171: Handcuffed & Given a Second Chance

Jonathan Szarko was diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder, spent 9 months in jail and was dead set on not becoming "another statistic in the criminal justice system."

Standing in handcuffs in front of a judge at 30 years old, Jonathan was given a choice. He could either spend 5 years in jail or 5 years on probation. After living through past struggles with drugs and alcohol, Jonathan made the commitment to get sober and prioritize one of his oldest passions: fitness.

Growing up with a grandfather who was a bodybuilder, Jonathan shares his history with athletics and how he set out to manage his bipolar diagnosis through returning to the world of fitness.

He shares a huge struggle of weight gain with bipolar medications and how he was able to combat this and love his own body to teach others this.

Getting back on track came with earning his B.S. degree in Community Health Sciences and his NSCA-Certified Personal Trainers (NSCA-CPT®) license. From there, Jonathan launched his "Lifting with Bipolar" podcast to inspire others on their fitness journeys who live with bipolar.

Today, Jonathan is an Online Personal Trainer specializing in helping people with bipolar disorder love the skin their in and also manage any unwanted weight gain associated with medications.

Connect with Jonathan at his website here. From there you can access his podcast, Instagram page and YouTube channel.