There was a time when Aaron Chalmers' life revolved around drinking at night clubs up to six nights a week, and getting paid handsomely to do so.
He first appeared on UK television screens as a cast member on the reality show Geordie Shore in 2014, having previously been employed as a topless waiter and a scaffolder on an oil rig.
Now 39-years-old, his life is markedly different. He has three young children and a completely different career path which has seen him share a boxing ring with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
But, he faces what he calls an even bigger fight than his exhibition against Mayweather on Saturday, a bareknuckle boxing contest against former UFC star Darren Till. The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship operates with rules similar to boxing except without gloves, with a uniquely-shaped ring, and with five two-minute rounds.
Fair to say Chalmers has lived an eventful life, and he has no plans on slowing down.
His MMA journey began while he was still a cast member on Geordie Shore, the show he starred in for eight seasons. A fleeting conversation with his manager on a beach holiday in Bulgaria, when Chalmers mentioned he would be interested in a fighting career after leaving television, quickly led to him being thrust into a cage in between filming.
Having trained in Muay Thai as a kid, Chalmers had always wanted to have a proper fight, but he admits he wasn't exactly living the elite fighter lifestyle in his early days.
"My first three or four fights, there was no training," Chalmers tells ESPN. "We were drinking six nights a week. I was filming for six weeks, then I was coming out and I had a fight booked, having a six-week camp. I was never fully ready for any of my MMA fights.
"There was a few times when the cage door shut and I thought: 'F------ hell, what am I doing here? Six weeks ago, I was p----- out my head.'
"Thankfully it worked out. Looking back now it wasn't the right way to do things."
It was a lifestyle that took its toll, but boxing and MMA, as well as becoming a father, helped pull him on a better path. Following stints in the BAMMA and Bellator MMA promotions, the Covid-19 lockdown in early 2020 prompted Chalmers to get more into boxing.
"I left TV for the fight game. I could have stayed on TV and made hundreds of thousands of pounds more than I have in fighting. That being said, it wasn't challenging," Chalmers says.
"Anyone can go out on the drink and do that kind of stuff. That wasn't challenging me anymore, I like to challenge myself. When I'm in camp I'm focused, not drinking."
Chalmers' profile helped get him fights, eventually facing Mayweather Jr. in an exhibition in 2023. The bout wasn't scored, but he can claim to have gone the distance with one of the greatest of all time. After that, he was looking for a new challenge and turned to bareknuckle boxing, a growing but still controversial sport in the UK.
With two fights and two wins under his belt last year, one against Love Island star Jack Fincham, Till's name came up, but Chalmers wasn't convinced the fight would get over the line with several obstacles to overcome. Till has reinvented himself in the Misfits boxing scene but left the promotion in search of bigger fights last year.
Till also fought in the UFC at 170 pounds but did struggle to make weight, Chalmers made his bareknuckle boxing debut at 170lbs while Saturday's fight will be contested at 185lbs. Till weighed 192lbs in his boxing match against Luke Rockhold last year.
"Everything was sorted and then they come back to us saying it wasn't going to work," Chalmers says. "I don't know if it was something to do with weight ... Personally, I think they were looking for a bigger name. My manager said: 'Just keep training, I think they're going to come back.'"
A deal did get done, but Chalmers admits he will face a huge challenge against Till, the one time UFC contender turned boxer who knocked out Luke Rockhold in three rounds in his last boxing match last August.
"I'm expecting pure pressure. There's no underestimating he is very good coming forward and putting the pressure on. I've got to be better. I can't let him dictate. We've got a big challenge," Chalmers says.
"I might book a flight on the Tuesday to Turkey because I'm sure a few veneers will go flying in this fight. I might book it in advance so I can get them fixed!"
Till, who is usually quick to start the trash talk with his opponents, gives credit his next opponent for taking the fight. "He has been around the fight game. He's got a massive set of balls on him," Till told ESPN.
"He's willing to fight me, I'm a bigger man and the more experienced fighter. I know of him, I haven't really got a negative comment to say about him.
"But they can be a nice person, it's all the same, you're going to get in there and inflict pain on him."