He Weighed 725 Pounds and Nearly Died Three Times — Now Sal Reedus Is Training for a Triathlon and His Story Is Inspiring Millions
May 19, 2026 by apost team
Sal Reedus did not set out to become a fitness influencer. He set out to stay alive. At his heaviest, the content creator, born around 1995, weighed 725 pounds — a number that came with consequences he had spent years ignoring and months paying for in the most frightening way possible.
The crisis arrived in stages. First came diabetic ketoacidosis — a severe, potentially fatal complication of diabetes — that sent him to the hospital for the first time. Ten days later, he was back. His heart had gone into atrial fibrillation, beating irregularly and under enormous strain. Doctors removed between 85 and 100 pounds of water from his body due to extreme fluid retention. An attempt to shock his heart back into rhythm failed while he was awake. His blood sugar was uncontrolled. His risk of stroke was estimated at 5 percent. He nearly died three times.
What came next was a conversation that changed everything. His cousin looked at him and said four words that have stayed with him ever since: "I need you not to die." When she asked whether he had considered appearing on a reality show to document his journey, Sal said no. He had a different idea.
On Oct. 23, 2024, he uploaded his first video to YouTube. "I thought it would be a good idea, through the encouragement of friends and family, to start recording this journey in case it helps just one person," he said. His mother, convinced this time was different, agreed to support him financially while he made weight loss his full-time focus. The accountability was total. And the results, over the months that followed, were nothing short of remarkable.
In his first PEOPLE exclusive, published in May 2026, Sal Reedus opened up about what the journey has looked like from the inside — the medical reality, the emotional weight, and the moment the numbers on the scale began moving in a different direction.
Per his Instagram bio and verified by multiple sources, Sal has now lost more than 499 pounds from his starting weight of 725 pounds, bringing him to approximately 226 pounds as of his most recent update. The transformation has unfolded publicly and methodically — weekly weigh-ins, meal prep videos, workout documentation, and candid reflections on the mental health challenges that travel alongside extreme weight loss.
He did it, initially, without GLP-1 medications like Ozempic or Mounjaro. His insurance would not cover them. The early losses came through sustainable lifestyle changes — movement, meal planning, and the support of a gym called Transcend, with whom he later formed a direct partnership. Eventually, after that partnership was established, he gained access to the medications that helped support his continued progress. "I'm not going to rule anything out," he has said about the tools available to him.
"I want to use everything at my disposal."
The platform that grew around his story now includes 732,000 Instagram followers, nearly 4 million YouTube views, and a TikTok presence with individual videos reaching millions of likes. Fellow fitness creators including Will Tennyson and ObeseToBeast have collaborated with him, offering grocery guidance, workout advice, and the kind of peer support that Sal credits as genuinely life-changing.
He is now training for a triathlon. From 725 pounds and three near-death experiences, to a starting line — it is, by any measure, a story worth telling.
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Does Sal Reedus's story inspire you? Do you think his decision to document his journey publicly is helping others who are struggling? Let us know in the comments and pass this on to your family, friends, and anyone who needs a little inspiration today!