A weight loss success story, Mr Tirekidis lost a whopping 203 kilos without the use of surgery, dropping from 310 kilos to 107 kilos in two and a half years.

After seeking medical advice, the 47-year-old realised he needed to take drastic steps to control the severity of his obesity before his body weight resulted in death.

“That much stress and weight is unbelievable,” Mr Tirekidis told A Current Affair.

“I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I knew I had to do something to reclaim my life.”

To comprehend the severity of Mr Tirekidis’ obesity, in order to find out his starting weight a conventional scale was inadequate being made to use a commercial scale at a local tip used for the weighing of trucks. Due to his excessive weight, he had also broken chairs and beds, in addition to removing the front seat of his car for the simple act of driving.

To assist in the extreme dietary and lifestyle changes necessary to lose the weight, Mr Tirekidis sought the help of motivational speaker and hypnotherapy guru Mark Stevens.

Deciding to make the move to the south coast of New South Wales, he lived at Mr Stevens’ Little Forest health retreat where he underwent hypnosis and worked on strengthening his mind through meditation, referring to the mind as the biggest ‘weapon’ in losing the weight.

Additional lifestyle changes included learning to cook, growing his own vegetables and the employment of two personal trainers to help him introduce an exercise regime into his life.

A Current Affair reported that Mr Tirekidis had put the weight gain down to the stresses of taking over and running the family business, and the convenience of fast food.

It’s not surprising that after having undergone such a remarkable transformation, extending beyond the physical, that Mr Tirekidis looks back on old photos as though it were a “bad memory”.

“I feel like a different person,” Mr Tirekidis told A Current Affair.

“It was like standing at the bottom of Mount Everest and climbing up in thongs. I did it the hard way. Now I’m at the top, the view’s good.”

Going from wearing a 9XL to XL, Mr Tirekidis has had to undergo several hours of surgery to assist in the removal of excess skin due to the extreme weight loss.

But he will not be stopping there. In the journey of transforming his body, Mr Tirekidis’ next goal is to put on 20 kilos of muscle.