Bye Bye Fatman

Using My Platform With Purpose

I have a following of well over half a million people across social media platforms. Much of my content focuses on my weight loss journey, my family, life in Zambia, and my role as a headteacher. But having a platform is more than sharing my story. It gives me a voice, and with that comes responsibility.

I choose to use that voice to condemn racism, fascism, the far right, misogyny, and all forms of hatred. I speak out not because I enjoy confrontation, but because silence helps oppression to thrive.

I also use my voice for those who cannot be heard, the voiceless or the muted, the people who lack a microphone or a megaphone. I want to be an ally and an advocate for marginalised communities, and I hope to use my privilege for their betterment, not for my own image.

Please call me out if I ever slip into “saviour mode.” That is not my intention, nor my desire. My aim is to stand alongside, not to stand above.

If my platform can amplify voices that are too often ignored, then I will keep using it. Because influence without responsibility is empty. And I want what I share to be about more than me.

#ByeByeFatman #SpeakUp #Allyship #AmplifyVoices #AntiRacism #EndMisogyny #StopTheHate #UseYourVoice

2 days ago | [YT] | 45

Bye Bye Fatman

Discrimination: The Kinds We Do Not Talk About

Discrimination is everywhere. I am acutely aware that, with my white privilege, the type of discrimination I have faced in my life pales into insignificance compared to what people of colour live with every day. Add to that the fact that I am male, and it is fair to say that in many ways, I have had life easier than most.

But that does not mean I have never faced discrimination. For much of my life, it has been about weight. Fat people face a kind of prejudice that is so normalised in society that many do not even recognise it as discrimination.

It starts in childhood. The fat kid at school is the punchline, the clown, the one who hides behind humour to survive. In adulthood, the same stigma follows into the workplace. Fat people are judged as lazy, lacking discipline, or less capable. Promotions are harder to come by. Respect is harder to earn. And in personal life, there is judgement too. Dating, friendships, even family dynamics can be poisoned by the assumption that being overweight is a moral failing rather than the result of complex psychological, social, and biological factors.

For me, living with binge eating disorder, these experiences have been exhausting. I am not asking for pity. I am asking people to see that weight discrimination is real. It shapes lives, careers, and self-worth.

And now, as I move through my fifties, I am encountering another layer: age discrimination. I still think of myself as “only” in my fifties, full of ideas, energy, and experience. Yet increasingly I am perceived as being past my prime.

In professional life, this plays out when older candidates struggle to find new roles. Employers sometimes see us as too expensive, or too set in our ways, even when our experience is an asset. In personal life, ageism shows itself in subtle ways. You are excluded from conversations about “the future.” You are assumed to be out of touch. You are treated as though your best days are behind you, rather than right here in front of you.

At least, when it comes to age, there are statutes designed to protect against discrimination. The reality, however, is that these are rarely enforced. Fat discrimination, meanwhile, is not even properly recognised in law. That silence speaks volumes.

Discrimination wears many faces. Some are brutal and life-threatening, others quieter but still deeply wounding. I cannot claim to have suffered as much as others in this world. But I know the sting of being dismissed, underestimated, and excluded. And I know this: until we start treating every human being with dignity, whether because of their race, gender, size, or age, society will continue to fail those who need compassion the most.

#ByeByeFatman #EndWeightStigma #AgeDiscrimination #StopTheStigma #MensMentalHealth #BingeEatingRecovery #EqualityForAll #RealTalk

2 days ago | [YT] | 25

Bye Bye Fatman

Be Yourself

Do not let others define who you are.
You are your own unique self.
No one shares your DNA, your story, or your spirit.

Be yourself. Do not follow the crowd.
Be yourself. Do not live by someone else’s script.
Be yourself. Do not shrink to fit the expectations of others.
Be yourself. Do not apologise for who you are.

The world needs your laughter, your kindness, your voice.
The world needs your flaws as much as your strengths.
The world needs you, not a copy of someone else.

So be yourself, always.
And know that being you is enough.

