On Season 6 of My 600-lb Life, the camera crew meets 27-year-old Justin McSwain of Rock Hill, South Carolina who weighs 687.5 pounds. The young man graduated from Winthrop University in 2013 and had a once-promising career as a mason (he’s a member of the Freemasony fraternal organization) — but he has “eaten his life away to the point of never leaving the house for anything but food.” It was when Justin was still at college when he started overeating and gained nearly 400 lbs. He takes full responsibility for his present state, but that doesn’t mean the trip to Houston to meet Dr. Nowzaradan is less arduous.
When Justin and his mother rent a car, he’s disappointed when he discovers it’s not the car he reserved. He tries to get into the driver’s side of the car but he can’t fit behind the wheel. Keep in mind, Justin has also been diagnosed with agoraphobia, a condition that creates “fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult or that help wouldn’t be available if things go wrong.”
While his mother returns to the office to ask for a bigger car and to make her a driver, Justin leans on the roof of the car and says, “I really can’t believe this. This is the last thing I need. I’m trying really hard not to spiral and have a panic attack. But I’m beyond my limit at this point.” Spoiler alert: Justin makes it and is doing great. In June 2018, he reported that “for the first time in a year he can wear his Freemason ring. New episodes of My 600-lb Life air Wednesdays at 8 pm on TLC.
