Dad, 35, Completes 1 Million Push-Ups While Documenting Fitness Journey: 'Maybe This Can Inspire Somebody'
Influencer Kevin Cullum wanted people to know that despite facing struggles, they can still "go after big things in their own lives"
A 35-year-old dad and influencer has officially completed his years-long goal of doing 1 million push-ups — all while documenting his fitness journey on social media.
Known as "The Push Up Guy" on both Instagram and TikTok, Kevin Cullum first began tracking his push-ups in 2015, telling Good Morning America he started when he heard a coworker talk about their own fitness experience.
The dad of two launched an Instagram account in 2017 — @1_millionpushups — which now boasts over 1,400 posts with inspirational messaging, fitness tips and overall encouragement from Cullum to his 131,000 followers.
On TikTok, the dad has over 58,000 followers, with his most popular video sitting at 1.6 million views. As he told the outlet, he's "trying to really motivate and inspire and pump people up and to go after big things in their own lives."
On Dec. 29, after about a decade of his efforts on-and-off social media, Cullum did his 1 millionth push-up next to his son while his wife, Molly, filmed the moment behind the camera.
With just 10 push-ups left, the influencer shared a speech full of thank you's — to members of his family and to "anybody listening," who he said can "accomplish whatever you want in life." Cullum then dropped to the floor at their home, alongside his son, and cranked out his final 10 push-ups by his side.
"I love my two kids and my baby on the way. Much of the reason I did this was because I lack many skills and smarts in life, but I wanted to show that you can accomplish anything if you work hard enough for a long enough period of time," he captioned the clip.
"Finally, to anyone else still reading — you struggle with things just like I struggle with things. We all do. Do not quit," he added. "Do not surrender. Keep pushing forward, and you will get to where you want to be."
Per GMA, Cullum launched his Instagram account as he was approaching his 100,000th push-up.
At the start, Cullum shared, he wanted to break the world record for the most push-ups done in an hour. And while that didn't work out, he eventually began to consider the new goal of 1 million — calling the push-ups a metaphor "to represent so many other things in life."
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"Because I thought the message could be much more impactful for anybody on earth," he told GMA. "If you just stick with something for a long enough period of time, you can accomplish massive things."
Cullum's efforts on social media haven't just been limited to push-up talk, either. He's also been open about his struggles with anxiety, and told GMA that his "push-up pursuit" reminded him that he is "in control."
"The belief inside me was always there, that maybe this can impact someone, maybe this can inspire somebody to go after whatever it is that they want in their life, because we only have one life," he said.
"And push-ups are just the vehicle to trying to get those messages across," Cullum continued.
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