After hitting his teens, Chad decided to turn his life around.
At just 15 years old, the model and tradie joined a gym and managed to lose 16kg, dropping his body weight from 90kg to 74kg.
The now 27-year-old admits that he became “addicted” to lifting weights in the process.
Chad kept the kilos off at first, but over the following years he then gained the weight back in muscle, tipping the scales at 102kg and just 7 per cent body fat.
Despite his chiselled physique, Chad’s body weight didn’t meet the strict requirements for his modelling agency.
After being scouted, Chad was told he needed to drop 20kg.
"I was like, 'No way – I've worked hard for this,' but on my first job, I couldn't fit the suit and they sent me home.
"I was getting tired of the tools, so I stopped lifting weights and just did cardio every day to see where this new career would take me.
"As soon as I dropped the weight, I booked a job and got sent overseas."
Chad reveals the pressures of the “cut-throat industry” were a lot to deal with, but he’s managed to overcome them as his career soared.
“It's not good for the mental health. But now I'm established, it's more about being happy.”