Shinedown’s Brent Smith Inspired by Meat Loaf to Lose Weight

2012-05-30

Shinedown photo Brent Smith Anne Erickson

Story by Anne Erickson

Shinedown frontman Brent Smith is in the best physical condition of his life, says drummer Barry Kerch

It’s pretty obvious to Shinedown fans that longtime frontman Brent Smith has dropped quite a few pounds as of late, and according to drummer Barry Kerch, it wasn’t by chance. Kerch explains that Smith began a specific diet and exercise program after he was harshly compared to a famously chunky rock legend: Meat Loaf.

“He looked in the mirror one day and just said, ‘Hey! I can’t be a frontman and look like this,”’ Kerch told Alternative Addiction. “Some people even called him Meat Loaf and that stung his soul, but he weighed 210 pounds and all he was doing was eating and drinking with no exercise. He woke up one day and decided that was it.”

Kerch also believes that Smith’s new healthy standard of living and in-shape build has helped boost Shinedown’s live shows. “He can breathe now,” Kerch said. “He can move around the stage now and he doesn’t just stand there trying to make it through a set. Not only that, but it’s improved him as a person, and as a result, Shinedown is the strongest that it’s ever been in ten years.”

Fans will get a chance to check out Smith’s new build up-close-and-personal when the band sets off on the next part of their North American tour at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 29. Shinedown are also slated to headline the Rockstar Uproar Tour beginning on Aug. 15, but those specific tour dates have yet to drop.