When Will Butt was 14 he said he ended up depressed and that was when he turned to food for comfort. But he'd already noticed a difference between him and other boys a year or two earlier, as he pursued his dream of being a racing driver.
He said: "I remember being 12-13 and other kids in the race were having 20 kilo weights added to their cars, then there was me, I didn't need anything added."
The delivery driver from Pontypool said his interest in motorsport started when he was five-years-old. "I was in the middle of the woods with my dad, he took me to watch a race, and the burning smell of mud on the exhaust mixed with the petrol, it got me hooked." He went on to participate in a number of races as a child and won a number of competitions, first in go-karting and then in a Mini before dropping out of the game as he had become too heavy.
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"I went through a mental health stage. My mam and dad were getting divorced and I was really depressed. I just didn't want to be here. I was in a really, really deep hole in my life and I never want to go back there again," said Will, 26, known as 'Buttsy'. "I didn't want to go out the house, I felt like people were looking down their noses at me, I would never take my top off, I was really anxious about it."
He decided to start playing rugby and football to try and do something about his weight but he was left in physical pain in his knees as his body struggled to cope with the weight that he was carrying. But, in the meantime, he still had not given up on his dream of being a race car driver, and competed using simulators instead, which is when someone approached him and changed his life.
"Someone saw me on a simulator and basically asked me if I had ever raced professionally before. I said I used to. They gave me their number and said: 'Let me know how you get on, I want to put you back in a race car next year'."
That was 18 months ago, and it was enough to motivate Will to completely change his life. He's now lost half his body weight - a massive 11 stone. Weighing 22 stone at his biggest and wearing XXXL t-shirts - on his most recent shopping trip, he was absolutely astonished to find he could fit into a size S.
He went from a breakfast made up of four pieces of white bread toast or a fried bacon sandwich, to a daily breakfast of fruit. For more health stories like this sent directly to your inbox, sign up to our health newsletter here.
For lunch he swapped his usual Greggs, McDonalds or chip shop takeaway for healthy options like salads and pasta pots. And he ditched his nightly Chinese takeaways or kebabs for healthy meat and vegetable homemade dishes.
He also credits his weight loss to weightlifting at the gym and has also started running. Overall, his transformation has completely changed his life.
He said: "I completely changed my life. I am no longer on anti-depressants. I realised that if I wanted to make my dream come true I had to push for it myself. It is all thanks to my dad, he introduced me to the sport and he has been my number one fan from the beginning.
Will has now completed a few test runs in a temporary car and is about to commit to the purchase of his future racing car, expecting to take part in circuit car races from March next year. He is currently looking for sponsors to support his dream, if you would like to make a donation to that you can do so here.
