For Heights resident Brandon Buras, everything boiled down to one decision – showing up.
Buras had battled weight issues his whole life. He had tried and failed all types of diets. “You kind of give up,” he said. “You’re never immune to it, but it becomes your norm. I accepted I was going to be big.”
The red flag came during a routine physical. “What really spurred me was, I went to the doctor, and my blood pressure was at the high end of normal,” Buras recalled. “It’s one thing to have acceptance of outer appearance, but this was like, ‘Wait. I’m only 27.’”
So, he decided to try a spin class. He was aware that the exercise fad was taking off, and RIDE Indoor Cycling had just opened in his neighborhood at 548 W. 19th St.
He was prepared not to like it – but he was in for a surprise.
“I went to the back row, the back corner,” he said. “I walked away, and it was kind of odd. I didn’t hate the workout. I was like, ‘Wow, that was kind of enjoyable.’”
Buras challenged himself to 100 days of fitness. He decided to show up to the gym or engage in movement for the next 100 days straight, with no excuses.
“If I can do that, it would improve my heart health,” he said.
And he decided to share his journey on social media.
“People were following, so now I couldn’t stop,” Buras said. “I had motivation from all the people watching. I did it.”
The challenge ended on his birthday. He stepped on a scale and had already dropped 50 pounds.
“That jump-started me,” Buras said. “I’ve stayed on it.”
Now, about three years later, he has lost more than 100 pounds. He boasts a Size 34 in pants – from the Size 44 he wore in high school.
Buras, an advertising director at the Chronicle, still loves spin. “I’ve stayed with it,” he said. “Spinning has been my workout and my mental therapy. My best days are the ones when I spin.”
Maddy Falivene served as one of his coaches at RIDE and encouraged him as he stay true to his commitment.
“Week by week, he was getting smaller and smaller,” she said. “Seeing people change naturally over time in a healthy way, that’s awesome. It’s been nice to watch.”
Falivene said Buras serves as an example to others. “Once you bite the bullet and start motivating yourself to get into new habits, then it becomes a lifestyle,” she said. “You have to be okay with it taking awhile, be OK with the process.”
Buras understood that healthy weight loss would take time. “It was a choice he made for his health, and a choice he’s made every single day,” she said. “And it shows.”
The community of fellow spinners also kept him coming back.
“I have friends there,” he said. ‘It’s our ‘RIDE tribe.’”
For those considering a lifestyle change, he recommends niche workouts. “Find a group, some accountability that allows you to connect and feel like you’re part of something,” he said. “Find a place and get connected to people on a journey.”
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