Meet the UK's 'Amazing Loser': Portsmouth MAN v FAT participant wins national award after losing 16 stone

Alex Cook, 46, Portsmouth, won the award of the UK’s ‘Amazing Loser’ at the MAN v FAT awards held at the National Football Museum in Manchester. He earned the award after losing 16 stone, which was half his original body weight, after joining the club which meet every week at Goals in Tangier Road.

Alex decided to make the change after his weight reached its peak during the first covid lockdown. The change has made a significant difference to his life. He said: “MAN v FAT has been amazing for me not just physically but mentally, the new friends I have made throughout this progress has been amazing and the support I receive has been unbelievable.

"My life is so much different now. Before I used to struggle walking for 10 minutes, but now I'm active and play two games of football a week. The programme has honestly been life-changing for me, and it's enabled me to make new experiences." Those experiences include a helicopter ride, a zipline, and jumping off the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas.

MAN v FAT is an FA accredited male weight loss programme that has 8,200 participants across the UK, playing in more than 150 leagues. It is aimed at men with a BMI higher than 27.5 with players being weighed before a 30-minute game of football.

Richard Crick, head of MAN v FAT said: “The MAN v FAT Awards are just a massive celebration of community, of friendship and of achievement. The stories are incredibly motivating and humbling. As we said on the night, it’s fantastic to be in a room where so many amazing losers are also the biggest winners and there’s no finer example of that than Alex Cook.”