A man has captured his incredible weight loss transformation with a set of before-and-after photos taken at Leeds Festival.
Aaron Walker, now 27, said it was his trip to the festival two years ago – where he was ‘gasping for breath’ just walking to the main stage – that made him realise he needed to make some changes.
And after a lot of hard work and a major lifestyle change, he’s now dropped 14 stone, and showed it off back on the grounds of Bramham Park last weekend.
Aaron has been named Slimming World’s Man of the Year 2023 after losing all that weight, bringing him down from almost 27 stone, The Hoot reports.
The Doncaster man said that he had ended up missing his favourite bands and feeling self-conscious all weekend when he should have been ‘making some memories’.
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So that was it – Aaron joined Slimming World and over the course of the next two years managed to lose more than half his body weight, returning to Leeds Festival to celebrate.
He initially started to lose weight by swapping takeaways for homemade versions of his favourite meals, like Chinese chicken, and found learning to cook like ‘therapy’.
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Aaron Walker at Leeds Festival in 2021 before his weight loss. Credit: Slimming WorldAaron Walker before his weight loss. Credit: Slimming World
Once he’d had a few months of healthy eating, it was time to get active – and he says he used the Slimming World physical activity support programme to get moving.
Aaron said: “My family had always been into walking, and it was getting to the point where they wouldn’t invite me to go with them because I struggled with my fitness so much. I was totally inactive before, even walking to the top of the stairs would leave me out of breath. I started off taking small walks around the block – it was hard at first, but it gradually became easier and more of a hobby.
“In time my walking progressed to running and I’ve since completed the Leeds Half Marathon, which was an amazing achievement. I also started hiking and love getting out into the countryside – in the past year I’ve climbed Snowdon, completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge and climbed Ben Nevis. My big dream now is to complete the London Marathon one day.
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“It feels like my life is just beginning – and I can’t wait to see what’s next for me. Heading back to Leeds Fest is a big tick off the list though!”
Aaron also explained that he’s struggled with his weight for his whole life, with his parents even having to install a padlock on the snack cupboard at home, with his weight problems worsening when he went to university in Hull.
Aaron Walker at Leeds Festival 2023, 14 stone lighter. Credit: Slimming WorldAaron Walker now, 14 stone lighter. Credit: Slimming World
Looking back on his Leeds Festival 2023 experience, he said: “I was really looking forward to being with my mates, listening to some good music and making some memories. Turns out I did make a core memory that day – it just wasn’t the one I was expecting.”
Aaron continued: “When I arrived, it soon dawned on me that being on my feet would be hard going for me at almost 27st. Just the walk from the entrance to the main stage had me gasping for breath – I was exhausted.
“I felt self-conscious all day and even missed one of my favourite bands, Two Door Cinema Club, because I was too tired to walk across the field to the stage they were playing on.
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“I thought to myself – I’m 25 years old, I should be having the time of my life at a music festival with my mates and I’m not. That was my turning point. I joined a Slimming World group not long after. Now here I am – two years later, 14st lighter and loving Leeds Festival this time!”
This Manchester hotel has a Bonfire Night ‘escape’ package for pets to help keep them calm
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most luxurious hotels is transforming into the ultimate pet refuge again over the firework season.
Bonfire Night is loved across the UK for the spectacular firework displays and all the festive-themed activities that go along with it, but the November annual event isn’t so fun for our four-legged friends, as fireworks can be frightening to pets due to loud bangs, flashing lights, and the unpleasant strong smell of spent explosives.
With multiple bangs occurring from numerous displays too, pets are rarely able to pinpoint where the booming explosions are coming from, only making it more terrifying for them.
This is why, after becoming a huge success following its launch last year, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in the heart of the city centre has brought back its special ‘Bonfire Night Escape’ escape package, turning the already pet-friendly hotel into a firework-free sanctuary.
