A SHANNON man who was told he would never make it as a male model has featured on the cover of the prestigious Men’s Health magazine.
After 28-year-old Peter Barron had surgery to remove a lump on his chest, a nurse told him that it would heal well but joked that he would “never be on the cover of a magazine”.
But this month the personal trainer and fitness instructor proved her wrong when the Middle Eastern edition of the international fitness magazine featured an article on his journey from “slim to strong”.
In an interview with Today FM, the former paramedic and semi-professional footballer, spoke about moving to Dubai after visiting in 2014 and started a successful career as a personal trainer and social media influencer.
“I had done a campaign for Samsung and that was featured in the magazine at the end of last year and then the editor contacted me two months ago and asked me if the cover was something I’d be interested in,” he said.
He said of the cover feature: “it’s an amazing feeling to see it in the shops.”
“I still get a bit of a shock every time I look at it. My cousin is coming over in two weeks so I had to buy a couple of copies to send back home with her.”
Peter is thrilled with the cover, despite the fact that his large collection of tattoos were airbrushed from the final shot.
“It’s in their culture that they don’t have tattoos whereas for me, I’m covered in tattoos all over my body, on my chest and my arms.
“When I saw it first, I actually didn’t realise they had cropped them out. It’s brilliant though, it’s an amazing feeling to see it in the shops.”
Peter’s grandfather sadly passed away just days before he knew he would feature on the cover.
“He has the same name as me, so it was funny because me and my dad were saying his name is now is up in lights too. It was nice from that point of view.”
