"I would be doing a humongous disservice to NBC, to myself, [and to everyone else] if I did not get out and tell others how I managed to change my life," Hoover said. "Maybe they'll feel as good as I do."
On Tuesday morning, Hoover stood in front of an audience of Boone Middle School students with this aim in mind. He spoke to students about making the right choices in life, about not giving up, and the damage teasing causes.
As a youth, Hoover ridiculed his overweight brother and fellow classmates. At the time, he was a slender athlete with Olympic aspirations on his mind.
It was not that he considered their obesity vulgar - he was just being funny - but Hoover has since realized that making jokes suggests it. It took being on the receiving end to open his eyes.
In college, after sustaining an injury and falling in with the wrong crowd, Hoover gained weight quickly. He stopped participating in sports altogether as he drank heavily, ate enormous amounts and grew more and more miserable.
Less than a year ago, Hoover weighed 340 pounds.
Because of his weight, functioning on even the most basic level was tough. Hoover explained that he needed to take huge breaths just to tie his shoes. And aside from the physical difficulties, the resulting depression was crippling.
"One thing I learned after I got fat was...[jokes] hurt...[They create] a wound that sits there and it festers and it grows for your whole life," Hoover said.
Depression, obesity, drinking, taking drugs - they can all be connected, he said. A person's physical well-being depends greatly on his or her mental health.
In his speech, Hoover singled out bullies and teasers as fueling trouble.
Cut them out of your life, he advised students. People who make poor decisions, do drugs, and laugh at the expense of others will impact a person negatively.
"If you are hanging out with dirt heads, you're going to become them," Hoover said.
Hoover acknowledges that most everyone will not get the opportunity he had. Just 14 people are chosen for the "Biggest Loser" each season.
"Not everyone is going to get up to 350 pounds and go on a TV show," he explained. But every person can want to improve, he says, and the best way to do that is to seek out help.
"I want to encourage you guys not to be afraid to reach out for help," Hoover said, pointing in the direction of teachers and adults.
Hoover says he himself reached out for help, albeit from NBC.
He remembers watching the first season of "The Biggest Loser" from his couch. As he gorged himself on food and alcohol, contestants began shedding pounds. He watched as overweight contestants renewed their faith in themselves. He wanted to be among them - to fight his misery.
He applied and before he knew it, was appearing in front of 8.8 million Americans each week.
On Nov. 29, to an audience of nearly double that size, Hoover was named the "Biggest Loser."
He was awarded $250,000 and given instant celebrity status. Both things he plays down.
"I went out there to lose weight...not to be TV star or actor," Hoover said, promising that what viewers saw on the show is real. "The Biggest Loser" is unlike, he continued, most reality shows, which have little reality about them.
As for the money, he has tucked it away to save for family life later on.
"I have been broke pretty much my whole life, I don't need to start living like a rock star now," he said.
Hoover has been approached by television producers about hosting his own show. Not long after leaving Boone, he will be on a plane to Las Vegas to appear on the Radio Awards. And he still keeps in contact with the other finalist, Suzy, who he admitted was attractive after the crowd coaxed it out of him.
Hoover has a lot on his plate right now, but vows to remain true to himself.
"If I never have a camera in my face again, I'm going to be all right," Hoover said. He says his pledge to do good by other people, be healthy, and not drink is all he needs. And that helping inspire others is itself enough of a reward to keep going.
"I owe that to people," he said in between hugs from Boone students and faculty after concluding his speech.
Cory Frolik can be reached at cfrolik@newsrepublican.com
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