A cyclist who gave up his Olympic dream for a life of ‘beer and women’ has set his sights on competing for Team GB - after shedding half his body weight 42 years later.
Steve Johnson, who races with Liverpool Phoenix Cycling Club, was tipped for stardom as a young lad when he weighed 10 stone.
But he gave it all up to indulge in daily fry ups, takeaways and trips to the boozer, where he would drink up to 20 pints a night.
The construction worker, from Wigan, ended up putting on more than 11 stone. At his heaviest he weighed 21 stone.
Steve, now 62,said he vowed to change his lifestyle choices after being ‘horrified’ when doctors marked him down as obese on paperwork.
From that point, in December 2018, Steve swapped Carling for quinoa to completely transform his life.
He managed to drop his weight down to just over 10 stone within the space of two years.
His waist size went from 46 inches to 30 inches and his body fat percentage, once at 47%, is now better than average at below 20%.
Steve said: "I lost out on my dream of competing for Great Britain as a kid, I gave it up when I got older and discovered beer and women.
"Now I’ve sorted my weight out and have fallen back in love with the sport of cycling it would mean the world for me to represent my country, it’s my dream again all these years later."
Steve cycled competitively as a kid and was taken under the wing of iconic English cyclist Tommy Godwin, who tipped his protégé for Olympic stardom.
Despite winning numerous junior championships, the talented youngster says he “lost his way” and “fell out of love” with the sport aged 18, when he started working as a labourer.
Now he is back cycling an impressive 300 miles a week and has set his sights on competing for Team GB in cycling at the veteran’s world championships in Australia next year.
He said: "My lifestyle became going to work with no breakfast, having a full English at 10 or 11am followed by a chippy lunch.
"At 3pm I’d go to the pub and drink as much as I could get down me before my wife picked me up at 7pm, then it’d be a Chinese or curry for tea."
Steve, who’s married with stepchildren and grandchildren, said he maintained that lifestyle for years as his weight ballooned - resulting in him being known as ‘Big Ste’ to his pals.
He even bought a customised number plate for £500 reading ‘B16 STE’, which he made a tidy profit on a couple of years ago after selling it for £10,000.
Steve said: "I ate and drank whatever I wanted, it was a simple as that.
"At the pub I could drink 20 pints easily, it was like I never got drunk or even hungover, my body could just take it so I kept going."
Steve said another turning point came when his wife Susanna, 67, said she could no longer buy him work trousers to fit his 46-inch waist.
He added: "I worked it out and realised I was more than three foot around the waist, it was quite shocking.”
Steve, who runs his own construction firm, knocked booze on the head once and for all in December 2018 and completely ditched the junk food.
He said: "I gave it all up just like that.
"Doctors said it wasn’t a good idea and that I should take things slowly but I wanted to change so badly that I didn’t listen.
"I had started thinking about my life, I have grandkids and I was worried I wouldn’t get to see them grow up.
"I was borderline diabetic and my cholesterol was through the roof. Enough was enough."
Steve's diet before
Breakfast: Full English
Lunch: Fish and chips
Dinner: Chinese or a curry
Steve's diet after
Breakfast: Porridge or Weetabix with a banana
Mid-morning: Protein shake
Lunch: Fruit, nuts and a protein bar
Dinner: Jacket potato, rice or pasta with roast vegetables and a meat alternative
