'I used to weigh 23 stone. Now I'm an Ironman'

Wales Online

13-07-2025

'I used to weigh 23 stone. Now I'm an Ironman'
Owen 'Pedz' Peddle couldn't do a lot at all barely a year ago. He's just completed the Swansea Ironman 70.3
Owen Peddle, who was 23 stone less than a year ago and couldn't do a lot of exercise, has just finished the Swansea Ironman triathlon
(Image: Owen Peddle/Instagram )
A man who was 23 stone and couldn't swim a length of a swimming pool a year ago has just completed the Swansea Ironman triathlon. 24-year-old Owen 'Pedz' Peddle has gained a huge following on social media during his journey to reach Sunday's gruelling event while many have told him they've been inspired to 'get off the sofa' because of him.
Owen was roared on by a huge crowd beside Swansea beach as he crossed the finish line having completed the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and 13.1 mile run in the searing heat on Sunday.
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Owen, known affectionately as Pedz by his 31,000 followers on Instagram, said he couldn't stick at the gym barely a year ago and so decided to target something which he 'couldn't do'.
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'To sign up for an Ironman when you can't swim a length is pretty extreme,' the DJ reflected. 'I just wanted to lose some weight to be honest.'
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The rugby fan from Newport has lost around 30 kilos in the process and would have lost a lot more if he didn't need to take on plenty of food to get him through 10-hour training weeks.
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Remembering his life before last September when he was persuaded by his mates to give the event a go, Owen said: 'I was struggling in the gym really. I was struggling to keep the weight off. I'd stop the gym and then put it back on.
'I thought I'd sign up for something which back then I couldn't do. If I signed up for a half marathon or a 10k, theoretically I could just walk those. So I was like: 'Let's do something I can't do.'
'So when I first started I couldn't swim a length at all. I could barely sit on the bike. It wasn't even like I could run.'
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Owen Peddle finished the Swansea Ironman 70.3 on Sunday despite not being able to swim a length a year ago
(Image: Owen Peddle/Instagram )
After he really got into training Owen enlisted the help of a nutritionist. 'I did it all quite slowly. I got used to the training first,' he recalled.
'I didn't want to change my training, my food, my sleep and everything in my life all at once. That is so restrictive and I'd have lost it. So I wanted to just start bit by bit.
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'I had to take on plenty of carbs to do the nine to ten hours of training, so I lost the weight slower than I might have, but I'm happy with where I'm at now.
'I didn't do this to lose loads of weight and be skinny. I just wanted to do something I couldn't do. If I lost the weight along the way then great.'
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Owen said the training has helped him mentally too. 'You just start to learn a bit more resilience in everything you do. It's a nice starting place for my mental health.
"I really think it has helped to just clear my mind - to spend time off my phone and spend nine or ten hours a week just training."
On Sunday, Owen finished the course in eight hours and 32 minutes. He thanked his followers and said he's been blown away by those who have supported him and got him through much of his training.
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'So many people have supported me on this journey," he added. "There have been times where I wanted to stop but I couldn't do that knowing I'd have let everyone down on Instagram and TikTok. It's kept me in line a bit as well.
'I can't believe how far I've come really. The other day I was having a haircut and I couldn't look at my phone and I just sat there for like 30 minutes looking in the mirror and smiling to myself.
"The last nine months of my life have been mental, actually mental. Dragging myself from where I started to where I am now has been a hell of a journey and I couldn't be prouder of where I am right now."