Brazilian who weighed 310 kilos faces 42 km to fulfill father's dream

O brazilian Júlio Mamute, who weighed 310 kilos and could barely get out of bed, will participate on Sunday in a marathon of 42,195 kilometers in the Great Wall of China, fulfilling a dream of his father.

Born in Recife, in the state of Pernambuco, Júlio, 36 years old, lost about 120 kilograms without resorting to surgery or medication. Today he weighs about 190 kilos and participates in sports around the world, after spending years dominated by binge eating.

“ In two and a half years, I gained some weight around 120 kilos,” he told the Lusa agency in Beijing, recalling the period of the covid-19 pandemic, when he isolated himself at home and had difficulties performing basic tasks.

“To bathe was one of the most challenging things in life. Because, when you're too big, you think you're going to fall”, he recalled. “I got out of the sweaty bath. I'd get out of the shower already wanting to lie down. Is that life? Of course it’s not.”.

The transformation began after an episode that still thrills him today.

On the day of his birthday, on November 13th, his nephew was born, at exactly the same time that Julius was born. He interpreted coincidence as a divine sign at a time when he was already beginning to lose hope of family.

A few days later, he tried to visit the newborn to give him a gift, but could not get out of the car. “I was dominated by a feeling of impotence. I felt like crap,” he said.

“What was it worth, then, so far, all my life? To have undertaken, to have traveled, to have worked, to have tried to have something, what was it worth?”, questioned.

That day, he decided to enroll in water aerobics classes.

The experience led him to swim later, which he considers decisive to regain mobility and begin to lose weight.

“Swimming saved my life,” he said.

He went swimming more than two hours a day, divided into two sessions, an activity that also allowed him to depart from the distractions and eating habits he sought to abandon.

“ There I had no way to get my phone. There I had no way to be asking for food”, he explained.

Shortly after the transformation, he lost his father and, a month later, an uncle he was close to.

Fearing to return to his old habits, he began to share his journey on social networks, where he gained notoriety.

The first video that went viral showed the difficulties he faced during a plane trip, when other passengers did not want to sit next to him.

“ I started documenting everything that happened to me. If I have to cry, I'll cry. If I have to smile, I will smile”, he explained.

The race came almost by chance, after a visit to the São Paulo Sports Department, where he was challenged to participate in the traditional São Silvestre, held on the last day of the year.

At the time, it weighed about 220 kilos and had never travelled more than six kilometres in a training.

At the seventh mile of the test, you were about to give up.

“I laid down on the floor,” he recalled, explaining that he then received, through a live broadcast on social networks, a video of his sister and nephew to encourage him to continue.

“ I can be here tomorrow. I could come crawling. But this child will have an example, at least, that it is worth starting and ending”, he said.

He completed the 15 kilometres of São Silvestre and since then participated in tests in Portugal, Argentina and Uruguay, among other countries.

The passage through China, however, has a special meaning.

The father, born in Pernambuco, was passionate about geography and dreamed of knowing the world, especially China and Australia.

“ He was this father who teaches flag, capital, all countries to the little child. Whenever I had news in China, I watched, called me to watch”, he added.

Julius promised him that one day they would take a trip together, but the father died shortly after his son began the process of slimming.

“ For me, having chosen here the Wall of China is a very affective thing”, he said.

“It’s a moment where I will climb the wall. I don't even know how much of a challenge you face me. I confess that. I’m just going,” he added.

The transformation also has a solidarity aspect: Julio associates weight loss with food donation and claims to have already distributed more than two tons, including in Angola, Cape Verde and Brazil.

The next step will be Barcelona, where you want to participate in a race linked to local firefighters and organize a new donation.

But the ultimate goal is more ambitious: to lose about 220 kilos of maximum weight and complete the Athens marathon in Greece associated with the historic origins of the sport.

“ I will not give up until I arrive, until I achieve this”, he said.

Asked what he would say today to the man who was practically confined to a dark room, he replied: “It’s worth it. It will hurt, but it’s worth it.”.