Jelly Roll went to bed every night fearing he might not wake up. According to his health consultant Gary Brecka, the singer’s lifestyle had become significantly impacted by his weight and he was struggling to do everyday tasks.
It was that grim reality, Brecka, 55, revealed on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast, that convinced the rapper-turned-country star to finally commit to changing his lifestyle. Their partnership began when Jelly Roll, 40, sent Brecka a blunt DM: “Do you work with fat people?”
The DM was enough, and Brecka set up a meeting with the “Son of a Sinner” singer that took place on Jelly Roll’s private plane where he did bloodwork.
“I’ll never forget that flight. It was actually very sad because I could see this guy’s heart,” Brecka told podcast hosts Will Compton and Taylor Lewan in their episode on Monday, September 22. “He’s a good human, but he could barely fit in this private airplane seat. And he started talking to us, describing what it was like to go through a day in the life of just being him and his weight.”
Brecka added that Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, told him that he had to wedge himself in with pillows each night because he was afraid he’d roll over onto his back and suffocate and that he “never turned the radio down in the car, because when [he] pulled up to a spotlight, [he could] hear [himself] wheezing.”
Eventually, the Grammy Award nominee knew he had to make a change and that’s when he reached out to Brecka.
“Every morning that he would wake up, he said as soon as he would wake up, he would thank God that he didn’t die that night,” Brecka said, “because he felt like he was gonna die every night he went to sleep.”
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He continued, “[He said], ‘I’m ready to commit to changing this, because God’s given me this opportunity to have my music serve the world. And I feel like I’m gonna die. He is one of the most genuine human beings, and to see that transition right there is just amazing, man.”
Jelly Roll is now down nearly 200 pounds, and the nights spent wondering if he’d wake up are finally over.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 24, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
