Tim "Sharky" Ward, a former Gold Coast club owner who fled Queensland for Thailand in 2009, has spoken out about his transformation after looking almost unrecognisable in a recent photo shared on TikTok.
Ward's dramatic weight loss was revealed upon his return to the Gold Coast, a move that appeared to be prompted by the pandemic.
Ward became known as the "Shark of Pattaya" and developed a cult following among locals.
Speaking to the Gold Coast Bulletin, Ward said his new love for motorbikes, paired with intermittent fasting, helped him cut weight dramatically.
"I got into intermittent fasting because it's good for you," Ward said.
Ward became known as the "Shark of Pattaya" and developed a cult-following among locals.
"I'm carrying too much weight to do it properly. You can't be 120kg and go out into the bush on a bike – you ride about a kilometre and then you gas out.
"I want to get to 110kg but I just can't do it because of my big Kiwi bones."
Ward said he was leaving his former Glitter Strip lifestyle behind for good.
"It was a part of my life, but it's gone now – I just want to chill out, ride my dirt bikes and relax."
The gangster, looking somewhat more slender, was spotted in Queensland.
He has amassed significant wealth at various times of his life, including at one stage owning three Lamborghinis. His is an incredible rise to fortune from his beginnings as an orphan in New Zealand.
Part of this was because of the extreme interest rates he was known to charge on his loans – in some cases as much as 200 per cent.
There were reports Ward went to Thailand after learning of an Australian Federal Police investigation into his activities.
Ward has openly admitted sleeping with sex workers in Thailand and said he enjoyed how easy it was to pay off police on the island paradise.
"I don't have to wear a shirt. I don't have to abide by the rules and if I do break the rules, I just pay," he was quoted as saying previously.
The former gangster has also shared intermittent updates to his Facebook page, which has 60,000 followers.
"I been flat broke and I been a multimillionaire. The happy place is definitely somewhere in between," he said.
