K' Road's Caluzzi cabaret bar drag diva Beaver Brown - also known as Marc Thomas - has been on a life-saving diet journey while TVOne's cameras captured every moment. Eating for two: Marc Thomas At his largest weight of 147kg, Thomas tells GayNZ.com he was "hiding behind" his larger-than-life drag identity and was too embarrassed to leave the house unless dressed as his alter-ego. So the self-employed freelance florist underwent stomach-shrinking Lap-Band Surgery, and the TV crew spent a full-on year with him as he struggled to reduce his weight - for a documentary TVNZ describes as "honest, revealing, and one hell of a journey." Marc's alter-ego Beaver Brown "It's not pretty," Thomas warns. "You'll see me at my best and at my worst. That's what I was most nervous about - I was really opening myself up. "Obesity is a huge problem in New Zealand and so I wanted to show how it affects people in really horrible ways. People would talk to me when I was out as Beaver, and I could get away with a lot, but not when I was Marc - so Beaver was my mask." Thomas says the TV crew were "wonderful" with him though. "Parts of the show are very sad to watch, but I wanted to tell my story to help others in a similar situation. "I'm proud of what we've made," he adds. "The team did a fantastic job, they are amazing filmmakers. And now I feel a lot more confident." Real Life: Eating for Two will be broadcast on TVOne at 9:30pm tomorrow (Tuesday) 22 September.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Monday, 21st September 2009 - 4:53pm