CELEBRITY FITNESS TRAINER KENYA CROOKS HELPS REALITY-TELEVISION STAR MAMA JUNE SHED MASSIVE WEIGHT AND BAGGAGE IN NEW WEtv SERIES
ATLANTA, GA — Celebrity fitness trainer Kenya Crooks will meet Mama June head on in the new upcoming WEtv docu-dramedy, Mama June: From Not to Hot, premiering February 24.
The new series will document June Shannon’s — aka Honey Boo Boo’s mama — physical and emotional journey as she attempts to transform her life.
The audience will get to witness how Kenya Crooks transforms Shannon through intense workouts, changing her eating habits and getting to the root cause of her excessive weight gain. Crooks helps Shannon shred a vast amount of weight from the 400 pounds she had been carrying in preparation for a series of upcoming surgeries and to save her life from obesity-related health issues.
Crooks, who has his own special brand of workouts, used those along with running, lifting weights and targeting specific areas on Shannon’s body to aid in her weight loss and overall transformation. Shannon was given customized meal plans to follow and alternatives from using food as comfort.
“As a fitness trainer, I often find myself acting as a counselor,” explained Crooks. “In a lot of cases, I have found that there are underlying issues with extreme weight gain and bad eating habits. I worked with Mama June to identify those issues/triggers that caused her to turn to food and helped her replace food with positive alternatives.”
Reeling from the pain of a breakup with and the impending nuptials of her former partner, Mike “Sugar Bear” Thompson, Shannon opens up to Crooks regarding the emotional upheaval of the breakup and other issues in her life. Crooks helps her through her journey to a fresh start.
“My job is to teach people to set goals that will have an overall positive affect on their lives,” Crooks said. “I always take a holistic approach using mind, body and spirit to help the client learn about themselves and set realistic goals. I taught Mama June how to set those goals and the way in which she responded to stress, helping versus hindering herself.”
Over the course of seven one-hour episodes during the first season of the new series, viewers will be able to see Mama June’s transformation though a series of surgeries and intense workouts and see some of the tools Crooks teaches his clients in their weight-loss journeys.
Crooks states although he did not train her family members, getting them to participate by just moving, they too realize they can easily burn calories through simple everyday activities.
“Though viewers will be entertained by this comical family, they will also be inspired as they will be able to emotionally connect with Mama June,” states Crooks.
Mama June: From Not to Hot premieres Feb. 24 at 10 p.m. ET on WEtv.
Kenya Crooks is a certified fitness trainer with over 17 years of success in helping everyday people and celebrities lose weight and get in shape. The Kenya Crooks Experience (www.kenyacrooksnetwork.com) offers personal training, group and camp training, meal plans, supplements, fitness DVDs, and live, online workouts. Based in Atlanta, Kenya has worked with The Braxtons of Braxton Family Values; Dutchess Lattimore of VH1’s Black Ink Crew; Tameka Foster, Monyetta Shaw, Christina Johnson all of Atlanta Exes; and Coko of the R&B Group SWV. He has been featured in publications such as Ebony Magazine, Essence Magazine, Heart and Soul Magazine, Upscale Magazine, USA Today and on BET.com. He was featured in Rolling Out Magazine in their “The Best of” feature as “The Best Trainer in Atlanta.” Crooks is a proud alum of Clemson University where he was a wide receiver on the Clemson University Fighting Tigers football team. He is a native of Seneca, South Carolina. Kenya resides in Atlanta, Georgia.