AVON LAKE, Ohio — This Veteran’s Day, many people are taking time to honor and celebrate the armed men and women who have served our country.
For one local veteran, he’s showing his support by being so physically uncomfortable he can barely stand it.
Terry Warren has always been in the business of helping people. Whether it’s as a fitness instructor and owner of Erie Shore Athletes in Avon Lake, his passion for serving others can be traced back to the ultimate act of sacrifice.
“I wanted to do something more than serving my community. And so, the next step is serving the country,” Warren said.
After eight years in the U.S. Navy, Warren was focused on finding a way to impact people’s lives and help motivate them toward a healthy lifestyle. He traded in boot camp for barbells and has since committed his
“Getting people to work out, exercise daily, and eat right is preventative healthcare so that they can have a long-term better life,” Warren said. “The main goal is to meet someone right where they are. So it doesn't matter if they've been in the gym before, they've never stepped into a gym before.”
Warren’s time in the Navy included stints as a helicopter gunner and rescue swimmer. When he sees a fellow veteran walk into his gym, there’s an immediate connection formed between the two.
“We just have a special bond knowing that we both were willing to die so that everyone could live and that that means something,” Warren said.
This Veteran’s Day, Warren is raising money for suicide prevention by doing what’s known in the fitness world as a Hero Workout. A Hero Workout is a tribute to a fallen first responder or member of the military who died while serving honorably in the line of duty.
“It's good to bring awareness to certain veterans' charities and bring awareness that veterans still need help, not just while they serve, but after they serve,” Warren said.
Hero workouts have risen in popularity in recent years, the most popular many people have heard of is “Murph,” named after Lt. Michael Murphy, who was killed in action in Asadabad, Afghanistan in 2005. His story was popularized in the film “Lone Survivor.”
“People kind of get on board that because there's a movie in a book for that, but there's hundreds of thousands of fallen soldiers that don't have any word, record other than maybe a name that was put out in the newspaper,” Warren said.
Friday morning at his gym, Warren helped push his class, many of them wearing weighted vests, through the Hero Workout Chad, named after Chad Wilkinson in honor of Navy SEAL Chad Wilkinson who took his own life in 2018 due to the effects of multiple deployments, several traumatic brain injuries, and PTSD.
“Every 4 a.m. wake up and every 8 p.m. leaving the gym and turning the lights off, it all becomes worth it when you see that one person create healthy habits that you know that now it's a lifestyle for them,” Warren said.
The workout itself includes 1,000 24-inch box step-ups. The Chad 1000x has brought together thousands of participants and raised more than $225,000 for suicide prevention for veterans.
But Warren isn’t JUST doing the workout, he’s taking it a step further. His goal is to complete 5,000 step-ups throughout the day as a way to honor the fallen Navy SEAL.
“I think you try a little bit harder. You give a little bit more because that's what that person did for you to be there that day that you're doing it,” Warren said. “I’m going to step up all day long because Chad can't. But I can.”
To donate to the Chad 1000x fund, you can click here.
