Reality TV

“I was an ugly ducking!”: Big Brother housemate (and international model) Chad Hurst shares an unexpected childhood photo

He reckons he wasn't always model material...
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He’s an international model with washboard abs, but Big Brother’s Chad Hurst was teased for being overweight at school.

“Growing up, I was the fat kid,” the Sydney stud, 27, confesses to TV WEEK.

“I was really pale and freckly, and I had bleached hair that went a bit ranga. I got duct-taped around a tree once. They used to call me Choad, Little Blob and Fatty. I struggled.”

But at 15, Chad joined a gym and went from about 90kg to 74kg, becoming “addicted” to lifting weights in the process.

Over the next six years, he gained that weight back and more in muscle, tipping the scales at 102 kilos, with just seven per cent body fat.

Recognise him? Chad has had quite the glow up.

(Supplied)

However, when he was scouted for modelling work, the 6’1″ star was told he’d have to lose 20kg.

Chad recalls: “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.”

He’s looking quite different these days…

(Channel Seven)

For years, Chad worried about looking too big or small, admitting, “It’s a cut-throat industry.

It’s not good for the mental health. But now I’m established, it’s more about being happy. I have a healthy life, but I can have some beers with the boys and not worry about having a six-pack all year round.”

WATCH: Big Brother‘s Garth drops a bombshell as he leaves the show:

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