A man from Bridgend, Wales, who weighed 31 stone and was in a 'very dark place' due to his diet of sandwiches, snacks, takeaways and Guinness, has shed 14 stone after taking up football. David Quinn, known to friends as Quinny, says he was so large he struggled to move.
Struggling with weight and mental health
David said: 'At my heaviest, I really hated everything about myself and I was depressed. I struggled to even get up the stairs - let alone jog around a football pitch. I was in a very dark place and really struggling with my weight and mental health at the time.'
He explained his daily diet: 'Before I started losing the weight, on an average day I’d easily be consuming 3000 calories. I would never eat breakfast but would certainly start the day with a high-sugar processed coffee. I would snack constantly through the day on crisps, chocolate – anything you put in front of me. Lunch would be multiple sandwiches, more snacks and sugary drinks. Then more snacks in the afternoon and in the evening, no doubt, it would be a takeaway and several cans of Guinness.'
Turning point with MAN v FAT Football
David decided to change after his wife saw a report about weight loss and a fitness group called MAN v FAT Football. He joined up and found a supportive community. 'I have never known a group like it, tailored to supporting men in multiple facets of their lives and also the football side of things, which is something I’m so passionate about too - it just makes it that much better,' he said.
Now, his meals are more structured. 'I have two Nutri-Grain bars for breakfast with a black coffee, then I’ll have two snack size malt loaf bars before lunch. My lunches now are quite light, normally a noodle pot with hot sauce. Dinner is something healthy made in the slow cooker - and if I’m feeling in a celebratory mood I’ll chuck in a Guinness zero.'
Newfound purpose and coaching others
David, now 17 stone, coaches other overweight men at the club he championed as a player, sharing his experience with local lads aiming to show the red card to fat. He said: 'I’ve found a new sense of purpose in losing weight and MAN v FAT has given me my life back. I’m the happiest I have ever been and achieved something I genuinely could never have dreamt of. I have made friends for life and the support I have received from the wider programme has been incredible.'
He advises others: 'For anyone that’s in a similar position to the one I was in: I would say that it could be the greatest journey you’ll ever go on, you’re going to do such amazing things, it’s going to open so many doors and change your life in the most incredible way. You’ll not only change your life but be given the opportunity to change other people’s lives. You’re scared now but you’re going to be a different person and it’s going to be so hard, you’re going to want to give up but, when you get to the other side, it will all have been worth it.'
Amazing Losers match at Walsall FC
On Friday, May 8, at Walsall FC’s Bescot Stadium, David will be one of 38 men who have collectively lost two tonnes of excess weight, battling it out in MAN v FAT Football’s 2026 Amazing Losers match. David's side will be coached by Wales international football legend Neville Southall, while the opposition will be managed by England's Stuart Pearce. The fixture celebrates members of the MAN v FAT Football community in the UK and USA who have lost life-changing amounts of excess weight in the last 12 months.
