Meet Our Newest Spokesperson: John McMasters

Hello, my name is John McMasters and I’m excited to have been chosen to be a spokesperson for this year’s SparkPittsburgh Step Challenge representing Eat’n Park Hospitality group. I have been a Benefits and Compensation Specialist with Eat’n Park since April 2017.

 

I have always been an active person growing up by playing sports. In high school I played baseball, ice hockey, football, and tennis. In college I pursed playing football at both Saint Vincent College and Slippery Rock University. After college I played semi-professional football for a year until I tore my ACL and had to get it reconstructed which ended my playing career. Since then I have gone back to playing ice hockey in a recreational league. I currently play on 2 teams which keeps me busy throughout the week. I go to the gym 5 times week where I do a wide variety of exercises and cardio workouts. I have been running in some 5K’s and I’m currently starting to work on training for a half-marathon in the spring.

 

Growing up I didn’t always pay attention to the foods and beverages I was putting in my body, I figured, I’m athletic I’ll burn off the calories regardless of how many calories I took in. My senior year in college I was weighing in at 310 pounds and I did not like the way I looked and felt. I think reality hit when I tore my ACL and I was not able to workout like I was and had to take a hard look at myself.  I decided that I needed to work on my eating habits. I have been able to drop 70 pounds in 5 years by just paying attention to what I was putting in my body, drinking more water, cutting sugary drinks, eating smaller meals, and eating healthy snacks in between meals.

 

My wife Alana and my dog Lou keep me active when I’m at home. My dog loves to go on walks and once I get home from the gym I will usually go with him and my wife on a 30-minute walk around my neighborhood.

 

I have been a part of SparkPittsburgh Step Challenge for 2 years now and I have enjoyed of being a part of this challenge.  I have a Fitbit which holds me accountable, especially because I’m the chairperson for this event for my company. We are a company who cares about people and we have integrated this step challenge with our wellness program to promote better health and wellness for our employees. I’m looking forward to getting as many steps in as I can and hopefully this step challenge is helping our employees achieve their health and wellness goals along the way.

 

“Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” Lao Tzu

 

John