PRINCETON, W.Va. (WVVA) – Kadyn Punturi is a graduate of Princeton Senior High School. When he graduated in 2020, he realized college wasn’t for him. He went to the Armed Forces Career Center, but he weighed in at 365 pounds. The Army will not take soldiers who are obese. But Recruiter, Sergeant First Class Michael Keathley sat down with Punturi and put him on a path to lose the weight.
“A lot of what we do here is coaching and mentoring, especially with these young men and women who are looking to join the military service. So a lot of it with us was adjusting his diet plans, helping him come up with new workout plans. When he hit his plateaus, keep him from giving up and stuff like that,” said Keathly.
“I got up everyday and went to the gym. Worked out about an hour and a half, two hours every day with a lot of cardio just sticking to it and my diet plan. Just mainly eating a lot of grilled chicken, vegetables. Just trying not to eat junk food, staying healthy and drinking a lot of water,” said Punturi.
Punturi lost 145 pounds. Now he’s fit and a lot trimmer at 220 pounds. This is his first full day as an enlisted Army recruit with a military career path to become an Aviation Operation Specialist.
“I mean this journey is not impossible. Kadyn here is proof of that. So to anybody that is looking or thinking that hey I weigh too much or I have too many medical issues or the army wouldn’t accept me. You don’t know unless you try. I mean I’m willing to help anyone out who truly wants to be here. If they show that dedication, the same dedication that this young man showed, we’ll help them along their journey as well,” said Keathley.
“Stay motivated and it’ll come. Your time will come, just stay after it and just make sure you have the right group of friends around to make sure you’re on top of everything,” said Punturi.
Kadyn will deploy to boot camp in September.
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