VIP Client Morgan Ross

Tells her story of how she decided to change her life, lose weight, and gained the courage to take her life back.

Okon has had the honor of working with incredible women over the past 8 years, and Morgan has been an absolute dream client. Everything is interconnected, which is something many of us learn as we start to evolve from wanting to lose weight, to wanting to just FEEL GOOD overall. 

One of the greatest challenges for most in making a big lifestyle change, is taking that first step. And almost 7 month ago she decided that time was now. 

So here is her story, in her own words. 

Who is Morgan?
I am a single mom at the tail end of the most difficult year in my life, divorce, reframing what "family" looks like, personal growth. I am an Account Manager at a Digital Marketing agency. I am a Type A, sarcastic, coffee addict, and recovering people pleaser. I am an over the top singer and dancer that gets 5 star reviews from two year olds :)

What...

Who is Danielle?

Danielle is a wife, mom (to a spunky 2-year-old and 3 cats), and full-time worker who loves time with her family and friends. She is often found working at her desk during the week and enjoying any type of activity, snuggles with her daughter, and/or a good Hallmark movie on the weekends!

What made you want to start your fitness journey?

It was a combination of missing activities I used to get through dancing and finding time for myself that drove me to this journey; I hoped, and have found, that starting this fitness journey would give me what I desired. 

What inspires you most?

I tend to look to people for inspiration and that is true in this case as well; while there are several people that motivate me in different aspects of my life, my sister and daughter have been the biggest drivers in this journey. First, my sister has always been my rock, my person, and the person I look up to; she accomplishes everything she sets her mind to and lives a truly happy...

Who is James?

I'm a home healthcare contractor from Lincoln Nebraska.

What made you want to start your fitness journey?

I've struggled with weight since I was a child. At my worst, I got up to over 450lbs (5xl shirts and 50+ waist pants) in my 20's and 30's. I had been trying to get things under control but was never able to truly commit to change. Around November of 2019, I started feeling the health consequences of my size and decided I needed to do something real. At this point, I was too out of shape to do much in the way of physical exercise, so I started working on a calorie-counting diet. Over the next year, I was able to lose enough weight to introduce exercise into my journey. At this point, I started looking to social media to find fitness influencers for inspiration and direction.

Who is Ashley?

I'm Ashley, a full-time gymnastics coach, single mother, fitness lover & skincare consultant.

What made you want to start your fitness journey?

I was tired of being miserable in my own skin. Being an athlete my entire life, I knew how it felt to "feel good" and wanted to feel that way constantly. I was tired all the time & with working with athletes, I needed to be present and also felt like I should look the part and set a good example of what a healthy lifestyle looked like. I wanted my daughter to see what health looked like as well and lead a good example for her.

What inspires you most?

Growth inspires me. To see where I have come from in the past 5 years is incredible and gives me motivation. Growth and Change have been something that has been uncomfortable for me in the past. I never would have thought I would have made it this far in my fitness journey and I know it has only made me a better, happier person. I'm excited to see what growth happens in...

Who is Andrea?

I am an athletic academic advisor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities where I work with Wrestling and the Swim and Dive Team. I am originally from Milwaukee, WI. I was a distance swimmer in college and my background is in Psychology.

What made you want to start your fitness journey?

I have been on a fitness journey probably since about 2015 when I gained a lot of weight after college. I was still eating like a swimmer but was not practicing like one. I felt very lost in the “real world” because my identity had always been as an athlete. I have always loved working out, for me, it is a huge escape and it helps with my anxiety. I just never really had all of the pieces. I loved working out, but I wasn’t eating the right way and I did not have a community. I was motivated to start working with Okon because I was in a very low place mentally. I am very hard on myself and I just had an overwhelming feeling that “no matter what I do...

Who is Becky?

Becky is a hard-working, competitive, and highly focused woman in pursuit of her personal and professional goals. She is kind & has a lot of energy with a zest for life others find contagious. 

Mom to four fur-babies of all ages and sizes. Becky’s husband of 5-years will tell you her love for her dogs surpasses her love for literally everything else.

Becky spends the summer months on her boat in the St. Croix River and in the winter, you can find her snowmobiling and spending time with her pro Snocross team. 

What made you want to start your fitness journey?

I’ve always been extremely active playing in multiple co-rec leagues & and working out regularly.  I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 27 years old. The chemotherapy treatments made me lethargic, had a loss of appetite, and suffered from insomnia. My body’s muscle and fat loss were unreal, changing my body composition in the 4-months of treatment and maybe even...

Who is Kelsey? 

I am a 30-year-old outgoing, working, single mom who loves to travel, go on any adventure, trying new foods, and fun things along the way. I love reading, writing, decorating, learning, and being the best mom for my son.

What made you want to start your fitness journey? 

I was into fitness and working out big time in high school, I even did lifting competitions. I loved how much confidence it gave me as an insecure high schooler. As life happened, college, partying, living in Texas, and working I lost the working out aspect of life because I was just, “too busy”. The lie I always told myself. It came down to a point where I felt like crap, I’d say looked like crap, but I’m not sure that entirely true. I got diagnosed with an ovarian cyst, high cholesterol during the winter of 2018. It was a blow to the ego because I believed I was healthy. I decided I needed a change. I was doing so much internal work, it was time to get my body up...

How long have you been living a fit-focused lifestyle?

I have been “fit-focused” since 2011, meaning that I loved working out. You could find me in the gym after work every day for multiple hours. Unfortunately, I never matched my nutrition to my workouts… so was it really a “fit-focused” life? Not one bit. It was just me working out and then putting too much faith in my workout and thinking I could eat like crap and drink. I started to really focus on my fitness and health around 2017, matching what I ate with what I was doing. 

What turning point led you to this lifestyle?

I lived in a town where all I did was drink with friends to “pass time.” I would drink during the week, on the weekends and eat whatever I wanted, or what I thought to be healthy. There were times where I did not know how I got home or even remember what happened the night before. I experimented with things I never thought I would and I found myself sinking deeper...

Each month we ask one of our incredible clients to share about their lives. How Okon has transformed their mindset, bodies, and view on life. This is April's VIP Spotlight.

Who is Joanna?

Who was I? disturbed. broken. lost soul. numb. dead.

Who Am I now? QUEEN. Fierce. Wild spirit. Soft heart of gold. Sweet soul. Focused. Affectionate. Bold. Passionate. Selfless. Determined. Mended. HEALED. Alive. I am who I was intended to be because I did not stop.

What made you want to start your fitness journey?

I got to a point in my life where I was considering a choice between life and death constantly. It was a very disturbing period in my life. When death started to outweigh the choice of life, I decided to give one last chance to see if I could figure out a way to cope and so I decided to turn to fitness.

What have been the biggest obstacles getting started?

The biggest obstacles I have endured during this process is accepting the...

Every month we include a spotlight for one of our VIP clients, and this month we are introducing one of our new features: Lifestyle Spotlight! 

The Lifestyle Spotlight highlights a member of our Lifestyle Program community who is achieving their goals and exhibits the spirit of Okon Fitness in being motivating, encouraging, and uplifting to the community. The other part of how we choose the Lifestyle Spotlight is when someone shows a commitment to their health, and following a healthy lifestyle.

This is Krista's Story

Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey.

I am 34 years old and live in the small town of Arlington MN. I work in accounting for a large health care organization in Minnesota. My work life is very sedentary. I started really taking my health and well being seriously when someone made a comment that they thought I was pregnant.

Which I wasn't. 

It wasn't the happiest time of my life and I let myself get to a low place. That comment lit a fire in...