Will Pattinson, 30, from London, was addicted to partying and junk food and was warned by doctors that he would die young if he didn’t change his ways
For more than a decade, Will Pattinson indulged in a weekend routine of drink, drugs and junk food. Despite maintaining his job as a valuer, he felt he was merely existing rather than truly living.
“It was a destructive cycle. I was addicted to heavy partying, drugs of all sorts, including junk food and gambling,” the 30 year old admitted. “I’d binge drink every weekend, then try to pull myself together during the week, only to spiral again. It was relentless. My health was deteriorating, my energy was gone, and I was completely disconnected from who I was.”
Will’s life began to unravel when he was just 16; weekend drinking became an addiction.
“My life began to spiral out of control by the time I was in year ten. I was stuck in a roller-coaster vortex of not being able to focus on anything meaningful other than the weekend when I’d constantly soak myself with alcohol and drugs,” he remembers.
“I was a massive binge drinker. I wouldn’t drink during the week, but then when the weekend came around I would just drink all the time, abuse substances, and not eat. And then once the alcohol binge was over, I would eat junk food and processed crap for the next week to replenish myself.”
Despite trying various diets and fitness programmes, the “magnetic pull of partying all weekend” kept drawing him back.
“I had no structure, no direction, no purpose. Every day, I felt like I was going through the motions while my life slowly unravelled,” he says. “I was exhausted – physically, mentally, emotionally. And eventually, I couldn’t hide from it anymore. My body started to break down, and so did everything around me,” he says.
Will, who lives in London, despised his body; at 21st 6lb (136kg) he was carrying excess weight and battling depression whilst becoming dangerously unwell. He suffered from gout, elevated blood pressure, sleep apnoea, anxiety and was teetering on the edge of type 2 diabetes.
Doctors cautioned him that unless he abandoned the party lifestyle, he would face an early death. In September 2023 he chose to quit all his harmful behaviours completely.
“I knew if I didn’t change, I wouldn’t last much longer. I gave it all up at once – drugs, alcohol, everything,” he says.
“For the first eight months of my transformation, I was completely clean. I have ADHD and an addictive personality and I think that actually worked in my favour. Once I got a small taste of health and momentum, I was hooked.
“I started to feel good, fast – and that feeling began to outweigh the highs I used to chase. The more I trained, the less I craved the old habits.”
Will swapped his party lifestyle for the gym and running and, after a single relapse last year, which only served to strengthen his resolve, he was spurred on to work even harder on his sobriety. He’s tackled the Paris Marathon and later this year will take on the Marathon Des Sables and New York City Marathon.
Next month, he’ll run and cycle 365 kilometres in a single day – without any sleep – to mark each day he’s been sober since that relapse. The funds he raises will be donated to mental health charity the Black Dog Institute.
“That will be one kilometre for every day I chose not to self-destruct. I am training hard and it is every bit as intense as it sounds. I want to turn my sobriety into something physical,” says Will.
“I didn’t want a cake or a coin to mark my first clean year; I wanted a challenge that mirrored the chaos I used to live in. I used to party hard and fast, so now I train the same way: full throttle and with no shortcuts.”
Originally from Molong, New South Wales, Will now weighs 12st 6lb (79kg) and has shed 8st 13lb (57kg). He runs 150km a week and his family are incredibly proud of his achievements.
“I’m genuinely proud of what I’ve achieved – not just physically, but mentally. For the first time in a long time, I’m not hiding behind alcohol or drugs for confidence. I feel stronger, more grounded, and more excited about the future than ever before. This journey has given me a new kind of belief – not just in what I’ve overcome, but in what’s still possible. I can’t wait to see how far I can go in the endurance and fitness space from here.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to flick the switch – not just for myself, but to give something better back to the people who never gave up on me,” he adds.
