Life retains transferring at a swift, strong tempo for singer Trey Lewis. The excellent news is he’s lastly constructed up sufficient stamina to maintain up with all of the success that retains piling on.
When Lewis runs the stage this weekend in Bristol, TN, followers may even catch him banging out a number of pushups or dropping into an impromptu legday routine between guitar riffs.
Whereas not a everlasting a part of his setlist—but—old-school train has develop into a brand new wrinkle in Lewis’ newfound dedication to health, a formidable bodily and psychological transformation for the as soon as self‑described highschool “fats child” who may solely handle to stroll across the monitor whereas classmates lapped him throughout fitness center‑class miles.
“I used to be on the market one time squatting onstage and leaping throughout,” he recollects. “Now I can hit all my notes and nonetheless leap round. It’s fairly superb.”
Now, not solely is Lewis working a number of miles a day as a part of his exercises, he’s additionally working his personal present—and by no means intends to look again. In June, the Alabama‑raised artist celebrated his nineteenth yr of sobriety, and in the identical stretch he lastly gained management of a fair longer‑working meals habit that pressured him to lose greater than 100 kilos on two separate events.
These life‑altering wins allowed the remainder of Lewis’ life—and his now‑blossoming music profession—to fall into place. Rising up in Alabama on a frequently looping playlist of Hank Williams Jr. and Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lewis didn’t even choose up a guitar till he put down booze for good. For a brand new artist whose music expertise was performing karaoke along with his mother and singing along with his uncles on household outings, songwriting grew to become a constructive habit and outlet Lewis wanted badly.
“I didn’t write songs once I was on the market consuming and doing all that stuff,” he says. “I didn’t get a guitar till I bought sober. So music, in a means, grew to become my new habit and sort of my drug of alternative.”
Since then, Lewis has quietly stacked a gentle stream of small victories into creating huge waves in nation music. Years of grinding in Nashville led to his raunchy 2020 breakup tune “Di**ed Down in Dallas,” which went viral and put him on the highway full‑time. He went on to signal a Sony Music Publishing deal, landed cuts with high artists Tracy Lawrence and Cole Swindell, and launched a second, extra introspective undertaking below the identify Thomason. He’s additionally bought new music, together with his most up-to-date single, 2 Inches” and tour dates on the way in which.
Throughout his efficiency at June’s CMA Fest, Lewis was offered with a plaque for “DDID” turning double platinum. The track grew to become so standard, Lewis added two further model, together with a cleaner remix.
It’s a milestone that arrived alongside a brand new outlook on his well being. Whereas profession accolades will at all times be particular, the flexibility to nail each word of each track with out having to cease and catch his breath could also be his favourite achievement. With the assistance of a Nashville‑primarily based efficiency coach, Lewis has turned a literal chilly‑plunge obsession right into a full‑throttle energy and conditioning routine that has lastly stored the kilos off whereas including actual energy and conditioning to his day‑to‑day life.
“I’m 38 so it’s about feeling good,” he says. “, it’s not about, like, how a lot weight can I elevate, or, you realize, what number of miles can I run? It’s about feeling good and simply waking up and every single day and getting some motion in.”
How Trey Lewis Misplaced 100 Kilos The First Time—And Why It Didn’t Final
Now 19 years sober, Lewis has constructed a catalog of songs over this time interval impressed by the struggles that adopted him throughout habit. Tracks like 2020’s “Entire Lotta Nothin’,” 2021’s “Little Drained,” and final yr’s “Ain’t Sober” spotlight totally different chapters of that struggle. An older track, “AA,” got here from his preliminary reluctance to hunt assist—one thing he now sees as a blessing in disguise.
“It seems, it ain’t such a nasty factor I ended up in AA,” he says. “I at all times say that once I bought there, I assumed that place was for losers and those that lived below a bridge. And it seems that that wasn’t the case in any respect. And it modified my life without end.”
Immediately, he says the temptation now not exists, which makes performing in alcohol‑serving venues a non‑issue. “I don’t ever take into consideration consuming and utilizing medicine anymore,” he says proudly. “I play in bars on a regular basis, and it by no means even crosses my thoughts as a good suggestion.”
