Martyn Ford is a guy of Hulk-like proportions who also goes by the moniker “Nightmare”—covered in tattoos, bald, and measuring 6-foot-8 in height and 325 pounds in weight, he so totally deserves that nickname. But 12 years ago he used to be a skinny guy with only 4% body fat who liked to run. Then he started to workout and bulk up and so began his incredible transformation.
Martyn Ford, from Minworth in the West Midlands, was first inspired to join the gym when a cricket injury caused his weight to drop – and he ‘just carried on’. Now a whopping 23st 4lb, the 33-year-old dad of one can leg press close to the weight of a Smart car and eats every hour, spending £250 on food each week.
It’s been an amazing turnaround for Ford, who suffered from depression after giving away cricket. “I was lost when I finished playing cricket,” he wrote on Instagram. “I was convinced I would turn pro and that would be my life set out. With injuries, bad luck and just losing love for the game that never happened. But the void was never filled. I knew deep down I needed to succeed at something, that I had an ability to shine in some way.”
Standing just one inch shorter than Hafthor Bjornsson — the behemoth who plays The Mountain in the HBO television series Game of Thrones — 203cm Ford is now embarking on an acting career of his own.
His first role was as a fighter named the “Nightmare” in Undisputed 4 and he also plays a part in the upcoming $20 million Pierce Brosnan and Dave Bautista film Final Score, which sees an ex-soldier (Bautista) attempt to save a 35,000-strong crowd at a sporting stadium which is seized by criminals.
He spends around $250 a week on food and eats five to six meals a day, mainly proteins (eggs, chicken, turkey breast, fish and steak) and carbohydrates (rice, sweet potatoes and oats). “This can vary massively depending on what I’m training for, but I can consume anywhere from 4,500 to 8,000 calories per day.”
Martyn Ford’s diet plan:
- Meal 1: 7 ½ ounces Chicken Breast, 2 tablespoons Udo’s Oil and 3 ½ ounces Green Vegetables
- Meal 2: 5 ounces Chicken Breast, 5 ounces Egg Whites and 3 ounces (dry measure) Oats
- Post Workout: Protein Shake
- Meal 3: 7 ½ ounces Chicken Breast, 7 ½ Vegetables, 3 ½ ounces Udo’s Oil and 2 tablespoons (dry measure) Brown Rice
- Meal 4: Same as meal 3
- Meal 5: 5 ounces Chicken Breast, 5 ounces Egg Whites and 5 ounces Sweet Potato Salad
- Meal 6: 7 ½ ounces Chicken Breast, 2 tablespoons Udo’s Oil and 3 ½ ounces Green Vegetables
- Meal 7: 7 ½ ounces White Fish and 1 cup Large Green Salad
- Meal 8: 15 Egg Whites, 2 tablespoons Low-Fat Cottage Cheese and 1 cup Green Salad
Martyn and his 5ft 5in partner Sacha Stacey, 26, have a three-year-old daughter together, Imogen.
