By Casey Neill
Damien Hunter is a shadow of the man he was a year ago – and couldn’t be happier.
The Endeavour Hills 28-year-old put himself on a 12-month alcohol ban on 15 May last year and followed up with gastric sleeve surgery on 28 August.
Now he’s 70 kilograms lighter and brimming with new-found confidence.
But it’s not all about him.
The Dandenong motor mechanic is donating money he’d normally spend on alcohol to beyondblue and encouraging others to fund-raise with him.
“I had a bit of a wake-up call. A few friends committed suicide,” he said.
“I spent time seeing the after-affects with the families.
“I was in a bad place as well.”
Mr Hunter struggled with obesity throughout his life and was at 173kg.
“I used alcohol to deal with that,” he said.
“I used to drink and be the clown of the group.
“Confidence-wise I’m heaps better off.
“I’ve been out night-clubbing a few times sober.
“I can have just as much fun.
“Twelve months ago, if I wasn’t drinking I wouldn’t go anywhere.”
He’s going to have a beer come the 12-month mark.
“But the amount that I’ve achieved in the past 12 months, it’s all because I gave up drinking,” he said.
“I don’t want to go back to where I was.”
It was three months into sobriety that Mr Hunter went to a weight loss clinic and asked about surgery.
“Before I knew it I was sitting on a hospital bed waiting for the operation,” he said.
The gastric sleeve took away 80 per cent of his stomach capacity.
“You’re pretty much training yourself to eat again,” he said.
“You’ve got to be on top of your nutrition.
“You’ve got to be smart about what you eat.”
Mr Hunter said customers had asked his boss who the new worker was.
“A lot of people don’t recognise me,” he said.
“It’s the best feeling.”
He has more energy, sleeps better and doesn’t have the leg pain he was battling before dropping the weight.
“Even in the race car I have more energy,” he said.
“I get out feeling good instead of feeling like I’ve run a marathon.”
Mr Hunter has been racing cars since he was 14 years old.
He’s added beyondblue stickers to his latest car ahead of his next race, at New South Wales’ Wakefield Park Raceway.
He hopes it will provide a last-minute boost to his fund-raiser and is offering sponsorship space on the car for donations to beyondblue.
Visit give.everydayhero.com/au/raising-gold-for-quiting-alcohol or email djhmotorsport@gmail.com to get involved.
