“From Fatman to Ironman”, this is the credo that has given itself Sylvain Dhugues, the day he decided that his life was going to change thanks to sport. Victim of a violent father who beat him in primary school, his childhood rhymes with family violence, school bullying and obesity.
To take his revenge, four years later, he completed his first Ironman. An event which marked a renewal in his life: “It was the first day when I had confidence in myself, when I dared to look at myself in a mirror. “.
“I told myself I could get through this”
Sylvain got the trigger thanks to one of his friends at high school. “Vincent wanted to get his act together before the summer, so he offered to accompany him. It started from there, an outstretched hand, having something to share with someone,” he explains. Little by little, a sporting routine is established and the teenager regains self-confidence as the races progress. “The first time I completed ten kilometers, I told myself that I could get through it, rebuild myself,” confides the young man. Then there was the Ironman, the “best day of his life”.
This confidence that he gained through sport, he now shares in classes with young people. The 23-year-old triathlete travels to a different region every week to raise awareness about family violence, school bullying and a sedentary lifestyle. A “Tour de France of commitment” which also allows him to complete various sporting challenges, such as the Paris Marathon where we had already met him!
Next month, the Montpellier resident will complete his third Ironman, but his biggest objective is to continue raising awareness among young people: “We are at 5,000 young people today, the objective is to have intervened with 20,000 before the end of the year “. A challenge worthy of a real Ironman, to bring a little hope to young people!
His full testimony can be found in the video at the top of this article.