(booming adventurous music)
- [Mark] This is Will.
- I'm gonna die now.
- He weighs 320 pounds,
and lives in his mom's basement.
Give me five more.
(Will exhales)
This is me.
Go Will.
(Will exhales)
I flew out to his hometown
to help him get his life together.
(Will grunts) But right about now,
he's probably regretting that.
(hand slaps) (upbeat pensive music)
(pipe taps)
- [Will] Ah.
(Will grunts)
Yep.
- [Mark] How we doin'?
- Tryin' not to puke.
(text booms)
- [Mark] Will is from a small town in Indiana,
and after dropping out of school
and suffering through some severe depression,
he ended up back in his mom's basement.
- I've struggled actually most of my life
with anxiety and depression.
When I talk about like being at a low,
I literally just got to the point
to where I wanted to end everything.
- I was drawn to Will's story because I too struggled a lot
with depression after school,
and at one point,
even had to move back in with Mom.
It's nice to meet you, man.
- [Will] I know.
(Mark laughs) (hands patting)
- [Mark] I wanted to show Will that unfucking your life
doesn't require some transcendent peak experience,
but rather simply doing small basic behaviors
on a regular basis.
And how long have you been down here?
- I've been in and out of this place
since graduating high school, essentially.
- [Mark] Gotcha.
So I devised 10 simple challenges
that could have an outsized impact
on the quality of his life.
And we're gonna do 'em together.
- Okay.
- Some of them might be, there might be some resistance.
- I think you severely are underestimating
(Mark laughs) how much of a fool
I'm willing to make myself. (laughs)
- [Mark] The first challenge, join a fucking gym.
How you feeling right now?
- Well, I'm about to go to the gym.
So I mean, there's that. (laughs)
- [Mark] It was the first time
Will had been inside a gym in about a decade,
and as you would expect,
he was completely outta shape. - Go.
(gym shoes squeaking)
(pipe taps)
- [Will] Ah.
- Given Will's obesity
and history of anxiety and depression,
exercise was non-negotiable.
Did you think you could do this two hours ago?
Yeah.
Next up was the important skill of meal prep,
but unfortunately, neither of us knew how to cook.
- [Will] Trust me, I'm gonna be doing a lot of YouTubeing.
- (laughs) While I do this.
- [Gordon] Now, how to cut the perfect pepper.
Start from the top, and slice all the way round.
(knife taps)
- [Mark] So far so good.
If you're struggling to eat healthy regularly,
then meal prepping
an entire week's worth of meals beforehand
not only will save you a ton of time,
but it will save you money as well.
The only catch is, you need to know
what the fuck you're doing.
(light whimsical music)
(chicken sizzles)
It's not bad.
- No, it's really not that bad at all,
all things considered.
- After eating, we went out to buy some books.
Hmm, is there any like, historical figure
you're super interested in, or a fan of?
- I think it was like a Dolly Parton. (laughs)
- [Mark] We tried Turkish food.
- Similar to a corn dog.
- And Will said that he always wanted to know
how to line dance.
So, I signed us up for a line dancing class.
But first, I needed a new outfit.
Gonna get me some boots.
Dude, I don't even know where to start.
(Will laughs) (Western whistling music)
- [Will] Looking for a white?
- I mean, here's an off-white.
It's got some bald eagles.
- [Will] Hell yeah, brother.
- (laughs) Hell yeah, brother.
(Will mimics an eagle calling)
(both laughing)
- Oh dude, oh dude, I think we found a winner.
- [Will] Hell yeah, brother.
- Hell yeah, brother.
- Funny thing is, when I say "hell yeah, brother,"
you say it jokingly.
I'm being honest, like that's authentically
something I say to people.
Like, hell yeah, brother.
- [Mark] Hell yeah, brother.
