“I’m on that Godzempic, Happyzempic, Hardworkzempic!”
FOR LIL REL HOWERY, the journey to fitness began not in the gym but in a theatre, at the 2017 premiere of Get Out, the Oscar-winning thriller in which he costarred. Watching himself on-screen, he thought, Did I get that big? It wasn’t just about his appearance; it was a realisation that his health had quietly taken a back seat. I gotta figure this out, Howery, now 45, remembers thinking. On a recent Zoom call from his home in L.A., he looks like the picture of a guy who’s put in the work. He’s wearing a blue sleeveless shirt that shows off his arms, a Cubs cap, and a gold cross pendant.
At first, his efforts were humble: a Peloton bike and a gospel playlist. But what started as exercise became a daily ritual. 'I wasn’t just working out; I was letting things go.' The music connected him to memories of family and faith, transforming each ride into something profoundly therapeutic.
'It ain’t the airy gospel playlist I’m playing. I’m playing Reverend James Cleveland, Reverend Milton Brunson,' says Howery, who was practically raised in churches all over Chicago. 'I remember getting tired on the bike. I was like, "Okay, what’s my motivation?" That’s when I started having my conversations with God, manifesting my ideas.'
By 2020, Howery had lost some weight (he doesn’t track the numbers), but he ratch-eted up his routine, turning his home into a gym with weights and a boxing bag. Enter Sloan Baptiste, a former college basketball player and a Hollywood boxing trainer known for his no-nonsense style. Howery quickly found himself hooked by the sport’s intensity. True to his character, he brought family along for the journey, including his cousin Rashida. 'I looked forward to working out with Rashida. She was pushing us.' Rashida went on to lose over 100 pounds, and seeing her transformation only motivated Howery more.
Faith helped Howery stay consistent. Prophet Katara Hull, his spiritual mentor for more than a decade, remembers meeting a man who was struggling but had an undeniable spark. She told him that God had big plans for him. Her words stayed with him, and his faith became a part of every workout. Howery calls workouts “active meditation,” connecting every punch to a purpose beyond himself. 'Standing up for your kids, standing up for Black women – that’s what this is about,' he says.
But although his physical health was improving, Howery realised he still wasn’t happy. One day in 2021, he found himself sitting on the stairs in his house – luxurious, filled with everything he’d ever dreamed of – feeling overwhelmed. 'I had a panic attack. I got my cars outside, got all the stuff I want, and I was crying uncontrollably, and I didn’t know why,' he says. His assistant arrived to take him to set, only to find him frozen, unable to move, the weight of unprocessed pain holding him there. Faith alone couldn’t address what he’d buried, he says, “because there’s some things I just never dealt with.”
Howery grew up in a time and culture where mental health, especially for Black men, wasn’t prioritised or even discussed. He shares that he wasn’t aware of the trauma he was holding on to, partly because there wasn’t a cultural framework for men like him to explore these issues openly, or widespread encouragement to do so. Therapy, he learned, was the missing piece.
Talking to a therapist, Howery learned he had never truly mourned his mother’s death, a loss that had haunted him quietly since 2009. 'We started dealing with the passing of my mother and how I didn’t grieve for real,' he says. 'It just tied everything together.'
In a final transformative step, Howery quit drinking in 2023. He’d been telling himself for years that he could cut back – 'I kept trying to find easier versions… if I cut down, if I don’t do this, I do that,' he says, chuckling. But it wasn’t until he quit completely that he began seeing real results. 'As soon as I stopped drinking, I saw that six-pack start to show up,' he jokes. 'Turns out, all those years I was blaming my 40s, it was just the drinks.'
Howery has heard the online rumours about his transformation and sets the record straight: 'This ain’t no Ozempic, everybody,' he says with a laugh. 'That’s not what I did.' He posted on Instagram as well: 'I’m on that Godzempic, Happyzempic, Hardworkzempic.'
'I’ve worked really hard on myself the last five years physically, mentally, spiritually, professionally, and personally,' he says. Now he’s sharper, more energised, and ready to show up for life. His next big roles are in The Class Reunion and Guttermuckers. 'I want to be present for everything…on-set, at premieres, with my kids,” he says. “I want to feel what this really feels like.'
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