Hubbin's Surgery! (Patreon)

Okay - y'all know I'm an open book.  I'd tell you about my bowel movements if you asked  but Blake is totally different.   He is a very private person, gets nervous when has he as to adlib (which is why he doesn't come on the channel often), and just all around keeps to himself.

When this surgery happened, I wanted you to know because you know Hubben! Y'all care about him. I also feel like you're my friends and I wanted you to know what was going on a little bit even if I couldn't post openly about it.

I wanted HIM to feel comfortable talking about it and opening up - so I waited on him.  Here is his story; copy and pasted from his Facebook Page:

Hey friends, I want to share the reason I haven't been on-air in a few weeks reporting or anchoring the weekend morning news.

For starters, I turned 30 yesterday! Still don't know how I feel about that. Instead of taking a trip or having a party, I decided to have a procedure that I've wanted for almost 10 years.

I don't talk about it often, but I am 200 pounds lighter today than I was in 2013. I was a big guy. While the weight loss changed my life, and certainly improved my physical and mental health, it also gave me some excess skin. It wasn't that noticeable on-air because I've worn super tight compression shirts (i.e. Spanx) every day since I started working in tv news in 2015.

I finally had the skin removed and have been in bed recovering.

I could have just told you I've been under the weather, but I wanted to be real because I put this off for years. I thought it was vain and extravagant. The truth is I already feel better looking in the mirror-- and I'm a long way from seeing the final result. (Shoutout to Knoxville Surgeon Dr. Tom Gallaher for the quality work and post-op care)

If you're considering any investment in yourself, I say go for it. It is impossible to put a price on feeling comfortable in your own skin. No pun intended.

And hey, nothing else has changed. You'll find the West TN drawl and big forehead haven't changed a bit the next time you see me!