In honor of First Responder Wellness Week, Inside EMS hosts Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson go beyond the surface-level tips and dig into what true wellness looks like in this profession. Spoiler: it鈥檚 messy, personal and sometimes terrifying.
Kelly shares his deeply personal journey from a spinal surgery and a near-fatal pulmonary embolism to dropping over 140 pounds and reclaiming his life. At his heaviest, he was 410 pounds. Today? He鈥檚 neck-and-neck with Chris on the scale, rocking a 40-inch waist after shedding a whole foot from his midsection.
But this episode isn鈥檛 about bragging 鈥� it鈥檚 about honesty. Kelly gets vulnerable about depression, self-doubt and EMS culture鈥檚 toxic relationship with self-care. He also drops hard-earned advice on meal prepping, smarter snacking and how to make real progress without crash diets or guilt trips.
If you鈥檝e ever looked in the mirror and not liked what you saw 鈥� or felt the creeping realization that this job might just break you 鈥� this one鈥檚 for you. Kelly鈥檚 story isn鈥檛 just about weight loss; it鈥檚 about survival, resilience and building a new life, one lap at a time.
Memorable quotes
- 鈥淓MS is not an active profession. It鈥檚 23 hours of boredom and an hour of blind panic.鈥�
- 鈥淚t鈥檚 not simply a matter of willpower, but support, attainable goals, and short increments add up over the years.鈥�
- 鈥淵ou have to get serious about what you want to feel like, what you want to look like.鈥�
- 鈥淚 said, 鈥榃hat are you doing this for? Are you doing this to die, knowing what killed you?鈥欌��
RATE & REVIEW鈥�
Catch a new episode of the Inside EMS podcast every Friday on鈥�,鈥�, 鈥�,鈥�,鈥�, and鈥�. Enjoying the show? Please take a moment to鈥�. Contact the Inside EMS team at鈥�theshow@ems1.com鈥痶o share ideas, suggestions and feedback, or let us know if you鈥檇 like to join us as a guest.
