JACKSON, Wis. — Joshua Castellano is getting vulnerable — despite his fear of judgment.
The 24-year-old from Washington County has lost 200 pounds in the last two years. As he continues his physical health journey, he has decided to take it one step further with a challenge he is calling "100 Days of Change."
"As a young adult, as my weight started increasing, I got up to over 750 pounds," Castellano said. "My mental health was so bad that I was literally just hiding away every day, just eating myself to death."
He messaged TMJ4 News Washington County reporter Marcus Aarsvold on Facebook, sharing the start of his weight loss journey and how he wants to get more of the community involved. Aarsvold interviewed Castellano while he walked his dogs in West Bend.
It has been months since Castellano felt comfortable taking his dogs to the Rolfs Park. But his "100 Days of Change" challenge has him trying something new every day that gets him out of his comfort zone and into the Washington County community.
"Doing things like this, I would've never done them before," he said. "I was just gaining, gaining, gaining and not doing anything to be able to take care of myself. Not only was I damaging me, but damaging those around me because I wasn't taking responsibility for my own healing."
Now he's also doing things like emceeing bingo at Forest View Manor in Jackson. Sara DornBrook, Mrs. Worldwide 2026 of Jackson, caught wind of Castellano's story on social media and wanted to help him gain visibility through her followers and accomplish new challenges.
"So, this has given him a little confidence to get out there in public, connect with people, do things he hasn't done before and I love seeing that," DornBrook said. "You can do so much more together. So, we're going to go out and conquer Washington County together!"
Castellano films his challenges, posts them online, and wants to spread the word so he can try something else new every day for 100 days. He is now nearing the halfway point of his journey.
"I lived in a prison in my own body and mind for my whole life," he said. "Now I'm trying to figure out what living life actually looks like."
Next, he'll try landscaping, cutting hair at a salon, and then taking a tattoo lesson — hoping others are inspired to change their lives, too.
"If it's possible for me," he said. "It's possible for you too."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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