Nonetheless, a second battle to longer to beat. For some time, although, Lewis swapped booze for burgers, pizza, and no matter meals may derail a well-intentioned wellness plan—selections that grew to become particularly constant as soon as he started performing repeatedly. He ultimately ballooned greater than 100 kilos above the place he needed to be. “I’ve at all times sort of struggled with meals, simply having an unhealthy relationship with it,” he says. “I feel my first habit was meals as a child.”
Since a 12‑step program labored for his alcohol struggles, he gave Overeaters Nameless a shot. And for some time, the accountability routine labored—till it didn’t. Lewis misplaced over 100 kilos, however and not using a actual lengthy‑time period plan past not consuming, the stress of sustaining his life whereas residing in a everlasting calorie deficit grew to become inconceivable.
“I ate the identical factor every single day for 3 years,” he says. “After which I simply went by means of some life stuff. And I used to be like, I’m both gonna get drunk or eat a cheeseburger.”
When “Di**ed Down in Dallas” broke by means of in 2020, it shortly despatched him on a U.S. tour in help of his music. It additionally offered one other drawback: Lewis must handle his strict diet routine whereas his life and profession grew to become a bit extra chaotic. Quickly, the outdated habits crept again—he tipped the scales at over 320 kilos.“I used to be on the highway simply consuming pizza and hen fingers, performing like I used to be 20 years outdated, so it was very easy to place the load again on.”
From Ice Baths to 100-Pound Comeback
Aside from some video games of yard soccer, sports activities by no means performed a significant position in Lewis’ youth—which may very well be a part of the rationale it took him longer to completely purchase right into a health routine.
It additionally helps clarify why the catalyst for his second weight-loss run was, of all issues, a chilly plunge. Chubby once more, out of form, and coming off a breakup, Lewis—whereas internet hosting a aspect‑gig podcast chronicling different individuals’s battles with substance abuse—discovered refuge in a buddy’s chilly tub. In some unspecified time in the future, he realized the irony.
“We had been speaking about restoration subjects and psychological well being,” he recollects, “however the entire time I’m sitting there considering that whereas I’m speaking about psychological well being, sobriety, and spirituality, have a look at me. I’m not taking good care of myself bodily.”
Throughout his podcast run, he related with Justin Todd, a Nashville-based efficiency specialist who’s labored with professional athletes and musicians, together with singer Kameron Marlowe. The 2 shared greater than fitness center time—Todd can be deep into his personal sobriety journey. In a back-and-forth about what they’d each overcome, Lewis tossed out a half‑joking provide: “In case you get a chilly plunge, I’ll begin understanding in right here.”
Todd heard a gap.
Lewis, at this level round 292 kilos, agreed to return three days every week for a month. If he hated it, he emphasised, he was completed. Todd says his job grew to become apparent: “I had to ensure he didn’t hate it.”
Since Lewis’ health expertise was restricted, Todd’s first precedence was to construct a robust basis whereas holding the singer engaged. He began with a full‑physique motion evaluation, checking mobility and smaller muscle mass from ankles to shoulders—important for a touring artist who spends hours hunched over a guitar on a bus. Early periods emphasised environment friendly motion patterns, joint well being, and correcting bodily weak hyperlinks. He initially used bands and light-weight weights as prep for the heavier work to return. “We weren’t involved with throwing a bunch of weight on the bar. We weren’t going to search out our success in that with Trey.”
To maintain it enjoyable, Todd used the fitness center’s pickleball and basketball courts. Missed free throws meant additional reps; a made three‑pointer may knock off a set or two. Fridays had been reserved for certainly one of Lewis’ favourite actions, disc golf. The 2 would jog a 3‑gap loop—a sneak preview of the working to return. None of this was designed to alter Lewis’ physique in a single day, but it surely did assist him maintain displaying up.
“One factor Justin would at all times say that caught with me was, it doesn’t matter what, he was going to the fitness center,” Lewis says. “That’s the angle that I adopted from him.”
