Month: August 2009

Amanda Arlauskas
Age: 19
Height: 5’6″
Hometown: Butler, NJ
Occupation: Patient Care Technician

NBC Bio
Amanda, the typical girl-next-door, is 19 years old and has been held back from every important milestone in her life because of her weight. She missed her prom because she did not want to wear a dress, has missed activities and vacations and is always being compared to her thinner friends. She is a good friend who is incredibly loyal and always looking after everyone else.

Amanda is going to school to become a Registered Nurse, and currently works at a local hospital as a patient care technician. She loves working and caring for all of her patients, but often time feels like a hypocrite as her outward appearance is in direct contrast with her career path in the health profession. Amanda wants to lose weight and become healthier, that way she can feel confident when promoting health to others.

Amanda is the only person in her family who is severely overweight. Ever since she was young, her food obsession has been her weakness and comfort. Her supportive aunt, who has terminal cancer, has made her realize that life is too short to be living it unhappy or unhealthy. She is now ready to change so she can find someone to share her life with. Amanda is a strong-willed teenager who is ready to start living a life she has never known. She is ready to begin her 20’s and begin really living.

Tracey Yukich
Age: 37
Height: 5’2″
Hometown: Allen, TX
Occupation: Homemaker

NBC Bio
A classic Southern belle, Tracey grew up by the coast of North Carolina. Always full of energy, she is the life of the room from the moment she walks in. You can usually find Tracey shuttling kids back and forth to school and sporting events like softball, basketball, baseball and gymnastics.

Tracey did not start gaining weight until pregnancy, going from 113 pounds to over 250 by the time she had her fourth child. A combination of unfiltered eating during each pregnancy, and her husband being deployed for long periods of time with the Marines led to a constant struggle with depression, which led to more eating. Food was a crutch for Tracey and she turned to it constantly. She would not eat in front of others and when she did, it was a meager salad.

Weight loss to Tracey is something she has on her brain when she goes to bed at night and when she wakes up in the morning. She wants to be able to run with her husband, who was a Marine, and not be completely out of breath. Tracey would like to take on the burden of providing for their family, and the prize money would be a great help to her husband’s business.

Shauntina “Shay” Sorrells
Age: 30
Height: 5’8″
Hometown: Newport Beach, CA
Occupation: Social Worker

NBC Bio
Shay grew up the youngest of three girls. She was in the foster care system from age five to 18. As far as Shay can remember, she has been overweight. In the last 10 years Shay has found that stress, emotions and learned eating habits have continued to increase her weight. Both of Shay’s older sisters are overweight, and nearly all of her extended family. Family celebrations were always centered around food. Meals at home included fried chicken, biscuits, jambalaya, gumbo, fried fish, macaroni and cheese, cakes, pies, cobblers and anything else filled with starch! At a young age, Shay was expected to learn to cook and help make these meals for the family. In the family it was considered an honor to cook well.

Shay is a social worker and is always willing to do what it takes to help a client find their motivation and strength. Currently Shay holds a 4.0 in her Master’s in Social Work program, which is full-time, meanwhile she works three part time jobs and holds down an internship. Lastly, Shay’s weight affects her career as she works with people for whom she is attempting to motivate, and her clients look to her as an example. Shay is eager to once and for all get into shape so she can live a long and healthy life with her husband and boys.

Sean Algaier
Age: 29
Height: 6’2″
Hometown: Tulsa, OK
Occupation: Youth Pastor

NBC Bio
As a father and a youth pastor, Sean feels like his mission on this planet is to encourage and inspire. He knows it will be pretty hard to do that if he dies at an early age because he just could not say no to a Twinkie. Even now, he finds it hard to find the energy to keep up with his own children and is worried he won’t be around to watch them grow up.

Sean’s issues with weight started at an early age. He was adopted at four years old and prior to that, bounced around from foster home to foster home. His adopted family, while loving and supportive, was often misguided in their attempts to keep him healthy and would use exercise as a punishment. Food ultimately became his comfort and ignited a battle he is still fighting today.

