How Marshal Ashlin Lost 85 Pounds On His Quest to Be Like Link!

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That’s him on the left!

Hey folks, I’ve got a treat for you today!  We’re going to profile a real-life blog success story!  Marshall and I have been talking for quite a while through the blog Facebook page, and when he told me he was nearing his goal weight and showed my his progress pictures, I knew I HAD to feature him on the site.  His progress is an inspiration, to be sure!  You’ll see his final form (is it even his final form?) at the end of the article!

Red = Dan

Black = Marshall

Name (including nickname), age, and where you’re from?

Marshal, 22, from Kingwood Texas.

First off, what was your fitness journey goal?  Lose weight, gain muscle, something in between?

My original goal was to burn the fat I had accumulated through a couple of lazy college semesters, but later on evolved into a drive to get stronger so building muscle became a big part of that.

Awesome!  Solid goals.  It’s funny how our journey can shift once we really get into it.  Was there anything in particular that caused you to begin your journey to a more awesome life?

Haha as we change, goals change.  Honestly the catalyst was more so just kind of waking up one day and realizing how much I had put on. I had seen my pictures from my first year of college and it just clicked that I had become this apathetic person. And I wanted to fix it.

Hey, sometimes that’s all it takes!  I’ve had that moment, myself.  

Isn’t it simultaneously the worst and best?

Yeah, it’s a funny thing. Simultaneously upset with where you’re at, and fired up for where you’re going.  Now, with this being Be a Game Character, of course I have to ask: Did you have a particular fictional or real life role model that you wanted to emulate?

Yea for sure! Ive always been inspired by Link. The Legend of Zelda is my all time favorite game series and seeing this person go through endless amounts of trials and tribulations and never give up was definitely a drive to consistently keep up my training and not abandon my goal.

One of my favorite and original inspirations, as well. I was the kid that actually bought a blue ocarina online. Looks like a perfect replica from OOT!

That’s so cool! I have a baller Link statue on my computer! And a couple posters.

Nice!  I’m jealous.  Now, for our next question: were there any cheerleaders on your journey that applauded and encouraged your efforts?

Absolutely! My friends Sharon, Justin, and Michael were probably my biggest supporters! Those three always were willing to keep me going with kind words and also some awesome insult-based motivation!

Awesome! Insult-based motivation, I like it. XD  Sometimes when we try to make positive changes in our life, other people try to drag us down or dissuade us out of jealousy or spite.  Was there anyone in your life like this, and how did you deal with them?

Honestly no, all of my friends and family were pretty good about it. No one really tried to stand against me which was awesome!

That’s fantastic, and I’m really glad to hear it. It’s great that you’ve got such a solid support group around you. You’d be surprised how often I’ve received stories of friends and even family member turning against someone trying to get in shape!

Man I couldn’t imagine honestly. The biggest roadblock was myself, 10 times out of 10

Hey, self-awareness like that is important! Speaking of which, was there a moment during journey when you first said, “Wow, this is really working!” If so, what triggered that?

Yea absolutely there was! About a month in, I had already shed a fair amount of weight, and just seeing something as small as my pants being too big and now I needed to wear a belt….that alone felt amazing and started getting me addicted to progress

Dude, clothes being too big is always a great feeling.  It’s funny how even just a month can make such a difference.

Oh yea, especially early on.

Yup!  Now of course, changing your body’s shape requires both regular exercise AND proper nutrition.  What did you find to be the hardest part of losing weight: Food, or exercise?

Oh the food 10000000%. Not even an argument to be made there. It’s really easy to set aside an hour or two in a day to go sweat. Its way harder to maintain something that is NEEDED to permeate all 24 hours in each day. Eating is habitual and trying to change such intense ingrained habits is an intense challenge

Yeah, basically everyone says the same thing, and it’s true! Exercise has the benefit of chemically rewarding us, too, whereas the brain is NEVER happy to go with less food than it wants.

When it comes to eating, do you have any favorite healthy foods/meals?

Oh definitely! I really enjoyed making homemade pancakes out of bananas, eggs, and crunchy peanut butter! When I have a rough workout and want something sweet yet still with a crunch, its a really nice middle ground without giving me too many carbs

Dude. That sounds really good right now.

For real though XD
4 eggs
1 banana
2 spoons of peanut butter
Beat until smooth and cook ’em just like pancakes.

Makes a ton of pancakes too.

Awesome, thanks for the recipe!  In a similar vein, do you have a favorite exercise?

Yea no problem! Id say my favorite exercise is a tie between the standard pull up and the one-handed dumbbell row! I love back day when lifting and love it even more when doing bodyweight.

Nice.  Pull ups are one of my favorites as well.  Now I have to ask (and I’m sure the readers want to know as well,) where to, next?  Now that you’ve hit your goal weight, what are your future plans?

Well, here’s the thing about that, as you change, your goals change. I have become completely addicted to making myself better, so I’m gonna continue it. I recently took up swimming as a cardio alternative and I gotta say, with my level skill I have attained with running and HIIT cardio, I underestimated my lack of skill in the pool. After seeing how slow I am, it immediately made me want to get better!

Awesome! I don’t know if you’ve seen my “Going Superhuman” post/video yet, but I’m looking to work swimming in soon, as well. It’s a fantastic workout that I’ve neglected for way too long.

So I’m going to keep pushing my limits in every way I can, to I guess try to figure out how far I can go. May as well right?

Hell yeah.  Alright, last question!  Is there any advice you’d like to give to the readers out there?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I have a tendency to try to do everything alone and that can definitely be a downfall. Finding some kind of mentor (even if its in a small way) can be a huge help!

That’s some solid advice.  Definitely one of the best things you can do!  Well thanks so much for taking the time to share with us, man.  I know you’ve inspired me, and I’m sure you’ll inspire a lot of other people, as well!

Man that means a lot to hear, especially from you bro! You have been a huge help/mentor to me for the last several months. And it was your link workout that started this whole journey!

It’s what I do! Glad to hear I could help you reach your goals!

Starting Weight: 280lbs.

Final Weight: 195lbs.

Freaking awesome.  Seriously.  Marshall’s made astounding progress, and this blows me away.  It makes me super happy whenever I hear from success stories, so if you’ve got one to share, please email me!  I look forward to hearing from you!

We’ll be back again on Thursday with a new character!  I’m excited, you should be too!

As always, remember to live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace