The Shadow of the ‘Fat Club’: Former AFL Captain Dyson Heppell Lifts the Lid on Unhealthy Body Image Culture
The high-octane world of professional Australian Rules Football, a sport celebrated for its athleticism and fierce competition, has long grappled with a darker undercurrent: the pervasive pressure surrounding player body image. Former Essendon captain Dyson Heppell has bravely shed light on the “horrendous” environment he encountered early in his career, detailing an unhealthy relationship with food and the damaging practice of ‘fat clubs’.
Speaking candidly during his time on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, Heppell recounted the stringent targets set for players returning from off-season breaks. Failure to meet these benchmarks, often measured by body fat percentages, resulted in a player being relegated to a special training group colloquially known as the ‘fat club’.
“You would set yourself a target and if you came back from your off season to your preseason and you didn’t hit that target, you would be put into a group that would have to do extra cross training — or some form of training to strip some fat off,” Heppell explained. “And the boys hailed this group ‘fat club’. It was a pretty vicious one, to be honest.”
The repercussions of this culture, Heppell elaborated, extended beyond mere physical exertion. “The relationship with food and stuff was horrendous and body image and shocking,” he admitted. He shared a particularly poignant anecdote: “When I had a broken leg, so I’m on crutches all off season and I didn’t hit my skinny targets, so I’m in fat club for pre-season. I was like, ‘you kidding?'”
Heppell, who played a remarkable 253 games for the Bombers between 2011 and 2024, confessed to developing an obsessive approach to his diet. This included meticulous meal preparation and a deep-seated reluctance to eat when the team was travelling.
“Early in my career, I ended up with a pretty unhealthy relationship with food. And [it] wasn’t a full eating disorder but it was … it was disordered eating,” Heppell stated. “I’d hardly want to go out and eat.”
A Widespread Issue Across Football Codes
Heppell’s revelations are not isolated. Fellow contestant Luke Bateman, a former NRL player for the Canberra Raiders (2015-2019), confirmed the existence of similar unofficial ‘fat clubs’ within rugby league.
The practice has been documented in the AFL previously. In 2016, reports surfaced that the Carlton Football Club employed a ‘fat club’ system, implemented by then-coach Brendon Bolton and his fitness staff. Under this regime, players exceeding a 12 per cent body fat threshold, as determined by skinfold measurements, were compelled to undertake rigorous training sessions before being reintegrated into the main squad.
This initiative drew sharp criticism at the time. Sports administrator Brian Waldron publicly condemned the practice, labelling it “socially irresponsible” to brand a group of players as the ‘fat club’. He argued passionately on SEN, “Surely they could call it something else. There will be kids walking around school today being told they’re in the fat club and I think that is just social stupidity to be calling a group of players into a group they call the fat club.”
AFL’s Steps Towards a Healthier Environment
In a significant move towards fostering a more positive body image culture, the AFL introduced a ban in 2024 on clubs conducting skinfold testing on prospective draftees. This decision, however, was met with mixed reactions from football media critics.
For AFLW players and younger female athletes progressing through the ranks, there is now an option to opt out of weigh-ins entirely. A directive sent to clubs, signed by Kate Hall and Grant Williams, stipulated that body weight measurements would henceforth be conducted exclusively by qualified professionals – High Performance/Sport Scientists, Sports Dietitians, or Medical Practitioners – in a private and safe setting, with all data treated confidentially.
Despite these progressive steps, some figures within the sport remain critical. Former AFL premiership-winning coach Paul Roos, speaking on the ABC’s AFL Daily podcast, suggested that players unduly concerned about skinfold measurements should consider alternative career paths.
Lingering Struggles and the Path Forward
Notwithstanding the AFL’s efforts, the echoes of past practices and the ongoing challenges of body image and disordered eating persist among former and current players.
Recently, former GWS player Cooper Hamilton has become a vocal advocate on social media, sharing his personal battles with body dysmorphia and eating disorders during his playing career. Hamilton recounted how he would often isolate himself from friends and social activities that revolved around food, frequently under-fuelling himself before games.
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Further highlighting the pervasive nature of these issues, an ABC investigation recently uncovered the significant struggles elite female athletes face concerning body image and disordered eating.
While the AFL has undoubtedly made strides in mitigating the intense focus on player weight and body image obsession, the impact of these cultural norms continues to resonate within clubs. When Dyson Heppell was directly asked if ‘fat clubs’ were still a reality in AFL circles, his answer was a stark and unequivocal: “Still a thing.” This response underscores the ongoing need for vigilance and continued reform within the sport to ensure the well-being of its athletes.
