When Michael Rowlands Jr. was rushed into emergency surgery in January 2023, doctors discovered colorectal cancer that had silently advanced without symptoms. “You know it’s cancer, right?” he remembers the doctor saying at 5 a.m. Days later, the 26-year-old music teacher left a Texas hospital with a colostomy, 30 pounds lighter, and a cancer journey just beginning.
Today, at 29, he’s cancer-free, visibly transformed, and sharing his journey back to health and fitness with the kind of candor and wit that’s made his social media presence resonate far beyond the LGBTQ+ community. “I hated my body through chemo,” he says. “I hated looking in the mirror. So yeah, part of this is flipping the bird to cancer. I got a second chance.”
That second chance included six months of chemotherapy, two surgeries, and a colostomy reversal attempt that initially failed. Through his Instagram account @dressy.fitsfitness, he documented it all — catheters, tubes, scars, setbacks — and now shares his physical recovery and the tools that helped him rebuild emotionally and spiritually.
Michael Rowlands Jr.courtesy Michael Rowlands
1. Start slow. But start.
“The first thing that helped me was walking,” Rowlands says. “Not running, not lifting — just walking. Movement matters. It got me out of bed and reminded my body we were still in this.”
Once his surgeon cleared him, he returned to the gym, picked up weights again, and rebuilt the strength chemotherapy had zapped over time.
“I was 205 when I entered the hospital in 2023, left after seven days at 175,” he says. “Finished chemo at 180.” After the colostomy reversal, he bulked back up to 230 pounds. “Then I slimmed down back to 180 on a cut,” he says, chuckling. “Muscle is hard to gain!”
2. Mindset isn’t optional. It’s the work.
Rowlands credits his Pentecostal upbringing with shaping a powerful internal dialogue, even as he’s moved away from organized religion. On his way to work every morning, he prays aloud in his car — blessings, affirmations, rebukes against cancer and fear. “It’s my daily decree,” he says. “Even when I didn’t believe it, I said it anyway. Because words have power.”
He encourages others to embrace whatever version of faith or mindfulness speaks to them. “Speak life over yourself. Every day.”
3. Don’t wait to get involved in your care.
Rowlands knows his anatomy better now than he ever wanted to. “I knew nothing before. Now I read every lab report, research my medications, and ask questions. I don’t just say OK — I want to know what’s happening inside me.”
“They’re touching your insides, so you should know what they’re up to,” he adds. He encourages young people to fight for early screenings. “Lie to your doctor if you have to,” he says half-jokingly. “Tell them you’ve had blood in your stool. Get the colonoscopy. You can’t assume you’re fine just because you’re young.”
4. Survival comes with scars.
“I still hated my scars,” Rowlands says, pointing out the deep colostomy mark and port sites on his torso. “They don’t go away. People stare. But I had to reframe my mindset: These are my proof. This is my testimony. My victory.”
That reframing applies to dating too. “Girl, my DMs stay full,” he laughs. “But most of those people wouldn’t have messaged me two years ago. So I’m focusing on self-love. Healing. Getting certified as a personal trainer. I’m not looking for love — I’m building a life.”
5. Take photos, especially when you absolutely don’t want to.
Rowlands forced himself to take pictures even when he hated what he saw in the mirror. “Take the photo,” he said. “Even if you feel like you look like shit. You’re going to want something to compare.” It wasn’t about vanity — it was survival. He explained that progress is invisible in the mirror, but it shows up over time in your camera roll.
For Rowlands, those photos became evidence of recovery and resilience.
6. Build your circle. Then trust it.
Rowlands credits a small group of friends, especially his best friend, Cindy, for showing up. “She lived across the street and would just come over and sit with me. We didn’t always talk. But she was there. And that meant everything.”
His advice to others: “Show up. Put the phone down. Be present. That’s what matters most to someone going through it.”
7. And finally: Yes, you can laugh.
Whether it’s joking about his colostomy bag filling and making noise mid-sentence or crying over Ariana Grande’s “No Tears Left to Cry” after ringing the chemo bell, Rowlands says humor helped him survive. “I needed to find joy again, even in the middle of the worst year of my life. Do that.”
8. His message for others in the thick of it?
“Everything’s going to be OK,” he says. “You’re not alone. You’ll find your way out of this. And you’ll be stronger than you were before.”
This article is part of Out's July/Aug 2025 issue, which hits newsstands July 1. Support queer media and subscribe— or download the issue through Apple News, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader starting June 19.
Michael Rowlands Jr.courtesy Michael Rowlands