Jared Fogle

Jared Scott Fogle (born August 23, 1977) is an American former spokesman for Subway restaurants.

Fogle was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 23, 1977, to Norman and Adrienne Fogle.

He has a younger brother and sister.

He was raised in a Jewish home.

He had a bar mitzvah while on a trip to Israel, and then was confirmed by his Conservative-Reconstructionist synagogue.

In 1995, Fogle graduated from North Central High School in Indianapolis.

While a student at Indiana University, Fogle lost 245 lb between 1998 and 1999.

Having frequented a Subway restaurant as part of his diet plan, he was hired to help advertise the company the following year.

Fogle's popularity led to his appearances in over 300 commercials during his 15 years with Subway, alongside other media appearances.

Subway attributed one third to one half of its growth in sales to Fogle, with revenue having tripled from 1998 to 2011.

Fogle made appearances in the Sharknado film series, beginning with Sharknado 2: The Second One.

He had a cameo appearance in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, though this was cut from the Syfy Channel broadcast version a week before the premiere when his house was searched by the FBI.

Fogle first came to media attention in April 1999, via an article published in the Indiana Daily Student written by a former dormmate about Fogle losing 245 lb by exercising and eating a diet of Subway sandwiches.

Subsequently, Fogle was featured in a Men's Health magazine article, "Stupid Diets ... that Work!"

According to the article, Fogle had become obese – at one point weighing 425 lb – through lack of exercise and eating junk food.

Fogle changed his eating habits upon the switch to eating at Subway, replacing his 10,000-calorie-per-day food consumption with one small turkey sub and one large veggie sub along with some baked potato chips and diet soda, totalling about 2,000 calories.

A Chicago-area Subway franchisee took Fogle's story to Subway's Chicago-based advertising agency.

As a test, the company ran a regional television advertising campaign.

Fogle appeared in Subway's advertising campaigns from 2000 to 2015 until an FBI investigation led to him being convicted of child sex tourism and possessing child pornography.

He graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 2000 and then worked briefly in the revenue management department at American Trans Air.

The first ad aired on January 1, 2000, introducing Fogle and his story with the following disclaimer: "The Subway diet, combined with a lot of walking, worked for Jared. We're not saying this is for everyone. You should check with your doctor before starting any diet program. But it worked for Jared."

Because the introductory test ads were a success, Fogle subsequently appeared in more television commercials as well as sponsored in-store appearances throughout the United States.

He gave talks on the benefits of fitness and healthy eating.

Fogle came to be known as The Subway Guy.

In 2002, Fogle was the subject of an episode of South Park titled "Jared Has Aides".

Fogle has stated that while the episode had "typical[ly] tasteless humor", the fact that an entire episode was devoted to him was "very flattering".

He added, "you know you've made it when shows like South Park start parodying you".

In 2004, Fogle established the Jared Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on raising awareness about childhood obesity through educational programs and tools provided to parents, schools, and community organizations.

Allegations of Fogle having inappropriate relations with minors began in 2007, but did not gain traction until 2015 when the FBI uncovered that he received child pornography from an associate.

Pleading guilty to the child sex tourism and child pornography charges the same year, Fogle was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison.

He is currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood.

In February 2008, a Subway campaign called "Tour de Pants" celebrated Fogle maintaining his weight loss for a decade.

As part of the campaign, Fogle made an announcement that he would retire his pair of 62 in pants to a museum at the end of the advertising tour.

Beginning in 2008, Fogle's presence in Subway advertisements decreased due to the company's placing a new emphasis on its "$5 Footlong" promotion.

Fogle's role in Subway afforded him some other opportunities, such as appearances in WWE in 2009 and 2011.

By 2013, Fogle had filmed more than 300 commercials and continued to make appearances and speeches for the company.

On April 29, 2015, Russell Taylor, director of the Jared Foundation, was arrested at his Indianapolis home on charges of child exploitation, possession of child pornography, and voyeurism.

According to court records, Taylor and his then-wife, Angela Baldwin, sexually molested young girls and installed cameras in their house to film the victims without their knowledge.

Fogle severed all ties with Taylor immediately following the arrest.

Fogle also appeared in the 2017 video game South Park: The Fractured but Whole as a boss; this occurred after his child pornography conviction.