I wasn’t always like this. Let’s rewind to 2010, when, at the age of 14, I became morbidly obese, weighing a whopping 147 kilos. I was a typical adolescent kid who enjoyed playing video games, eating junk food, and binging on sugary treats. Being a fat teenager in public school wasn’t fun. Naturally, there was a lot of bullying and fat-shaming, even from my friends. I want to say it didn’t bother me, but at that age, we don’t have ‘thick skin.’ I found comfort in food, burying myself deeper into the vicious cycle of binge eating. I never really cared about how I looked, and I was all for ‘self-love’ and acceptance, but I didn’t know where to draw the line.

I remember when my friends started calling me Barney, after the popular children’s cartoon Barney the Purple Dinosaur. At first, I felt embarrassed, but I decided to own it for the sake of social acceptance. My parents were extremely worried about my health, especially since I didn’t have diabetes or thyroid issues. My weight gain was solely due to my lifestyle choices. As a last resort, my father scheduled bariatric surgery for me. I remained unaffected by the news, deciding that I had a few weeks to eat whatever I wanted and continuing to live in denial.

Around this time, I developed a crush on a girl and wanted to ask her out. I gathered the courage but got turned down instantly. For the first time, I felt the sting of rejection and got a harsh reality check. I looked in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw. I had two choices: continue down the path of self-pity and binge-eating or take control of my life. I chose the latter, joined the gym, and lost around 4 kilos that month.

Seeing my determination, my parents put the surgery on hold and supported me. That same year, I lost 67 kilos in 10 months, something none of us could have imagined. After that change, there was no looking back. I learned new training modalities through trial and error, educating myself on muscle building, nutrition, and the pillars of physical fitness and health.