'I lost 14st in a year - my local takeaway called to ask if I was still alive'
A drag artist's favourite Chinese takeaway was so shocked by his incredible 14 stone weight loss that they rang to check if he was "still alive". Jordan Bateman, 31 and from Swansea, tipped the scales at 28st (177.8kg) in July 2024, and at 5ft 9in tall, he found himself gasping for air during performances as his drag persona, Ruby Slippers.
Thanks to the weight loss jab Mounjaro, which Jordan obtained privately through digital healthcare provider Numan before it was announced for NHS availability, he now boasts a svelte 14st (88.9kg). The transformation has seen him wave goodbye to motorway food binges, collaborate with a personal trainer, and he reckons he's tacked on an extra "20 years" to his lifespan.
Jordan admits splurging more than £3,000 on the treatment since last August, but said he was now economising on food and no longer requires costly custom-made outfits after shrinking from a size 4XL to a medium.
Doubling as an entertainment manager for a holiday park chain and performing across Britain as a stand-in, as well as his gigs in drag, Jordan is embracing the prospect of romance for the first time as an adult. He confesses to feeling more "confident", yet his drastic health kick raised eyebrows at his local Chinese eatery.
"This is so embarrassing, my local Chinese actually phoned my house to see if I was still alive," Jordan said. "Before my weight loss journey, I would be on the M4 after gigging all weekend and, on the drive home, I'd ring my local Chinese and say, 'Can I have my order?
"I wouldn't even need to say what I wanted, it would already be there. I'd typically go for lemon chicken, seaweed, egg fried rice, chips, prawn crackers and duck spring rolls."
He went on: "I could never eat any of that to that extent and that amount any more – in fact, I haven't had a Chinese for a whole year now!".
Raised in Swansea, Jordan was an "highly active" youngster, constantly singing, dancing or performing. However, after breaking into the entertainment world at 18, following studies in performance and childcare at college, the pressures of touring life began to bite.
"There's no kitchen when you're on the road, so my diet became all about what I could get at service stations – Greggs, McDonald's, that sort of thing," he explained.
"After a show, you'd go to the pub, then grab a pizza or a takeaway back at your digs. Everyone did it, so I didn't really notice how much weight I was gaining."
However, in July 2024, whilst belting out This Is The Moment from the musical Jekyll and Hyde during a show as Ruby Slippers, everything shifted. "I couldn't get through the song, I couldn't breathe, and I thought 'This isn't normal'," recalled Jordan.
He revealed he saw his GP in July 2024 and discovered he tipped the scales at 28st, which left him "shocked", despite already knowing he carried excess weight.
"I'd done fad diets before, I'd even been on Channel 4's How To Lose Weight Well, but nothing stuck – this time I knew it had to be different," he revealed. Jordan revealed he initially toyed with the idea of a gastric sleeve but decided against it as he didn't want to be limited in his food choices.
Following his GP's guidance, he chose Mounjaro instead. The NHS describes Tirzepatide, known commercially as Mounjaro, as a self-administered weekly injection that helps patients feel satiated for longer, curbing their appetite.
Patients are encouraged to pair the injection with a balanced, calorie-reduced diet and regular exercise. Jordan began upping his injection dosage each month from August 2024 but had to reduce it due to nausea, acting on advice from Numan.
Having spent upwards of £3,000 on the treatment, Jordan asserts it has been "worth every penny". However, he warns others not to view weight loss injections as an easy fix.
"It's a commitment – you mentally and physically have to change what you do for it to work," he said. Jordan explained a complete overhaul in his grocery shopping, swapping out "chocolate, crisps, lots of heavy carbs" with "no colour" for a rainbow of fresh produce.
Working with a personal trainer and adhering to a nutrition plan, he is determined to maintain his healthier lifestyle beyond the medication, which he plans to discontinue once he hits his target weight of 12st (76.2kg). To avoid the temptation of service station fare while on tour, he preps his meals ahead of time.
While he acknowledges that Ruby's character has always been "confident" and "larger than life" regardless of his size, Jordan now finds performing as her less tiring, needing fewer breaks between sets and even feeling comfortable "having (his) arms out" on stage. He's also more energetic when entertaining children at the holiday park, noticing a change in how they depict him in drawings – no longer as a "circle" but now as a typical "stick figure".
Jordan, who is gay, said he'd been single throughout his adult life due to work commitments, but now feels "empowered" to start dating, thanks to newfound body confidence. His transformation has drawn compliments from friends, family, and colleagues, though he confesses his mind is still catching up.
The positive changes are numerous, from not requiring a plane seatbelt extender on a recent trip to Tenerife to enjoying extra space between his stomach and the steering wheel while driving. Jordan admits: "I've still got a belly, however it's not as rounded and not as ghastly to look at.
"It was actually quite a relief to be able to walk around with confidence with my top off on holiday. Now I feel confident that I can walk into a theme park and go on to a rollercoaster and enjoy those weight-restricted activities without any kind of embarrassment."
Jordan is thankful for the wake-up call he received when he struggled to perform, which led him to re-evaluate his lifestyle choices. He advises others to consult their GP if they're considering weight-loss medication.
"If I'd continued without a care in the world, I dread to think how heavy I would be now," he reflected. "I reckon in a year I'd have probably put another two stone or more on.
"I've probably added about 20 years on to my life expectancy – at 28 stone I was probably moments away from a heart attack or a stroke, and that for me is a massive life turnaround."
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