#ByeByeFatman #BeYourself #Motivation #Hope #MensMentalHealth #LifeLessons

4 days ago | [YT] | 41

Bye Bye Fatman

Travel, Teaching, and Finding Home

Many young people from Europe and the Antipodes take a year out to travel. Social media today is full of people documenting their journeys one country at a time, aiming to visit as many places as possible. Often they spend just a day or two in each location. For some, the motivation seems more about capturing the perfect photo or video than about a genuine cultural experience. To be fair, these journeys can still broaden horizons, spark curiosity, and open eyes to new ways of living.

When I was younger, I had similar experiences hitchhiking and interrailing through Europe. Those journeys gave me the travel bug, but my dream was never to tick off countries or landmarks like a bingo card. I wanted something deeper: to understand and appreciate the diversity and beauty of the peoples who make up our world.

After graduating, I volunteered with an organisation similar to Voluntary Service Overseas and was asked what skills I could share. At that time, I had little to offer, so I returned to study for a PGCE and began my teaching career. Seven years later, I was back in southern Africa as a teacher trainer in Botswana, helping the country meet its ambitious goal of localising its teaching staff, a goal that was later achieved.

Living in Botswana gave me my first real taste of cultural immersion. I made friends with local people, worked side by side with them, and even attended an African traditional religious service that included prayer, rain-dancing, and beer drinking. Those three years changed me. They shaped how I approached my career, my outlook on life, and my understanding of education’s role in communities.

Since then, I have lived and worked in Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Nigeria, Morocco, France, Germany, China, and the UK. Each country has been a steep learning curve, teaching me new lessons about resilience, identity, and humanity. In every school I have given my all and found joy, especially in the students I have been privileged to work with.

Today, I am in Zambia, a place I now call home. It is here that I am raising my family, building projects, and finding roots. But I cannot say for certain that my wandering days are over. Travel and teaching remain deeply tied to who I am, and I continue to find fulfilment in both.

Because, in the end, my life has not been about ticking off countries. It has been about connection, service, and the search for meaning across borders. And that journey, I suspect, is far from finished.


#ByeByeFatman #TravelAndTeaching #GlobalEducation #LifeAbroad #CulturalImmersion #ThirdCultureLife #OneZambiaOneNation #Ubuntu #TeachingJourney #LivingAbroad #TravelWithPurpose #WorldCitizen #LifeLessons #EducationMatters #FamilyAndCommunity

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6 days ago | [YT] | 13

Bye Bye Fatman

More Than My Weight

Being overweight is only one aspect of me. It is visible, yes, and it shapes part of my journey. But it is not all that I am.

I am a father. I am a husband. I am a son, a brother, a friend. I am an influencer who has chosen to share parts of my life publicly. I am also a headteacher, leading a school and caring for the growth and wellbeing of children.

Bye Bye Fatman is a persona, one I created to tell my story, to raise awareness, and to inspire others. It is a part of me, but not the whole of me. What I share online is intentional. I reveal some of my truth, but not all of it. Like anyone else, I wear masks. I hold back certain struggles and private thoughts because some things belong only to me and my family.

And that is okay. None of us are defined by a single label. We are all complex, multi-layered, made of contradictions and hidden depths.

Hopefully, what I do choose to share resonates with some of you. Hopefully, it inspires others who are struggling with their own battles, whether with weight, mental health, or life’s endless challenges.

I am more than my weight, and so are you.

#ByeByeFatman #MoreThanMyWeight #RealTalk #MensMentalHealth #FoodAddictionRecovery #WeightLossJourney #FamilyFirst

1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 60

Bye Bye Fatman

The Fat Person Never Leaves You

You can lose weight, you can transform your body, you can fit into clothes you never dreamed of wearing. But the truth is, you never really lose the fat person’s mentality. It stays with you, like a shadow you cannot shake.

For me, living with binge eating disorder has meant carrying scars that do not disappear just because the scale shows a lower number. Even when I have been at my leanest, I could still hear the little fat person inside me. The voice that says “go on, you deserve it,” or “just one more.” The habits built over decades of overeating never vanish overnight. They lie dormant, waiting for the right trigger to wake them up.

That is why weight loss is not the finish line people think it is. You are always one blowout away from all the cards crashing down. One binge, one week of sliding back, and suddenly you are tumbling down the slippery slope. The resilience you built over years can feel undone in a single moment.

