Moates alan aims to be operation transformation leader

A Moate man is among 19 candidates announced today as potential leaders in popular RTE programme Operation Transformation leader.

21-year-old Alan Mullen from Ballintubber, Moate, could be the youngest male leader to date. He is currently studying Business & Computers at Moate Business College and lives at home with his parents Ailish and John. He met his girlfriend Emily four years ago, at a local talent competition. 

Candidates from all over Ireland gathered together for the first time in Sportslink Sports & Social Club in Santry to be physically and emotionally assessed for possible inclusion in the eighth series which is due to air on RTÉ One in early January 2015. 

As part of a live RTÉ Radio 1 broadcast John Murray and his team put the 19 finalists through their paces asking them to share their personal stories; outline why they think they have what it takes to become a leader for Operation Transformation; and how their weight has affected their confidence, lifestyle and wardrobe to date.

There are three others among the 19 with Westmeath links.
34-year-old Bernie Pepper lives in Rathwire while Michelle Quigley (35), originally from Ballymun, lives in Delvin.

35-year-old Karen Moore was born in Mullingar, before moving to London at the age of ten. She currently resides in Clonmel. 

Moate’s Alan has always struggled with his weight and currently weighs 26 stone.

Despite being a keen footballer and training hard with the local team, he was never chosen to play because of his weight. He quit the team in frustration, aged 16. His family are big GAA supporters and he would love to be able to get back out there and make them proud.

His second dream would be to have the confidence to enjoy sharing his passion for music with his dad, who plays Country and Western music professionally.

Alan currently eats up to seven takeaways a week, and he drinks a minimum of a six-pack of coca cola a day. He is also a heavy smoker, smoking up to 40 cigarettes a day. He knows if he keeps going the way he is, it won’t end well. 

Alan wants to turn his life around and represent all the young people out there, who are in despair over their weight but don’t know what to do about it.

Operation Transformation presenter Kathryn Thomas was on hand along with the four OT experts to encourage and motivate the assembled group.

The four OT experts are Karl Henry, fitness expert, Dr. Eddie Murphy, a Principle Clinical Pyschologist with the HSE, Aoife Hearne - a registered dietitian and a member of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute and Dr. Ciara Kelly, GP and expert in family health.

Today’s assessment day includes an aerobic test in the swimming pool and a group session with Dr. Eddie to uncover what has brought the 19 finalists to this point in their lives. The 19 hopefuls will also be assessed individually by all experts in the afternoon. 

The chosen five brave, new leaders need to be willing to radically change their eating patterns, exercise habits, and be prepared to inspire RTÉ viewers and listeners to follow them on their journey over 8 weeks in January and February 2015.

Next week, from Monday, November 24, to Friday, November 28, Kathryn Thomas will travel to the homes of the five selected leaders to unveil their participation in the series live on John’s radio show on Radio 1 at 9am. An expert will be in studio each day with John Murray to discuss why each leader has been chosen.

Last year an average of 545,000 viewers tuned in for each of the sixteen episodes which represented a 32% share of the available audience.

Last year’s six leaders – Paudie O’ Mahony, Deirdre O’Donovan, Marc Gibbs, Jennifer Bonus, Siobhan McKillen and Sarah Campbell - collectively lost 13 stone 9.5 pounds.

In addition to the changes the six leaders made to their own lifestyles, they also inspired thousands of people across the country to overhaul their own diets and fitness regimes, as the levels of activity on the online resources proved.

The Operation Transformation website www.rte.ie/ot had over 8 million page views and the dedicated Facebook site also proved to be a valuable resource, giving followers the opportunity of offering advice and support to each other.The number of Facebook friends currently stands at over 133,000 fans. 

The eighth series of Operation Transformation will be sponsored by safefood.