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700-pound Richmond man finds peace and new life doing yoga

Posted at 11:06 PM, Apr 07, 2015
and last updated 2015-04-07 23:06:11-04

Richmond, Va. - Richard Widmark is on a mission.

He's an EMT trained to save lives. But now the life he is trying to save is his own.

"It's just the way I was taught to cope with things by eating,” says Widmark.

At 38, Richard is extremely obese weighs close to 700 pounds.

Growing up, he was the bully in Middle school, but dropped out in high school from being teased by upperclassmen.

"As the years went by, I started losing friends which made me have a lot more time to myself. Then, my friends are getting married having kids and here's me. A big failure at life,” says Widmark.

Richard turned to food for comfort. And as he packed on the pounds, Richard was ashamed to look at himself in the mirror.

"When you hate yourself so much, you wish to die it's not just getting out of bed,” says Widmark.

Richard battled with his weight and then depression before he hit rock bottom.

"I got a gun, loaded it. I went down to the river, down in Richmond and sat in a position where once I pulled the trigger, I would fall in the river. Hopefully, nobody would ever find me again,” says Widmark.

But Richard's attempted suicide failed.

Now, he's is going through a life-changing experience through yoga.

He’s becoming a master of a healthy diet, taking a good selfie, and enjoying hobbies like editing home movies.