Changing decades of mindset is hard. For some, it feels impossible. Food is not just fuel, it is tied to comfort, trauma, coping, and reward. And when life gets stressful, the old patterns call louder than ever. That is why you cannot take your eyes off the prize. Vigilance is constant, tiring, but necessary.

I know this struggle better than most. I have lost weight, regained it, lost it again, and lived in that cycle more times than I want to admit. Each time I fall back, I feel the shame. But I also know that if I stop fighting, I will lose more than weight. I will lose years of my life.

Because this is not just about looking better. It is about extending life expectancy. It is about being there for my children and my wife. It is about choosing health over the comfort of old habits. And to do that, willpower and strength of mind have to win the day.

But I will not sugarcoat it. This fight is much harder in reality than people imagine. It is not just about discipline. It is about wrestling with your own mind every single day. And yet, as hard as it is, I know one thing for certain. I cannot afford to give up.

The fat person inside me may never leave. But every day I resist him, I grow stronger. And that is what keeps me going.

#ByeByeFatman #BingeEatingDisorder #FoodAddictionRecovery #WeightLossJourney #MensMentalHealth #NeverGiveUp #RealTalk

1 week ago | [YT] | 37

Bye Bye Fatman

How My Weight Affected My Role as a Father

This one is hard to write.
But it needs to be said.

My weight has affected me in more ways than I ever let on.
And one of the deepest impacts has been on my role as a father.

There have been times I could not sit on the floor to play with my kids.
Times I said no to running in the garden or going for a walk because I was tired or in pain.
Not lazy, not unwilling, just struggling.
Struggling to move, to breathe, to keep up.

There have been moments when I looked at my children and felt a wave of fear.
Fear that I might not be around long enough.
Fear that my weight, my health, my binge eating disorder would rob them of their dad.
That one day they might remember me through photos, not memories.

Binge eating is not about greed.
It is a psychological condition I fight every single day.
I know what I should eat.
I know how I should move.
I have studied the science, done the diets, lived the lifestyle.
But knowledge is not always power when your mind is at war with itself.

Stress, shame, sadness — it all builds up.
And for me, food has always been the coping mechanism.
The one thing that gave comfort.
And yet, also the one thing that left me feeling worse after.

I try to rationalise my patterns, to explain them, to control them.
But sometimes they are beyond logic.
They are emotional responses tied to years of hurt, habits, and trauma.

Still, through all this, I want to be the best dad in the world.
I want to dance with Emily.
I want to race Cian through the house.
I want to take Michael hiking and keep pace with him as he grows into a man.

Each time I slip, I feel like I am failing them.
And that shame leads to another binge, another spiral.
But here is the truth: I have not given up.

I will not give up.
Because my children deserve a father who tries.
A father who fights for his health and his life.
A father who models resilience, not just results.

I will succeed.
I will win.
Not just for me, but for them.
For my wife.
For our family.
For love.

#ByeByeFatman #FatherhoodJourney #BingeEatingRecovery #HonestParenting #MensMentalHealth #WeightLossStruggles #DadLife #NeverGiveUp #RealTalk #ZambiaLife #RaisingHumans

1 month ago | [YT] | 134

Bye Bye Fatman

What They Don’t Tell You About Being Fat
It’s not just about food, it’s about dignity, fear, and trying to survive in a world that wasn’t built for your body.

People think being fat is just about eating too much.
But that’s only the surface.
What they don’t see, what they don’t tell you, is the quiet pain you carry every single day.

Let me tell you what it’s really like.

It’s walking into a room and scanning for chairs, not people.
Because if the chair has arms, you might not fit.
Because you’ve broken one before.
Because the fear of crashing to the floor in front of others never quite goes away.

It’s dreading flights.
Will the seatbelt fit?
Will the person next to you shift uncomfortably?
Will the air crew hand you an extender like they’re doing you a favour?

It’s public judgement.
The glances, the whispers, the slow shake of the head from a stranger who doesn’t know your story but thinks they know everything based on your size.

It’s hiding.
In group photos, behind humour, behind other people in the queue, behind big clothes that you hope might make you invisible.

It’s struggling to shop.
Not because you’re fussy, but because nothing fits, or if it does, it’s labelled like a warning.