The hotel‘s year-round ‘PAWfect Stay’ package includes any dog staying at no extra cost, plus a pet tuckbox, a guide to the best dog-friendly places in the city, and a toy waiting for them in the room, but this fireworks season, pet owners will also get a luxury hamper including Pet Remedy’s ‘Party Season Survival Kit’
The kit comes together with a range of fast-acting products to help immediately in stressful situations such as fireworks, and includes calming spray, a plug diffuser, and some calming wipes too.
On top of that, dog owners can also take advantage of the hotel’s Music Concierge service, which allows guests to request a record player and vinyls to be placed in the room ahead of check in – with lots of classical and relaxing music records available to distract anxious pets from the noise of Bonfire Night celebrations.
Kimpton Clocktower Hotel has a Bonfire Night ‘escape’ package to help keep pets calm / Credit: Elisha Terada (via Unsplash)
The award-winning The Refuge Bar and Restaurant inside the hotel also offers a menu of carefully-curated dog treats throughout the week, as well as doggy Sunday roasts all Sunday.
David Lockhart, who is the General Manager at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, said he likes to think of the hotel as a “home-away-from-home for our guests”.
“Our top priority is making sure everyone is feeling safe and comfortable,” he added. “We can’t wait to welcome our November guests and help them care for their four-legged family members, giving them everything they need.”
The Bonfire Night Escape package at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is available to book from Friday 1 November, subject to availability, and you can request the package via the hotel concierge or by emailing [email protected] to book.
Scissor Sisters confirm reunion after more than a decade ahead of massive Manchester gig
Danny Jones
Still a firm cult favourite from the 2000s, Scissor Sisters are officially back and are bringing a special reunion tour to Manchester and the UK and Ireland at large.
The American outfit were one of the biggest and most well-known pop groups on this side of the Atlantic during their heyday, notching three BRIT Awards and two number-one albums.
Starting out in New York, like many bands in an oversaturated music market, they ended up proving to be much more popular here in Britain than they ever did in the US, not to mention becoming real icons among the LGBTQ+ community.
And now, over a decade later, the Scissor Sisters are set to repay the likes of Manchester, Leeds, London and more with a series of comeback shows, including one at Co-op Live arena – a gig which the venue has already teased earlier this week.
Confirming the reunion on social media on Thursday, 10 October, the band said: “Exciting news, for the first time in over a decade, we will come together again, live next May across the UK and Ireland.
“And for the first time ever, our debut album Scissor Sisters will be performed in full in celebration of its 20th anniversary – alongside all the other Scissor hits from along the way… See you very soon. Jake, Babydaddy, Del.”
Long-time fans were quick to notice that there was no mention of fellow founding member Ana Matronic nor former drummer Randy Real; the band themselves told BBC that the current lineup following their indefinite hiatus is by no means a way of replacing anyone but does give them a chance “to get some people on stage and ask some friends to do fun things.”
Frontman Shears’ 2023 Cabaret co-star, Rebecca Lucy Taylor, was also teased with a possible appearance on the Scissor Sisters reunion tour. Either way, they’ve promised a “little bit of chaos, anarchy” and an “‘anything can happen’ energy again.”
It’s been 12 whole years since we last saw them out on the road, so it’s only fitting that they give us a dozen UK/IE dates, starting at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena before bringing the comeback party down the home stretch in Dublin.
Scissor Sisters are set to stun the Manchester crowd with their Co-op Live debut on Wednesday, 21 May 2025, with special guest support from Alison Goldfrapp of the iconic electronic music duo, and we truly really can’t wait to roll back the years with them.
Pre-sale goes live on Wednesday, 6 November at 10am which you can access via their website and general admission tickets will be available from the same time the following Friday, 8 November.
We can’t wait to hear all the favourites – ‘Filthy/Gorgeous’, ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancin”, ‘Take Your Mama’ and more – but, until then, the announcements coming out of Manchester’s biggest new music venue just don’t stop…
Daisy Jackson -
1st September 2023 
