“The Biggest Loser” Star Shay Sorrells to appear at Celebration of Athletes and the 5K Run/Walk

July 21, 2010

Bluegrass State Games


Shay's childhood was far from perfect, homeless at the age of 5; she witnessed her mother's drug abuse first hand, and was placed in the foster care system. Despite these circumstances, she was the first in her family to attend and graduate from college. She obtained her BA in Psychology from Vanguard University. Shay pursued her Masters degree in Social Work at California State University, Long Beach.

While Shay was able to overcome many childhood issues, she had not focused on, her health. Stress, emotions and learned eating habits had continued to increase her weight. A few days after Shay's 26th birthday her mother passed away from drug related complications. It was this event that caused Shay to realize that she needed help to conquer her own addiction, her weight.

Shay then became a contestant on NBC's hit reality series "The Biggest Loser." She began her journey on the show at 476 lbs, making her the heaviest contestant on the show. She triumphed through 9 weeks with many emotional and physical breakthroughs on the show. She set a new record for a female losing 100 lbs in just 9 weeks. Shay returned home and continued her journey by losing an additional 72lbs at home. By the December 2009 finale of the show, Shay had lost 172 pounds total weighing in at 304lbs. Subway, a longtime sponsor of "The Biggest Loser," gave Shay incentive to continue her weight loss journey by offering her $1,000 for every pound she loses at home between now and the next season finale in May, 2010.

Shay is currently a social worker for a non-profit agency in Orange County. She works at reunifying foster youth with their families. Since the beginning of this transformation Shay's primary motivation has not changed: to live a long and healthy life with her husband and stepsons and hoping to change many things in this world one step at a time. As a social worker, Shay has a passion for inspiring and motivating others to find their inner strength, take charge of their health and their lives in every way.

Shay will be joining us to help us kick off the games at the Celebration of Athletes on July 16th.

Click here to read Shay's bio.

Click here for more information and to sign up to be at Celebration of Athletes with Shay.

Shay will also be joining us at the 5K run/walk on Saturday July 17th. Click here for more details and to register for the 5K.

Click here to view and/or purchase photos from the Celebration of Athletes.