(both laughing)
(light country music)
♪ Indiana bound on a Friday night ♪
♪ My sights set on some neon lights ♪
♪ I want to cut up a rug, burn a hole in my boots ♪
♪ Around a pool table if you give me a cue ♪
♪ I don't mean to harm this Indiana town ♪
♪ But there's a high chance I'm burning it down ♪
♪ Hell yeah, brother ♪
♪ It's a simple thing ♪
♪ It's no right or wrong ♪
♪ You better hold onto your hats ♪
♪ If Skynyrd comes on ♪
♪ Get back up and give me another ♪
♪ Can't keep it down ♪
♪ Hell yeah, brother ♪
- [Will] So you hold on with one arm.
- [Mark] Hell yeah, brother.
- Hold onto that fuckin' rope as tight as you can,
as close to that bull as you can.
- Okay.
- Squeeze with your legs.
- Yep.
- Try to lean in the opposite direction of the bull.
- Okay.
♪ It's a simple thing ♪
♪ It's no right or wrong ♪
♪ You better hold on to your hats ♪
♪ If Skynyrd comes on ♪
(Mark laughs)
All right, I'm good.
Nice, woo. (boots clicking)
Hell yeah, brother.
- I'm gonna die before the end of this weekend.
(Mark laughs)
Physically going to be deceased.
- All right, we'll give you a nice "In Memoriam,"
(Will laughs) in the video.
(light memorial music) ♪ Break through the night ♪
- Similar to a corn dog.
♪ Stay strong ♪
(eagle calls) (both laughing)
- [Will] Oh man, that's some fun.
- [Mark] Yeah, it was fun.
(fireworks exploding)
(upbeat inspirational music) (Will groans)
(barbell taps)
(Mark laughs)
(Will exhales)
(feet plodding) (treadmill whirs)
The funny thing about exercise, like,
if I came up to you and I was like,
"There's a pill that reduces anxiety and depression,
helps you sleep better,
improves mood, improves focus,
makes you better in bed,
makes you more attractive-"
- Yeah?
(bell dings) - "And it's free."
- Yeah, (laughs) that's this.
- It's fucking this.
(Will laughs) This is what it is.
(light folksy music) (ice cubes clattering)
This right here is called Redneck Recovery.
We went to a Tractor Supply Store and bought a horse trough.
- Let's go get our shrinkage on.
- Bought some ice from Walmart.
(register beeps) (employee speaks faintly)
Yeah.
Filled that son of a bitch up with some hose water.
I told Will that he needed to soak it in
for at least three minutes.
But what I didn't expect
was that Mom was gonna get involved.
Why are you doing this?
- Because I wanna connect more deeply with my son.
- That's a good mom.
You guys ready?
- Yep.
- Three, two, one, go.
- (squeals) All right, gotta go all the way under.
You ready? (Mom moans)
- Get under, get under.
(laughs) Yes, yes.
(water sloshes)
Now, you've probably noticed by now
that nothing I'm doing with Will
is particularly extraordinary.
In fact, it's the opposite,
and that's by design.
How you feelin', Will?
- Excellent.
- [Mark] Yeah?
How you feelin', Mom, you good?
- Toasty.
- (laughs) If you're going through
a rut in your life,
if you're feeling unmotivated or even depressed,
simply doing something productive,
no matter how small, is a good enough start.
Coming up on halfway.
Doing it two days in a row is even better.
And after a week or a month,
you're gonna make it, you're good.
You'll look back and you'll be shocked
at how far you've come.
It really is that simple.
Three, two, one.
(timer dings)
That's it, three minutes.
- Who's gonna move first?
(Mark laughs)
- It's gonna be me, okay? (squeals)
- (laughs) Woo. - Hey, you.
- Good job, good job. - Get back here.
(Mark laughs)
We did it. (laughs)
Oh, come here, you.
- [Mark] Oh.
- [Mom] You're cold, get off me.
(Mark laughs)
- [Mark] That night, to help with his social confidence,
I told Will we were gonna go sing karaoke.
We were gonna sing the best song ever recorded.
(uptempo pop music)
♪ Ooh ♪
- (laughs) Why?
♪ We're no strangers to love ♪
♪ You know the rules and so do I ♪
♪ I just want tell you how I'm feeling ♪
♪ Gotta make you understand ♪
♪ Never gonna give you up ♪
♪ Never gonna let you down ♪
♪ Never gonna run around and desert you ♪
♪ Never gonna make you cry ♪
♪ Never gonna say goodbye ♪
♪ Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you ♪
- [Spectator] Woo!
