Rewind to 2016 and you’ll find a very different man.

Back then, the Toowoomba-born sales rep was tipping the scales at almost 170 kilograms – more than double his current weight of 72 kilograms.

“I was really overweight and I was getting sick of it,” the 33-year-old said.

“I was sick of being sluggish and not having energy, so I decided to do something about it.”

In a bid to turn his life around, Luke underwent surgery in early 2017 to implement a gastric sleeve before turning to the sport that changed his life around – running.

“Somewhere along the way after surgery, I discovered running and it became my escape,” he said.

“I found the community and just fell in love.

“There’s nothing better than sticking a pair of headphones in and forgetting about everything else.”

Since March 2017, Luke has gone from a part-timer jogger to serious competitor.

He’s already notched his first marathon with a 3:30 effort in Canberra earlier this month, drawing praise from Wagga marathon runner and community trainer Malcom Edgar.

“He came independently to my Tuesday night training a few weeks ago and joined in, so we got to chatting afterwards,” he said.

“I just couldn’t believe it - his story is so amazing.”

Mr Edgar said it was a “testament” to hard work and self-belief.

“Luke is an amazing example of the stuff people can achieve,” he said.

“The amount of weight that he lost is inspiring.”

The remarkable turnaround has been a shock to the system for both Luke and his family.

“Sometimes I can barely recognise myself in the mirror,” he said.

“But it’s been great for me and now my wife and kids want to get into it as well.”

Now, it’s just about sharing that message of self-belief with other people.

“I’ve been told so many times that I couldn’t do something, but I was able to show everyone that I could work my ass off to get there,” he said.

“At the end of the day, I’m just a normal guy though, there’s nothing special.”