Craig David believes he suffered from body dysmorphia during his time in Miami.
The singer moved from the UK to Miami in his 20s, and Craig subsequently developed an unhealthy obsession with his weight.
“I look back at it in two ways. It’s like, one, wow, look how far you can take it to – but also, what was the end goal,” the “Fill Me In” hitmaker told the BBC’s “Imposter Syndrome.”
Craig never felt “quite right” when he looked in the mirror, and now, the singer believes he was suffering from body dysmorphia.
“I was down to like 4.5 percent body fat and I’m still thinking, ‘if I can just get it down that … which is a very, body-building, like, lifestyle.’
“But now, sitting here, I feel like I had to go back to the little kid who is carrying a bit of weight, [who was] the shoulder to cry on and be like, ‘you know what, you always had everything that you could have ever had wanted’. It was never about the body,” he said.
Craig actually enjoyed a “warm” childhood. However, he became a target for bullies during his school years.
“I remember one time walking down the corridor and one of the older boys, two years above me, just pushed me into the corner and asked me what money I had.
“This started happening regularly, every day in that same corridor, even when teachers were coming down. They would see what was happening and he [the bully] was very quick to put an arm round, big smile – and you would just lean in because you don’t want it to continue but it lodged itself as a trauma.” Craig said.
