Gene Hoglan Shares His Weight Loss Journey and How It Made Him “Feel Younger Than Ever”
Let’s be real for a second. A lot of us metalheads could stand to lose some pounds — myself included. Hell, most of society could, but think about the last time you went to a show; there were probably tons of huge, fat, and overweight guys and girls in the crowd. It’s an unfortunate reality, but it’s not permanent.
Just ask Dark Angel drummer Gene “The Atomic Clock” Hoglan. That dude lost more than 200 pounds and during a recent interview with Alex Stojanovic and Derek Solomos of Metal Master Kingdom (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), some lifestyle changes and encouragement/assistance from his now wife Laura Christine led to his massive transformation.
“Well, it started when I returned from a run of South America in 2009. And the band I was jamming with down there, we hit churrascarias every day. And for those who don’t know what a churrascaria is, that is the Brazilian steakhouse where they bring you the meat on a skewer. I’d been with [my wife, now-Dark Angel guitarist] Laura [Christine] for a couple of years by then, and when I got back, she was, like, ‘Whoa, dude. You were a huge dude when we got together. And I watched you fluff up a little bit on the road.’ This was, like, ‘Wow, dude, you were only there for 10 days,’ but 10 days of meat and carbs. And so I had gone to my doctor, and they they [did] just a typical checkup kind of thing. And they had said, ‘Hey, man, we’re looking at your numbers. And we’re just telling you right now, if you don’t kind of get some things together here, you’re gonna have to start jabbing insulin pretty soon.’ ‘Cause I was diabetic at the time.
“And so I came home. I mentioned that to Laura and she was, like, ‘All right, I’ve been patient with you for the last couple of years here, but now you are not gonna start jabbing. I’m gonna put you on a plan of nutrition.’ ‘Cause she grew up very health conscious, and she was saying, ‘I’ve been patient with you, but now I’m gonna put you on this plan. You’re gonna follow what I tell you to do. And within three to six months, you’re gonna not have diabetes and you’re gonna lose a lot of weight as well.’”
As a drummer by trade, you’d think he had an easier time than most getting in shape, but that wasn’t necessarily the case. Thanks to the tour life and how nutrition is often an afterthought on the road, there were some bad decisions made.
“I got up to 410 pounds. And then the smallest I got down to was 224 pounds, and that’s when I was doing the Bear McCreary record. And I fluffed up a little bit, but that’s just what happens.”
However, with Laura now on the road with him, Hoglan said he’s been able to have the support he needs to ensure he’s making the right choices. Even if that means giving up pot.
“So with all the drumming that I do, and just staying on that plan for as long as I have, I got rid of diabetes and proceeded to lose a lot of weight. Right now I’m fluffy — I didn’t have that two months ago — but that’s what being on tour nonstop is, ’cause you’re getting cheeseburgers and pizza for after food. And that’s one of the things I love about being on the road with Laura, because that has always been like — alcohol, sure, I drank for a little bit. I smoked a little pot for a while, I smoked cigarettes for a while. All of those were easy to give up. Food has always been my drug. So, that’s my Achilles heel. So having Laura around making those good decisions for us… She’s gotta be the whip-cracker, and she’s really good at it. So, there you go. That’s kind of part of the journey.”
Comparing how Gene used to look to how he looks these days is honestly night and day. The dude looks great! And though I’m sure it took a lot of effort, my guy probably added years back onto his life, having ditched diabetes and lost weight. Good on him!
