A pasty-faced 18-stone nerd has spent thousands of hours transforming himself into a super-fit viking, with an impressive six-pack, scores of trendy tattoos and a hipster beard to match.
Looking at photos of podgy Chris Aslesen at 21, with his ginger basin cut and flabby paunch, he looks like a completely different person to the well-honed hunk he is today.
Now aged 25, in just four years, he has become a musclebound sex symbol, with a chiselled jaw, washboard stomach and bulging biceps.
Christian, pictured in summer 2012, lived on a diet of hamburgers and fried chicken (Collect/PA Real Life)
Chris’ amazing body overhaul is thanks to relentless workouts and a strict diet – which at one point saw him surviving on just two crispbreads a day, although he does not advocate this.
Now he eats a diet rich in protein and green vegetables, shunning sweets, carbohydrates and unhealthy fats.
The security guard, who posts photos from his workouts on Instagram under the hashtag #Viking, has even sacrificed old friends, who are more interested in playing videogames than working out, so he is not distracted from his fitness goals.
Christian, with son Storm, this summer, who he incorporates in to his workouts (Collect/PA Real Life)
A dad to baby Storm, aged one – who he incorporates into some of his workouts, by lifting him up – he now socialises with a crowd of equally buff bodybuilder mates.
Inspired to stay fit by the seafaring Norse Vikings – although they were better known for pillaging than press-ups – he comes from Tønsberg in Norway, which they ruled for 250 years from AD 800 to 1066.
Chris said: “Being Norwegian means the Vikings are my ancestors. I go for hikes at least twice a week and am at the gym six times a week. I do gymnastics too. I look to the Vikings for inspiration.”
Christian, pictured before his transformation, in late 2011, early 2012 (Collect/PA Real Life)
Chris, who has been dating Storm’s mum Anine, 22, for two-and-a-half years, also attracts admiring glances from women. But he only has eyes for Anine.
He got into serious training after having a eureka moment, when he was 21 and in the army.
“I was looking in the mirror one day when I was naked and thought, ‘I’m fat,’” he admits. “I wobbled, I had flab.”
Christian, pictured April 2017, changed his image by getting tattoos (Collect/PA Real Life)
Weighing 18-stone, he had 28 percent body fat, compared to 12 per cent now, although at his lowest he has been seven percent.
“I was too fat,” he said. “It was horrible.
“But then, my diet was horrible. I’d have takeaways three times a week. I’d eat hamburgers and fried chicken. I loved cake and pizza. I would drink litres and litres of Coca-Cola and eat sweets.”
Christian, in the army, in summer 2012 (Collect/PA Real Life)
After looking at himself critically in the mirror for the first time, Chris vowed to lose weight and searched ‘workout’ on the internet.
“When I found people working out, I did just what they did,” he explained. “Press up, bench press-ups… everything.
“I read loads of books – about 15 – on the art of bodybuilding, too.”
Initially, unaware of what he should be eating, he survived on just two crispbreads a day.
But, within a matter of months, he realised this was irresponsible and that he needed to eat more.
So, he started cooking grilled meat, which, being high in protein, helped fuel the hours of hard graft he put in at the gym.
Christian, working out at the gym, in March 2017 (Collect/PA Real Life)
Then, at 23, when he started growing facial hair, he decided to drastically change his style.
“I was really pleased,” he said. “I really wanted a beard.”
Around two years ago, he then spent 34 hours getting an image of a lightening skull and Viking runes tattooed across his left arm and chest.
Christian, pictured in April 2017, changed his look by growing facial hair (PA Real Life/Lars Ulrik Wold)
Delighted with the inking, he now plans on having more tattoos, before his extreme image change is complete.
“I always want to look better,” he said. “I’m happy with my body now, but I won’t gain weight.
“Meanwhile, I want more tattoos and an even bigger beard.”
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