The beneficial properties adopted the constant work Lewis was placing in. With Todd, his weight dropped from 292 into the 240s comparatively shortly. Then they labored to chip it slowly however steadily towards the low 230s and past. His “newbie beneficial properties” got here quick—he added noticeable energy, going from studying how one can press simply the bar to benching 135 for top reps, which feeds his backstage ritual of banging out pushups in entrance of the band.
“I feel my bench is like, 165, I’m probably not certain,” Lewis says, proud however matter‑of‑truth. “I simply go in there and put the weights on that he tells me. However I do know that I’ve gotten the massive wheels on the aspect as a result of everybody on the fitness center provides me a tough time about that.”
A New Routine Value Sustaining
Immediately, Lewis’ showtime weight is holding regular round 225 kilos. He’d nonetheless prefer to peel off one other 10 or so, however he insists the quantity on the dimensions is now not the purpose. “Now it’s probably not about what my weight is,” he says. “It’s about, how am I feeling and the way am I performing.”
Loads of different issues have modified, too. He’s taken chilly tubs—the chilling catalyst to his health journey—out of the schedule and changed them with 20 minutes of warmth. “I’m a sauna man now,” he says. “I like the sauna every single day, 20 minutes, 200 levels.” =
His day-to-day schedule has been overhauled as properly. As soon as a power evening owl, the two a.m. bedtimes are gone. Now, when he’s not performing, it’s lights out round 9 p.m., generally even earlier. “I stand up at 6 a.m., and I am going to the fitness center, work out, then I am going residence,” he says. “I’ll get within the sauna for 20 minutes, then bathe, do my prayer, meditation, eat breakfast, then I am going write a track.”
In response to Todd, one huge purpose this weight‑loss sequel has caught is Lewis’ stronger mindset, particularly as soon as the early beneficial properties slowed. The primary part got here shortly—he dropped greater than 50 kilos in a number of months by coaching and reducing processed meals—however the again half of the load loss is what actually checks an individual’s resolve. “That’s when individuals throw within the towel,” Todd says. “Loads of weight reduction is about correct purpose setting and taking the main focus off the quantity on the dimensions and inserting it on how properly we really feel, how our garments match, what’s our physique fats share. These outcomes are far more tangible and practical than the dimensions.”
The upside was that his efficiency within the weight room stored climbing, which carried over to higher performances onstage. “After I began, I couldn’t even do a pushup,” Lewis says. “Now I can pump off like 20, no drawback.”
If his former classmates may see him on the monitor now. What began as Todd having him do 20–half-hour of 30‑second jogging bursts with relaxation intervals ultimately grew into strong one-mile jogs. Now, Lewis breezes by means of a number of straightforward runs every week, including one other layer to his stamina. “And now, now I can exit and rip three, 4 miles prefer it’s nothing, you realize, and it’s simply superior, man.”
The stamina doesn’t cease on the monitor. Even fishing journeys are simpler because of a stronger cardio and conditioning base. “We simply went and canoed down a river and fished for seven hours,” he says. “My buddy was quite a bit youthful than me, and he was dying. I wakened the subsequent day and I used to be barely even sore.”
In Todd’s evaluation, Lewis’ bodily transformation adopted a psychological one. The consistency of his exercises, mixed with the camaraderie he constructed on the fitness center, made it arduous for him to slide again into outdated habits. “Trey by no means missed a exercise, I don’t assume ever, until he was very sick,” Todd says. “Oftentimes he would nonetheless come when he was very sick—and I’ve bought three children below 3—and I’m telling him, ‘No, please don’t come.’”
Lewis’ all‑in strategy to his well being has translated right into a extra centered artist as properly. With new music coming quickly, he says he hopes a stronger, more healthy Trey Lewis ultimately results in one other platinum plaque in Nashville. Hopefully he’s not too quick to outrun the inevitable subsequent wave of accolades approaching.
“It’s the identical factor with songwriting or any of this different stuff,” he says. “You simply have to indicate up. That’s greater than half the battle. You then do the work.”
