Chad Gourley

Growing up, I enjoyed being active pretty much any time I had the opportunity. As far as sports go, I enjoy playing basketball, football, baseball, and even some soccer from time to time. Whenever I could, I would be out on my bike or hitting up the parks in the local area. Something a little unique about me is that from the age of 3-16, I spent many weekends and summers working on my family dairy farm in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania. Those were some of the best times of my adolescent years and taught me many lessons that I carry over to today. Heading into my late teen and early adult years, I started making some poor choices, which took me down a path that taught me a lot about life and making mistakes after mistakes. Unfortunately, this was the time when my health started to decline. I became overweight, the activity declined, and I wasn't outrunning my eating habits, which primarily consisted of pizza, pasta, sugary snacks, cheese, meat, and minimal vegetables. Coupled with my other bad habits, it started to become a recipe for a health disaster. At one point, I got up 299lbs, and I looked at myself and said life for you has to change. Fast forward about ten years, I have tried many different programs to lose weight and improve my health, some of them destructive while others have been far more constructive. There were many ups and downs in the process, but it wasn't until I saw a macro-perspective on holistic health that my eyes opened up to the everyday challenges people face in achieving a healthy lifestyle, which goes beyond activity and what is on your plate. Now I am fortunate to co-own The Bar Athletics and lead the Live Well Initiative, where I have the opportunity to help people and communities become the healthiest versions of themselves.