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Leo Basile is a walking testament to the power of focus and discipline. Since his quest began one April morning Leo has lost 180 pounds and completed the most grueling of endurance sports the Ironman Triathlon: swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 in a single day.

Leo grew up in Chalmette, LA, a suburb of New Orleans. He is the oldest of three sons in a traditional Italian/Irish family where food was a major part of his family life. He grew up heavy and carrying that weight all the way to adulthood. The premature death of his father and a divorce only led him down a more destructive path, gaining more weight with every obstacle he encountered. Leo’s job didn’t help with his obesity. He started his career with Glazer’s Wholesale, a large alcohol distributor in New Orleans. He rose from a small territory to one of the largest in just two years. He left Glazers to work for The Gambrinus Company, the importers of Corona beer. After a year he was asked to work for the small, yet up and coming Abita Brewing Company. Since 1998 Leo has taken over all sales and marketing for the brewery. He created such events as the Abita Pub Crawls and The Abita Select Dinner Series, showcasing the hand crafted beers made by the brewery.

One night in 1999, Leo was out conducting a promotion in the French Quarter. After a night of over eating and drinking he returned home. He was awoken by friends for a fishing trip. Still in his clothes from a few hours before he changed and left for the day. He began eating and drinking to excess again. Once they returned home he fell asleep. That night he woke up hungry, exhausted and in really bad shape. He went to the kitchen for water and retired back to his room. He closed the door as he did many times before and saw himself in the mirror. For the first time he really saw himself: a 6’1, 376 pound, 56” waist, morbidly obese man. A feeling of disgust and guilt washed over him. How could he have done this to himself? He vowed that if God let him live through the night he would change his life.

The next day Basile did just that. He changed everything about his old self. He began to watch what he ate and when he ate it. At the end of the first year he lost 80 pounds. He joined a gym and began exercising. He dropped an additional 40 pounds. With 120 pounds “off his belt” he hit a plateau. He continued to exercise and watched his food intake carefully. Never thinking of retreating Basile tweaked his nutrition, cutting out fatty foods such as cheese and fatty meats. He replaced them with fish and poultry as well as fruits and vegetables. After a short period of time he broke the plateau and lost an additional 60 bringing his total loss to 180 pounds.

He became interested in the sport of triathlon in the summer of 2002, completing two “sprint” distance races that year. In November that same year he attended the Ironman race in Panama City Florida to see some friends compete. Not worrying about another challenge, he signed up. For nine months he trained for the race.  He completed the race in fourteen hours; despite severe feet blistering, which made the race more difficult. Two years prior to the race Basile didn’t even own a pair of running shoes or a bike.

Leo has had numerous articles written about him in such publications as The Times Picayune, Health and Fitness Magazine and The Punch. He has been sought out by individuals for advice of weight loss and facing challenges in their life. Basiles philosophy is simple. “Self Discipline is the key,” “Decide what you want and never look back”.