Sean also happens to be a talented musician and singer. He loves to write music and perform whenever possible, but has been held back by his weight. He’d love to get back in the spotlight and losing the weight would be the thing that could jump start his career again, enabling him to encourage and inspire on an even larger scale. With his family behind him, Sean is ready to take on any challenges he may face on the show and make the change.

Rudy Pauls
Age: 31
Height: 6’4″
Hometown: Brooklyn, CT
Occupation: Engineer

NBC Bio
Rudy is larger than life — a real-life Paul Bunyan! He is a fun-loving, easygoing “teddy bear” who still chops wood the old fashioned way. He admits to being an emotional kid and being teased. This was the start of him using food as comfort. In order to keep his weight in check, his parents kept him active in all sports such as swimming, soccer, basketball and baseball. His sister passed away from leukemia when she was just 16. Throughout her sickness, Rudy ate himself through the pain.

Rudy earned his Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where he was a four-year starter on their varsity football team. Since leaving college, he has struggled with his weight while trying to balance his job and family. Rudy currently works as a Senior Production Technician at a power station in Rhode Island. His weight keeps him from doing his job to his best abilities, as he is often tired, short of breath and unable to fit into tight areas.

Rudy’s family is the reason he wants to be healthy. Rudy’s daughters are his life; having the energy to chase them around the yard, or sit down for the occasional tea party would mean the world to him. He dreams of the day he gets to walk his girls down the aisle.

Rebecca Meyer
Age: 25
Height: 5’6″
Hometown: Des Moines, IA
Occupation: Student/Nanny

NBC Bio
Rebecca grew up the “baby” of four, a role that has made her the sassy yet sweet girl she is today. Rebecca had struggled every day for the last 14 years with her weight, being the heaviest in her family. At the age of 17 she starved herself and lost close to 80 pounds, but four years later and out of high school, she gained all the weight back, plus an extra 50 pounds. Rebecca was active in sports and R.O.T.C. in school and had planned on a career in the military, but could never reach the weight limit. Rebecca wants to lead a healthy life more than anything and for the first time she believes that she deserves, wants and needs this opportunity. She plans on being a good sport all while winning one challenge after the other!

Mozziz “Mo” Dewalt
Age: 56
Height: 6’2″
Hometown: Louisville, KY
Occupation: Youth Mentor

NBC Bio
Mo may seem intimidating with his size and deep voice, but is really just a big teddy bear. Mo spends almost all of his time working with and dealing with the problems of others. He is a CEO and founder of a youth organization where he works diligently with impoverished youth in the community, focusing on academic excellence, physical exercise, athletic training and competition. He has been featured in the news and in local newspapers for being such an inspiration to the youth in his community.

Mo received college scholarships for Division I football and basketball, but has struggled with his weight over the past 20 years. He feels that if he is successful in losing weight he will set an example for his family members who are overweight, and for the youth that he works with to become healthy and fit. With the help of “The Biggest Loser,” he can prove to the youth of Louisville once and for all that with hard work and determination, you can achieve anything you put your mind to.

Liz Young
Age: 49
Height: 5’7″
Hometown: Chapel Hill, TN
Occupation: Salesperson

NBC Bio
Liz is an enthusiastic grandma who loves to eat. Having lived on a country farm most of her adult life, she loves to cook hearty meals for her husband and family. Liz and her family grew up being quite fit. When she had her first child she went from 127 pounds to 350 pounds and has never been able to keep the weight off. She went as far as having a tummy tuck to shed some of the excess weight and skin. After her husband had bypass surgery, she realized she really needed to get serious about losing the weight.

Liz’s grandkids are the light of her life, but she just cannot muster the energy to play with them as much as she would like. After working out and (attempting to) eat right for an entire year, she saw no change in her weight. Liz’s frustration has led her to believe that “The Biggest Loser” is her only answer!