NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has revealed the secrets behind his dramatic body transformation… bidding to become a "sex symbol".
The retired basketball star – nicknamed Shaq – was weighing over gigantic 28st 5lb.
But on an episode of Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast, the American revealed he is now 26 stone.
A picture of Shaq's ripped physique went viral and he used fellow court legend Charles Barkley as inspiration to get in shape.
He said: “I didn’t want my stomach to be over the belt anymore. So I was just like, ‘Let me go ahead and get slim.’
"After that [picture] went viral, now I’ve got to live up to it.
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“I was 401 pounds. Now I’m 365. I’m trying to take it back to 345.
"I want to have muscles everywhere, and I want to do an underwear ad with my sons [for] Fruit of the Loom, baby.”
Shaq added that he “wants to become a sex symbol.”
The sportsman went through a time period in 2020 following the passing of his sister Ayesha Harrison-Jex and team-mate Kobe Bryant.
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But he turned it around with a strict exercise routine and diet.
Shaq told Men's Health magazine in 2021: "My sister passed away, and then Kobe, it was a really bad year and I didn't want to do anything, I could only eat and watch Netflix.
"I saw an old man in his 70s with muscles all over the place and I started to eat better, I only ate sandwiches, for lunch, for dinner and for a snack, and then everything hit me last year and I couldn't sleep, I would get up and make myself a sandwich.
"I realised I couldn't go on like this, I took away the bread, the chocolate and the cakes."
He added: "Now I only eat fruits, protein shakes, salads, fish, chicken, asparagus and other vegetables, all in very small portions.
"I have started to see things like a six-pack, which I haven't had since I was in Miami in 2006.
"I do 20 minutes of cardio and then a little bit of chest, biceps, triceps, abs and back, which is about an hour a day in total."
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