The disease of obesity has impacted April's life from a very young age. She was always the largest child in her class, her hunger seemed insatiable, and her weight affected her health and happiness no matter how active or "clean" she ate. After a friend shared her bariatric story, April was inspired to pursue surgery. She underwent a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy in July 2019 in Washington State. April has lost over 120 pounds and has maintained that loss by living the BariNation pillars and making the community a part of her daily life. She is on a mission to inspire others to fight back against their disease and connect them with the treatments needed to find metabolic wellness and finally live the life they have always wanted.

Jason is a devoted father, grandfather, and husband to his wife, Sarah, of over 20 years. He had Bariatric surgery in March 2020, just before the pandemic hit and the world shut down. Jason found a virtual bariatric meet-up scrolling VSG hashtags on Instagram and met April. They learned they shared a common vision to create an inclusive community where patients feel accepted and supported at any stage. Together, they launched East2WestWLS podcast in May 2020, and in 2021, it became BariNation. Jason is committed to sharing his story, breaking the weight loss surgery stigma, and reinventing postop care worldwide. 

Natalie has struggled with obesity her entire life, and at age 15 and 350 pounds, she decided to pursue the LapBand. After losing over 200 pounds, she had severe complications and had an emergency removal, and later had a plication done to maintain her weight loss. In the years following, she struggled to keep the weight off and gained all of the weight back and then some, crawling up to 403 pounds. She decided it was time to take her health into her own hands, and on September 28, 2020, she had the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy and lost and maintained a 140-pound weight loss. With the help of BariNation, Natalie believes success and metabolic wellness are possible and achievable, and she is on a mission to help educate and guide more patients to find their best bariatric lives.