A car mechanic has paid tribute to staff at his gym after losing 14 stone in the past year.

Mark Wain became a member of Burslem's 21 st Century Leisure in May 2005, after deciding to lose weight the previous Christmas, when he tipped the scales at 31 stone.

And the 27-year-old, who works for Holdcroft Renault in Hanley, feels the help of the employees and his fellow members was vital in his astonishing achievement.

He said: “This time last year I was 31 stone and thought it was time I did something about it. So I made big changes to my diet, started cycling to work, and joined 21 st Century Leisure.

“I had preconceived notions of the people who use gyms until then, and thought they were intimidating places.

“But it's actually nothing like that – there are people of all shapes and sizes, and everyone is really approachable. You can always ask the staff questions and they will point you in the right direction.

“It's such a friendly atmosphere that you can treat it as a social gathering, which made it much easier to go there three times a week.

“It would've been a lot harder for me to lose the weight without their help.”

Mark celebrated his improving fitness by climbing one of the most challenging peaks in the country. He joined a 40-strong party of his fellow members and their friends and tackled 636m (2086ft) Kinder Scout in February.

He said: “I couldn't imagine walking to the shops 12 months ago, and now I've done a 15km walk up one of the biggest mountains in the UK .

“And it's not just the distance involved – Kinder Scout is a dangerous climb because of the difficult conditions and bleak landscape.”

Walkers frequently have to be rescued from Kinder Scout, on the Pennine Way in the Peak District, during the winter after getting lost in misty weather or exhausted by the undulating terrain.

Gym owner Nick Lovell said: “It is a really challenging climb and we wouldn't allow anyone to join us unless they were properly prepared.

“Hypothermia can set in really quickly and several planes have crashed there after getting lost in the fog – particularly during World War Two when they were returning from battle.

“So it shows how far Mark has come in the past year – there's no way he could've done it 12 months ago.”

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Issued By Market Care Public Relations
Your Contact: Richard Swancott on 01782 416371
or richardswancott@marketcare.net

Your contact for
further info: Nick Lovell on 01782 811698, or via email on 21stcl@btconnect.com