?Fuzzy Fantabulous,? a witty and dynamic radio personality on Power 106, was born and raised in Compton, California, where he developed a fondness for soul food and soul music. As a child, he spent a great deal of time with his grandmother and his uncles while his mother worked. His grandmother, who was in charge of the housework and was a fantastic cook, nurtured his appetite with her famous fried chicken, mashed potatoes and meat loaf, while his uncles encouraged his admiration for music. They also instilled in him the determination to make his dreams a reality. Fuzzy explains, ?Ever since those days, I wanted my life to be in music and I was not afraid of the difficulties I had Being more interested in music than playing sports, Fuzzy relished the time he spent with his uncles, particularly his uncle Michael who shared with him a similar passion for music. They both enjoyed their occasional strolls on Sunset Boulevard visiting various music stores looking for their favorite jazz and soul records. ?I learned a little bit of everything from each of my uncles; my uncle Billy was interested in cars and used to take me to car races and give me hot rod magazines, but Uncle Michael and Uncle Robert were both interested in music,? he said. ?In fact, my uncle Robert use to sing in a group and knew how much I loved sound engineering and music, so he took me to a recording studio for the first time when I was 12. I can still remember how impressed and excited I was seeing all the gadgets and equipment there.? By 10th grade, Fuzzy weighed approximately 230 pounds and wore 48-inch-waist trousers. Because of his weight, he had to buy his clothes at men?s stores and have them altered for his height. Despite his frequent attempts to lose weight, he often found himself ultimately regaining the weight he had lost and putting on additional pounds. During his last year as a student at Jordan High School in Long Beach, California, Fuzzy joined the stage crew program. He also participated in managing the sound and lighting at his local church. When his excess weight and high blood pressure became an impediment to his stage work, he resorted to dieting and stringent exercise to lose weight once again: ?In order to be able to perform my job on the stage I had to get a climbing permit from the nurses? office. Because I did not want to be the only person who could not climb the stage grid, I lost about 50 pounds by eating one egg and a piece of toast in the morning and riding my bike from Compton to Long Beach everyday.? To further his musical interests after graduating from high school, Fuzzy decided to work with various record companies. He started by doing street promotion of various record labels before moving to New York to work with PayDay records. Later on, his enthusiasm and perseverance earned him the co-national executive position for the rap department at Warner Bros. Studios in Los Angeles until the mid-1990s. He then went on tour as the sound engineer for the rap group Pharcyde, where he met radio personality ?Big Boy.? The men became friends and were reunited a few years later at Power 106 radio, where Big Boy hosted the afternoon shows. Impressed by Fuzzy?s personality, the show?s producers offered him a position as guest host and later made him a part-time air personality. ?I began hosting the ?Friday Night Flavors? with Mr. Chuck, and my own show called ?Curb Servin? on Saturday nights. I have been working with Power106 since 1997. I love my work and the people I work with here,? he said. As his professional life advanced, so did Fuzzy?s excess weight and blood pressure. In his late twenties,he weighed 365 pounds and suffered from extreme hypertension and constant back pain. After his beloved grandmother passed away from congestive heart failure, Fuzzy became fearful of his own declining health. He felt as if he had lost control of his weight and could not stop gaining. He began to seriously consider his options when he became a father in 2001. ?When my daughter, Parker, was born, I realized that I had to do something about my weight because I wanted to be her daddy for a long time,? he said. ?I knew that heart disease and high blood pressure were common in my family and that diet and exercise alone would not help me achieve long-term weight loss, so I decided to have bariatric surgery.? Fuzzy sought the advice of his family and friends, including Big Boy, who had recently undergone a duodenal switch procedure. ?Everyone was very supportive of my decision,? he said. ?I talked to my friend Big Boy and Randy Jackson from the television show ?American Idol? and Randy told me that he had the Fobi pouch operation and referred me to Dr. Mal Fobi.? Fuzzy started to take daily blood pressure medications and managed to lose more then 10 pounds before he underwent the Fobi pouch operation on December 22, 2004. His mother, who had been a great source of encouragement and support since the beginning of his weight loss journey, was by his side, along with his girlfriend, Jaimee, and his daughter. Presently, Fuzzy weighs about 230 pounds. He has become active again and enjoys spending time outdoors with his family and friends, particularly with his energetic four-year-old daughter.He also appreciates the peace of mind and freedom that his weight loss has afforded him. ?It feels great to be able to walk with my girlfriend or to go bike riding with my daughter without my back killing me. But not having to stress over mundane stuff like being able to fit in a regular restaurant booth or in the airplane seat or having to shop at the big and tall store because nothing else fits also feels wonderful.? ?Being a post-op weight loss surgery patient is a day-to-day challenge; I try not to look too far into the future, but look at how far I have come,? Fuzzy said. ?I am still learning what foods I can and cannot eat. There are certain foods like French fries, ice cream and bread that do not agree with my body anymore, so I try to stay away from them.? In addition to maintaining a healthier diet, exercise and physical activity have become part of Fuzzy?s daily routine. He belongs to the basketball team at Power 106, rides his bike quite often and is looking forward to learning how to roller-skate. With his newfound health and energy, numerous cameos in different Hip-Hop videos and a great relationship with various music artists and industry talents, Fuzzy?s future is promising. For now, he is enjoying his work as the morning show coordinator at Power 106. He remains grateful for the family and friends who encouraged him along his path to better health. A true fighter, he remains unafraid of the challenges in his personal and professional life and is determined to achieve his goals?unhindered by the burdens of excess weight.