Gavin O'Mally-Richardson used to enjoy a quiet life.

The 37-year-old, who described himself as “not particularly healthy”, smoked, ate what he liked and did not worry too much about exercise.

But all of that has changed after he set himself a six-month target to turn from Unfit to Fight Fit.

Now the father-of-two spends his days training hard and eating healthily in order to take on a professional fighter at the end of his challenge.

With the help of staff at ZT Fight Skool in Fonthill Road, Hove, Mr O'Mally-Richardson is training in mixed marshal arts (MMA).

He said: “I am a just a regular guy, a dad-of-two, with a not particularly healthy lifestyle.

“So this is a massive lifestyle commitment, as some of the training is really quite tough.

“MMA is a good discipline. It is all about getting the body fit and includes conditioning, training and diet.

“My ultimate goal is to appear in the ring as a professional fighter.

“It is a totally crazy concept but people are loving it. It is generating quite a bit of a buzz.

“I am not a sports person at all. I have never done anything like this before, apart from few karate lessons when I was 15, so it really is a genuine journey.”

Mr O'Mally-Richardson’s journey will also be documented by his film-maker business partner Peter Booth for their company Blockhouse Films Ltd.

He will also be raising money for local charities along the way.

He said: “It is a challenge because it is dropping me in at the deep end and really taking me out of my comfort zone.

“There are definitely times I feel a little bit concerned about what I’ve let myself in for.

“If anyone had said to me six weeks ago ‘you are going to train up to five days a week’ I would have said ‘I don’t think so’ and had another cigarette.

“When I first told my friends what I was doing some of them were a little taken aback by it. But when I told them more about it they were very positive.

“Everyone at ZT Fight Skool is really supportive.”

Mr O'Mally-Richardson is also being supported by his wife Sarah and children Cameron, 14 and Oscar, two.

Videos of his progress so far will be posted on his company’s website at www.thebrightonwindow.co.uk. He will also be keeping a blog for The Argus at theargus.co.uk/blogs.