These men lost 29 stone by doing something they love and it changed everything

Wales Online

23-06-2025

These men lost 29 stone by doing something they love and it changed everything
One player lost 13st, while the entire team lost 29st during the season
Dylan Painter lost a remarkable 82 kilograms (nearly 13st)
A Welsh football team set up to help players lose weight has achieved remarkable results, transforming the bodies and lives of the men who signed up.
The MAN v FAT Bridgend club is part of a national programme for players with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 27.5 or over. The club has dozens of players, split into eight teams who compete for results on the pitch and weight loss off it. Players are weighed before each match, earning points that go towards their end of season total.
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One of the teams, KFC Scoffenheim has now won a national award for Team of the Year after the nine players involved lost an incredible 185.2kg (over 29 stone) during the season.
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One of the club's players, Dylan Painter, has lost 82 kilograms (nearly 13st) alone since becoming involved, while assistant club manager Jean-Luc Howe, 30, has also had an incredible weight-loss journey, losing 52 Kilograms (more than 8st) after joining the league two years ago.
Dylan won the Amazing Loser award at the annual ceremony, while the national Community Hero Award went to Dave Hughes for his charity work and helping others
Jean-Luc said: "Losing weight has completely changed my life in ways I never thought possible. A few years ago, I couldn't imagine running more than a few minutes. However, I've now completed a full marathon (with many half and full marathons booked!).
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Jean-Luc Howe at the start of his journey
"I feel fitter, healthier, and more confident than I've ever been. But it's not just about the physical changes; the biggest difference has been mental. I've found a new sense of belief in myself, a positive mindset, and a real passion for helping others.
"MAN v FAT has been a huge part of that journey, giving me the support, motivation, and community I needed. I've since qualified as an FAW referee and now support others as an assistant coach at MAN v FAT Bridgend.
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"Being able to give something back and see others achieve their own goals is incredibly rewarding because I know first-hand how life-changing it can be."
Jean-Luc Howe has lost 52kg
The MAN v FAT club in Bridgend has won three awards at their annual awards ceremony, whilst providing a brilliant opportunity for people to lose weight through football.
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Jean-Luc revealed how he first got involved after putting on weight during Covid, saying: 'It was just through the course of getting a job where we were forced to work from home during Covid and then just staying at home, I just built some really bad habits eating-wise, exercise-wise, I didn't really take care of myself as I should have.
'When I joined, I was about 131kg and through the process of being here now over the two years I've gone on to be the captain. I'm now assistant coach at the club.
'There was a period of time where I did hit a plateau. I did think about whether sticking at it was still the right thing to do. I was discovering other things that I really enjoyed like going to the gym and I got into running and marathons and half marathons.
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'I'm really thankful that I did sort of get over that and did work through it and that is part of really why I guess I ended up getting the assistant coaching role. I think it was part and parcel of just seeing and trying to put an arm over people who are struggling for whatever reason and there are opportunities in the clubs for all different things such as community heroes and assistant coaches, play facilitators, refereeing that kind of thing.'
Jean-Luc also emphasised the importance of the social side of the club, with members being able to make friends whilst enjoying events like end-of-season parties, nights out and social walks.
Current members range in age between late teens to in their 50s, showing the inclusivity of the club, which provides a community for its players.
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Jean-Luc added: 'We've got a lot of support for players on WhatsApp, which is just a great tool for everybody in the club. You've got team chats, you've got the club overall chat, but you're also able to reach out to anyone at the club, but especially the coaching team, we're always on hand if people need us for whatever reason.
'We embrace that as much as we can and give them the support that we can. And that I would hesitate to say that's ever a solo endeavour, people do reach out, one to one and that kind of thing. I'd say as a club were brilliant for doing it as a group. I'd say that as a club, there's been so many instances of it.
'It was weird for me to embrace that competitiveness, but it's all done in a really friendly way, it's not about putting down people who might not have a great week, it's about celebrating people who have. And because it's team based, you might go on a streak of seven or eight weeks where you were just absolutely nailing it, but then a birthday comes around or you are going on all inclusive holiday or something like that, and life happens, and you don't have a great week.
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The team in Bridgend have changed their lives
'When you're on your own in a weight lost journey, that can be a real setback. But because you're in a team, your team's there to carry you that week and put an arm around you and say, 'you know, you've done well for seven weeks in a row don't let week eight be the reason that you fall off the horse.''
The club also has strong connections with many different charities, with over £3,500 raised and over 100 Kilograms of food donated to food banks in Bridgend.
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There has been success on the pitch for Jean luc's side Scoffenheim, though they just fell short of becoming double treble winners after winning all three leagues -the scales, pitch and combined leagues, the season before.
With eight teams now included in the Bridgend club, Jean-Luc believes the next steps for the Welsh side could be to split the league into two as a long term goal.
MAN v FAT Football explained
Aimed at men with a BMI of higher than 27.5, MAN v FAT Football has more than 8,000 players taking part at 150 clubs across the UK.
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At MAN v FAT Football sessions, players are weighed, this is followed by a 30-minute game of six-a-side football, with extra goal bonuses awarded to teams based on their weight loss. Weight loss and match scores then contribute to teams' league positions within a club.