of you right now.” ~ Jeremy Grater
“I’d spent so long running from my feelings and running from my fears that I never stopped to realize that like I actually had it pretty good.”~ Jeremy Grater
“I’m at peace because I can’t dwell on that, right? You’ll, you’ll destroy yourself if you dwell on situations like that. You just have to move on, be okay with it, and forgive it.”~ Zach Tucker
“I learned that those voices, the things that I was saying to myself, were not me.” ~ Jeremy Grater
“I’m doing my best here and it’s not going to be very good, but just by being here, that’s enough.” ~ Jeremy Grater
“Mistakes happen. It’s okay.” ~ Jeremy Grater
“One of the biggest things is just really learning ⁓ what you believe about yourself and why you believe it.” ~ Jeremy Grater
“Now I look forward to going to the gym because I know that I’m going to be able to put myself through something challenging, put myself through something hard, and accomplish it where I spent most of my life looking at the hard thing and running the other way.” ~ Jeremy Grater
“The training in the gym. Yes, it trains your body, but for me, it trains my mind to overcome those obstacles and to find the hard things in my life and lean into them because I know that on the other side of that is the reward.” ~ Jeremy Grater
Bio:
Zach Tucker resides in Albany, NY with his young daughter. Zach has a passion for helping people define and meet their wellness goals. He thinks that every person is different and there is no one size fits all solution for someone’s wellness. He is on a mission to share his story and some of the tools that helped him on his own wellness journey. Zach is certified to teach yoga and Insanity® Live.
Jeremy Grater is a married father of two young girls and lives in rural British Columbia. He’s been in the broadcasting and podcasting business for about two decades. Jeremy is a certified REBT Mindset Life Coach.
Guest Contact Info:
Website: https://www.thefitmess.com/
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Youtube: @fitmessguys
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fitmessguys
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