It’s pretending to be fine when you’re not.
You laugh louder than anyone, because you think if people are laughing with you, they might stop laughing at you.

I’m Bye Bye Fatman, and I’ve lived all of this.
I’ve made jokes to deflect pain.
I’ve avoided mirrors.
I’ve apologised for my body just by existing in public.

So if you’re reading this and you’ve felt any of it, you are not alone.
This journey is hard, not because we’re weak, but because the world was never built for us.

But that doesn’t mean we give up.
It means we walk forward, with honesty, with courage, and with compassion — for ourselves and for each other.

#ByeByeFatman
#WhatTheyDontTellYou #WeightLossJourney #ObesityTruths #YouAreNotAlone #RealTalkWeightLoss #MentalHealthMatters #CompassionOverShame #FatphobiaIsReal #FoodAddictionRecovery #ProgressNotPerfection

2 months ago | [YT] | 68

Bye Bye Fatman

How Big Food Got Us Hooked | The Hidden Science Behind Obesity and Addiction

We need to talk about how Big Food got us hooked—on sugar, on salt, on fat, on fake fullness, and on foods that are engineered not to nourish us, but to control us.

I’ve battled morbid obesity for most of my adult life. And I can say with conviction: it’s not just about willpower. It’s not just about laziness. It’s not even just about food.

Just like with drugs and alcohol, there’s a science behind the addiction—and behind it, an industry profiting from our powerlessness.

Big Food has entire departments dedicated to designing “bliss points”—that perfect balance of sugar, fat and salt that keeps us coming back. They know how to light up the reward centres in our brains. They know how to override hunger and fullness cues.
This isn’t nourishment—it’s manipulation.

As Bye Bye Fatman, I’ve made my journey public—not because I have it all figured out, but because I’ve lived the cycle of binging, shame, restriction, and relapse. I’ve lived the struggle of looking in the mirror and wondering, how did I let it get this far?

And while personal responsibility is absolutely a part of the solution, let’s be honest:
We’re fighting a war against food that’s designed to hijack our biology.

This is why obesity must be approached with compassion.
It is not a moral failing.
It is not a character flaw.
It is a complex interplay of biology, trauma, psychology, and—yes—corporate greed.

So what do we do?

We start by telling the truth.
By naming the systems at play.
By showing compassion to those who are still stuck.
And by reminding each other that recovery isn’t just possible—it’s worth fighting for.

I’m not just losing weight. I’m taking my life back.
One choice. One step. One dance at a time.

#ByeByeFatman #ObesityAwareness #BigFoodExposed #FoodAddictionIsReal #HealthNotShame #WeightLossWithCompassion #SugarSaltFat #ProcessedFoodAddiction #FoodAndFeelings #Over50AndFit #HealingThroughMovement #MentalHealthMatters #PersonalResponsibilityWithCompassion #FromFatToFit #BreakTheCycle

3 months ago | [YT] | 55

Bye Bye Fatman

🎭 "Before and After is a Lie"

You’ve seen the pictures. The dramatic transformation. The slimmer face. The new clothes. The confident smile.
But let me tell you something most people won’t: Before and After is a lie.

Yes, my body has changed. But I’m still the same person inside. The same thoughts. The same fears. The same battles.
I didn’t magically become happy. Or mentally strong. Or emotionally secure.
I just got thinner.

The truth is, losing weight didn’t fix everything.
Body image issues? Still there.
Mental health? Still a daily climb.
Temptation, doubt, self-criticism? Still lurking.
The maintenance of the “new me” is constant, relentless and exhausting.

Sometimes I miss the old me. Not the body, but the comfort. The shield. The way food helped me cope when nothing else worked.
And sometimes, I feel like an imposter in this leaner skin.

But I share this not for sympathy. I share it because someone out there needs to hear it:
You are not broken because you’re struggling, even after the “after.”
This is not a fairytale. This is a fight.
A lifelong one.

And that’s okay.

Let’s stop pretending that transformation ends with a photo.
The real work begins when the camera flashes fade.

#ByeByeFatman #MentalHealthMatters #BodyImage #StillFighting #RealTalk #BeforeAndAfterIsALie #HonestJourney

3 months ago | [YT] | 40