Man credits Taylor Swift for massive 180kg weight loss

At the age of 30, Ronnie Brower received a grim diagnosis: lose weight you won't live to see your 35th birthday.

At the time, he weighed 306kg, struggling with his relationships with food, drugs and alcohol, and unemployed because he could no longer leave his house.

So when Brower made a post about his horrifying prognosis on Facebook, his former high-school history teacher, Joe Bufano, was spurred into action. Bufano, who'd stayed in touch with Brower following his departure from high school, reached out to personal trainers who he hoped could help him get his weight under control.

Watch the video above to see how he did it.
Brower is, like all of us, a huge fan of Taylor Swift's, and credits her music with keeping him motivated to get his life back on track. 

And, as a little extra incentive, Bufano promised Brower he'd buy him a ticket to see Swift's 1989 world tour concert in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 3 – and both men have delivered on the agreement.

Now, Bufano has started an online campaign to get Brower backstage with Swift so he can thank her for his unknowing support in person.

"For all of his hard work, that you're about to see, I'd really want to make your concert special for him," Brower explains in the video.

"I'm hoping you can help me do that."

Brower told People the whole experience had been "pretty surreal" after the eight-minute video collected more than 1.5 million views within the space of a week.

"Even if I don't get the chance to meet Taylor Swift, I feel like I can really inspire people who are the same boat that I was in with my story," he says.

"It feels incredible." 

Oh, go on, Taylor!