WARNING: CONTAINS CONTENT ABOUT DISORDERED EATING
Bodybuilder Martyn Ford has revealed that he once battled an eating disorder as a teenager before becoming known as the ‘World’s Scariest Man’, saying he was ‘nearly hospitalised’.
Ford, who is due to take on ‘Iranian Hulk’ Sajab Gharibi in April, explained how he could pinpoint the moment his life changed forever, having been aged 19 when he was walking to the local shops with his mum.
At the time, he was facing anorexia and mental health issues, making everyday tasks a huge struggle.
Speaking to the Daily Star, he said: "I collapsed onto a charity shop. We were walking down the street and my blood pressure, everything, was just at zero.
“That's when I knew I needed to make my change. I said to myself 'I’m gonna eat.' And I went home and almost force-fed myself."
Ford was once a rising star in cricket, but suffered a 'horrendous' groin injury after running into bowl during a warm-up game - having planted his left foot on the ground only for it to became entrenched in the turf, while his right leg went the other way.
Unable to get back into training, Ford then also fell ill with glandular fever, which he said was 'soul destroying'.
"On top of that I lost my grandad, who was the first influential person I'd lost in my life and it just hit me hard," he said, explaining how he went on to develop an eating disorder.
Ford, who is now 39, continued: "Anorexia or bulimia, it was hard to figure out which one it was.
"It wasn't a great place to be. I was nearly hospitalised, saw numerous doctors and nutritionists and it continued on for six months.
"I'd never been weak in my life and to have this vulnerability at 19 when really I should be driving forward was strange. I was struggling to get out of my mum's living room, I was stuck on the bed on the sofa I couldn’t leave the house.
"In fact, I didn’t want to leave the house and I didn’t want to function so day by day I was getting weaker."
He said things changed after the incident outside the charity shop, which he saw as 'a turning point', as if 'the light had switched'.
Ford will be fighting Gharibi on 2 April, having previously said he is 'training to take heads off', and is determined to go into the event to settle the beef that's been rumbling on for a few years now.
He told Mirror Fighting: "I just want to smash his head in. It won’t give me any sense of achievement or pride to win, because I genuinely don't think he will bring anything to the table that will allow me to be proud of myself.
"You can't feel good about beating someone up that is useless. For me this is about settling some nonsense that has gone backwards and forwards for two or three years.
"The stuff that has been said from him and his camp and his fans, so I have just got to the point where I want to fight. I am not someone who takes trolling to heart, but there is a point where he has just gone to things that are disgusting and rude.
"If you want to step in to the ring, I'll step up and I have never been afraid of confrontation."
Topics: Health
Jess Hardiman