“If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day.” Those words were spoken by famed college basketball coach Jim Valvano during the 1993 ESPY awards and his speech has lived long past his death to inspire many. A fan of Valvano’s, Scott ‘Sblum2711’ Blumstein is hoping to use those words to embolden him and his soon to be captive audience.

If everyone is fighting a struggle, Blumstein would be the first to say that his is weight, which stems from a compulsive eating habit. As a tournament player, Blumstein has for years fought to overcome the allure of “comfort food” when busting out of an event or just eating what is most convenient. Inspired by fellow pro Jesse Cohen’s no-carb weight loss success, Blumstein is starting his own venture for the whole world to see.

Scheduled to start on May 1, Blumstein is initiating the “$30k, 30 pounds” challenge, which he plans to stream on Twitch. The crux of the challenge is Blumstein attempting to win $30,000 by playing tournaments on New Jersey sites while also trying to lose 30 pounds at the same time. If Blumstein is to succeed in winning the $30,000 before shedding the corresponding weight, he will donate a percentage of those earnings to the Jimmy V Foundation.

“My weight has always been an issue and struggling to deal with being able to have a healthy lifestyle. It’s tough dealing with my vice, which tends to be food. The main part of the challenge is to give me an incentive to fix my own issues in life while hopefully giving other people the ability to improve their lives as well.”

As part of the challenge, Blumstein says he will effectively be giving up live poker until he loses the weight he needs to in order to be healthy.

“Playing poker and twitching might be a huge distraction to avoid the addiction in the outside world. There are bad food choices everywhere you go. It’s tough to be a poker player and go out. A part of the reason I eat so much is because it makes me feel better. That combined with poker, a game where you lose constantly, doesn’t help.”

Blumstein notes that by playing exclusively online, he will be able to have more control over his diet by only eating what he voluntarily puts inside his home.

The timing of the challenge comes at peak busy season on the poker calendar as the World Series of Poker and all coinciding events are hitting full swing in Las Vegas parallel to when Blumstein will be in the middle of his challenge. Blumstein acknowledges that missing a full summer of live poker is not an easy decision, but it’s the one he has to make in order to get his life firmly back on track.

“I plan to play less live and take the summer off. If it means not going to Vegas, that’s fine. My health is more important than any tournament series. The plan is to play exclusively online and get a routine going for staying home.”

At only 25 years old, Blumstein realizes this challenge is a great opportunity for him to get into the shape he needs in order to create a long-term healthy lifestyle. The many hours spent inside a casino can blind players from the personal issues they need to face and Blumstein knows he is a case for that happening. Since he’s made his issue public, it’s now or never.

“My focus is in the wrong place a lot of times and it’s easy to fall into a trap where that is the case. Poker and making money are necessities to being a professional but I have this challenge and burden to overcome. It needs to be the focal point in my life. This is a way to combine my love for poker and my need to fix one of the huge negatives in my life. It’s probably my best chance to do it.”

The full schedule of the stream is yet to be determined but Blumstein hopes to Twitch on most weekdays and every Sunday, once he gets his routine organized. Blumstein is tremendously self-aware of his personal demons and knows that there are people watching the stream who might be facing a battle of their own. Overall, Blumstein is trying not to just lose weight or win money, but also to inspire someone else.

“The stream in general is going to be a multitude of things. Could be a good to place to come and feel special. If people have similar issues, it will be like an AA meeting. You’re going to learn, like Jimmy V says, ‘think, cry, laugh.’ Those three things are the goal of the stream.”