(explosives booming)
(phone rings)
- [Friend] Broski.
- Yo, what it do?
- [Friend] What it do, what it do?
- [Mark] When unfucking one's life,
it's not sufficient to simply improve upon
one's body or one's mind,
but you must also address your relationships.
- Basically, I just wanna say
that I really appreciate everything you've done for me
as far as like, since we met in Michigan,
and started working together.
- [Friend] Yep.
- And all that shit,
you've just fuckin' really helped me
to become a better man and a better person.
You've helped me so much with mindset.
You've helped me so much
with like, continuing my education,
all that kinda stuff.
- Yes, sir. - I just basically
wanna say I appreciate the hell outta you, man.
- [Friend] Oh, you know, I appreciate you too, bro.
Ain't no thing, brother.
- Yep. - You know.
- Yep. - Whatever you need,
you know I'm always here for you.
- Yep, all right, I'll let you get back
to doing whatever you're doing,
but I just wanted to say that, man.
- [Friend] Okay brother, love you,
stop in in a little bit.
- Love you too, man, bye.
- [Friend] All right, bye.
(light inspirational music)
- [Mark] Fuck, yeah.
- Yeah. (laughs)
- That's great.
- [Will] Yeah, he's a really cool guy.
- That's really great, man. - Yeah.
- [Mark] How often do you hear
like two construction dudes, like-
- Talk like that? (laughs)
- Like, "I love you, babe."
- Yeah.
- "I love you too, brother," like-
- [Will] Yeah.
- That's special.
- Yeah. - That's amazing.
And he didn't stop there.
After years of tensions with his mom,
I convinced Will to finally sit down,
and say something that had long needed to be said.
- For everything that we've been through,
I've treated you like shit.
And I know my priorities haven't been in the right place.
And this weekend's done a lot to help me
not only figure that out,
but figure out how to get them in the right place.
And I just, I'm sorry for everything
that I've put you through
in the last year or so.
- Moms are always there.
I'll always be in your corner.
You know that.
Thank you, thank you. - Thank you.
- [Mark] It's the boring routine activities
that we do each day
that keep us feeling good about ourselves.
And for Will, just having
a taste of that this weekend
has hopefully set him up for long-term positive change.
But before I left and went home,
there was one last person he had to get right with,
himself.
You mind reading it?
- (laughs) Yeah.
(Mark laughs)
"I know you think you're a burden.
I know you hate yourself.
I know you can't seem to find love anywhere, even inside.
I know you're lost.
I know you don't want to be here.
I know you want to end it all.
That's okay.
It always will be.
You had to go there to get where you are now.
Five years from now, I'll look at me,
hopefully the same.
What I'm getting at is that it always gets better.
Even when it seems like it can't,
it always will.
You just have to remember to stay hard
and work through the shit.
Behind every strong person
is a story that gave them no choice.
Never let anything stand in your way.
I love you.
Stop worrying so much.
I forgive you."
(light inspirational music)
- That's beautiful, man.
(hands patting)
- Thank you.
- [Mark] I'm proud of you, man.
(hands patting) (light inspirational music)
(soft guitar music) (Zoom software bleeps)
- Hey man, catch us all up.
What have you been up to?
- Just in the time since we shot the video,
I've lost 30 pounds.
- Good. - Been able to maintain that.
I have a goal of, to lose 50 more,
which I have no doubt in my mind,
I'll end up getting there.
I'm more comfortable with myself than I ever have been.
I'm more confident than I ever have been.
- So what's the current status of moving out plan?
- I should be able to get out of here
within the next three to four months.
- Amazing, what would you say
to anybody who's in the same situation you were in,
say, six months ago, or eight months ago?
- Everyone is capable of doing this.
It really boils down to just focusing on the behaviors,
having the discipline to do it.
Yes, it's painful,
and yes, it's scary.
But at the end of the day,
this is some of the most fulfilling work
you'll ever do on yourself.
(soft guitar music ends)