Jared Ream loves roller coasters, but his size was keeping him from reaching his goal of riding his 300th coaster. But when the roller coaster enthusiast heard about a new ride opening at his local amusement park, Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, it was the motivation he needed to shed some weight so he could fit on the ride.
In August 2019, Ream heard that Kings Island would be getting a new addition, Orion, a 300-foot-tall Giga coaster created by his favorite coaster manufacturer, B&M. That day he committed to losing the weight he needed to, so he bought a scale, started exercising, restricting his diet and practicing intermittent fasting. He stuck with it for 321 days and lost almost half his body weight. He went from 430-pounds down to 240 and was ready to ride Orion at a media event the day before opening day.
Ream’s ride marked his 300th coaster and he rode Orion four times, loving every minute of it. “Just the idea of this coaster helped inspire me to change my life. I worked so hard just to ride this monster of a machine,” he wrote. “I can truly say it was all worth it, and I know I have the rest of my life to ride it over and over again.”