My Story
Early 2024 wasn't my finest season.
A breakup with someone I cared about. An estranged fiancée making choices I couldn't understand. The daily grind of the gig economy quietly taking over my life. Health wasn't on the priority list — and my body did exactly what bodies do when you stop paying attention.
It stored everything. I ballooned to 256 pounds, squeezed into size 40–44 pants, and found myself winded by things that used to be effortless. Family noticed. I noticed. I just hadn't decided to do anything about it yet.
What made it more than a weight issue was what waited on the other side of ignoring it. I'm an African American man with a family history of Type 2 diabetes. I'd already been prediabetic — twice. I knew where that trajectory ended: a doctor's visit, a knowing look, a prescription pad.
I've never had a great relationship with the "prescribe everything" side of medicine. So when that moment came, I made a decision. Respectfully but firmly — no to the pills. Let's figure out something else first.
The something else turned out to be a Nintendo Switch game.
I didn't start with a gym membership or a meal plan. I started with Ring Fit Adventure.
Almost too humble to admit, but that's the point. I just needed to remember what it felt like to move. Two months in, movement was a habit again — and my curious brain needed more. Not tips and tricks. The actual science of why things work.
I found an ACE Introduction to Personal Training course for $100. It changed everything. What I learned didn't just explain the methodology — it validated what I'd already been doing intuitively and gave me a framework to do it better. I kept going: Personal Training. Weight Management. Behavior Change. Fitness Nutrition. CBT-I Sleep Health Coaching. I wasn't collecting credentials for a wall — I was building a toolbox I could actually use.
That toolbox kept growing. In September 2026, I completed my ACE Certified Health Coach credential — the certification that formally ties everything else together. It didn't change how I coach. It gave the systematic approach I already believed in an official framework.
This wasn't my first attempt at getting healthy.
In my early twenties I was active, mostly to impress someone. Later, a middle-school crush turned passionate vegan pulled me into a one-month challenge that lasted almost three years — to this day, the peak of my health.
Then came a relationship, a job at Chick-fil-A, and a pattern I wouldn't understand for years: every time my environment changed, my habits followed. Single, eating well came naturally. In a relationship, I'd drift back to the Standard American Diet just to connect with whoever I was with. That cycle repeated for years.
What changed in 2024 wasn't just the weight — it was understanding why the pattern kept happening, and building systems resilient enough to survive real life. I'm now in a committed relationship, three years into this journey. The horse hasn't thrown me yet.
65 pounds and 16 months later, I feel younger than my actual age. I sleep better. I run — and enjoy it. My energy and stamina are night and day from who I was at 256 pounds. More than any number, I feel attuned to my body in a way I never was before.
That's what I want for you.
After working in a gym setting and watching what they charged for what I consider essential lifestyle interventions, I knew something was wrong with the model. Effective coaching shouldn't require a big-box membership plus training fees on top — and the trainers in those environments aren't always there for the right reasons.
I founded SSS4LIFE — Sustainable, Systematic, Science-Based, For Life — to change that. One flat monthly rate. No contracts. Evidence-based methodology built around six lifestyle pillars. Accessible to people who actually need it.
I'm not here to hand you a briefcase full of pills and send you home.
I'm here to get to work — with you.
Coach Sage (Aarien Cradle) ACE Certified Health Coach & Personal Trainer | Weight Management Specialist | Behavior Change Specialist | Fitness Nutrition Specialist | CBT-I Sleep Health Coach