Meet Hunter!

Hey, everyone! 👋🏻 I’m Hunter. I’m a student-athlete living with an autoimmune disease, Celiac, that affects 1% of the population and I’m here to describe my journey.

I basically started my athletic career before I learned to tie my shoelaces. Ski school since I was four? Check. Golf lessons since age five? Double-check. And then there was tee ball, swimming lessons, basketball and flag football, to name a few.

I was diagnosed at age 8 not because I was sick, but because I was not growing. Turns out, undersized doesn’t score well on the sports growth chart. When my parents told me I had celiac disease, I cried. I had to go to the hospital for a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis, and then my future changed.

Food became a tool for fuel and not for enjoyment. At ski school lunchtime at I would watch my buddies chow down on whatever the mountain cafeteria was serving like mac ‘n’ cheese and burgers, while I’d eat whatever I could stuff into my pockets from home. Lunch with the squad? Never happened. Bananas were my best friends.

When outdoor education trips rolled around, my parents and I became the food-packing pros. No way was I missing out on the fun just because my diet played hard to get along with. The struggle was real, but so was my determination to make it work. I’m great at eating foods I don’t like, so as long as they are gluten-free. I’ve gone three days eating corn tortillas and pepperoni, and it’s not the worst thing in the world.

Now, let’s talk baseball – I played little league with teams like the Chihuahuas, the Flash and the WolfPack. Post-game pizza parties were legendary, but not for me. Celiac threw a curveball, and pizza was out of the game. My parents always found out what foods would be at parties and made sure to pack me with a gluten-free option.

And there was this sandwich incident – a friend handed me what was supposed to be a gluten-free bun. Cue the emergency race home, with a pit stop for a not-so-grand recovery. Lesson learned: trust but verify your sandwich sources.

But hey, life as a gluten-free athlete isn’t all hurdles. Favorite fuel snacks include chicharrónes, Kind bars, candy, oranges, bananas, and the holy grail – Nuts.com cashews (these fit nicely in ski jacket pockets). Missing out on donuts and cupcakes post-game used to be a downer, but now I see it as a blessing in disguise. Forced-healthy diet? Count me in!

Since ditching gluten, I’ve powered up, caught up, and I’m back on the growth chart climb. Challenges? Sure. Benefits? Absolutely. Sports drinks? All gluten-free. Big League Chew? Gluten-free MVP. And when it comes to lunches in between games, Chipotle, Chickfila, and Five Guys are my go-tos.

Join me on this ride – where I share all my favorite things that fuel my life! 🌟🏆