A PILOT from London is urging men over-40 to get their prostate checked after his amazing physical transformation led to a hidden diagnosis that may have saved his life.
Kyri Kyriacou, 47, originally sought the help of body transformation specialists Ultimate Performance after he saw holiday photos of himself from early 2024, and felt he was in the worst shape of his life.
However, what followed was not just an incredible physical transformation, but also an emotional journey that has completely changed Kyri’s outlook on life.
Commercial pilot Kyri said:
“I’d been going to the gym for years, but never really committed to a particular programme. When I hit by 40s, I started to realise I was getting older and feeling older. My energy levels were ridiculously low. I felt weak, which also affected my mental health.
“I’d get out of breath climbing stairs, my back hurt, and I started to think: ‘If this what I’m like in my mid-40s, what will life be like in my 60s and 70s? What will my quality of life be?’”
For Kyri, health had always been an afterthought behind the demanding life of being a pilot. Long-haul schedules meant erratic sleep patterns, constant travel, and food options that often consisted of airport fast food or in-flight snacks. “I’d buy a burger before a flight because it was quick. Then I’d come home starving at 2am and raid the fridge,” he said. “When you combine that with being largely sedentary for up to 10 hours a day, then managing my health and fitness was a real challenge.”
Kyri’s physical decline became visible not only in the mirror but also in his aviation medicals, which are mandatory health checks every pilot must pass to keep their licence. “Different issues kept arising on these medicals, such as high blood pressure, being pre-diabetic, and high cholesterol,” he said. “I was told by an Aviation Medical Examiner that I needed to do something to address my health because I was at risk of not passing my aviation medicals and, as a result, potentially losing my licence to fly.
“And that was quite scary. If I lost my licence to fly, I would literally be lost. Flying is what I love. It’s all I’ve ever done.”
In March 2024, Kyri made a decision that would change, and possibly save, his life. He signed up with strength training specialists Ultimate Performance (U.P.), the world’s leading personal training business, famed for their data-driven and accountability-driven results.
“I’d seen U.P. online and thought: ‘That’s what I need. Someone who’ll push me and not let me off the hook.’ I’d always been lazy in the gym. But at U.P., you don’t want to let your trainer down because they’re 100% invested in you. That made me want to give 100% back.”
Kyri began training with Viktoras Sruoga at Ultimate Performance’s St Paul’s facility, embarking on an 82-week transformation that would strip his body fat from 25% to just 10.6%, drop his weight from 69kg to 62.1kg, and completely reshape his approach to health and longevity.
At first, Kyri admits, he almost quit. “The first few weeks were brutal. I didn’t think I’d last. I’d see other people training hard and thought, ‘How are they doing this?’ But Vik told me, ‘Take it day by day. It will get easier, and you will see results.’ He was right.”
Soon, the progress photos became the motivation he needed. “Seeing how much I’d changed, even after a few weeks, was a massive confidence boost,” Kyri said. “When I look back at my first set of pictures, I look defeated and old. But when I look at myself now, I look happier. I look healthier. It’s just night and day.”
As the months passed, Kyri noticed changes that went far beyond his physical appearance. His back pain eased. His sleep improved. His stress levels dropped. “It’s not been just a physical journey,” he said. “My mental health is in a completely different place. I feel more positive. I don’t let stress get to me the way it once did. There’s a real sense of accomplishment in lifting progressively heavier weights, and that bleeds into your overall day-to-day confidence and your mental resilience.”
His medical results told an even more powerful story. His cholesterol normalised. His blood pressure stabilised. He was no longer pre-diabetic.
And, perhaps most importantly, his renewed focus on wellbeing led to a decision that may have saved his life.
“Vik always talked a lot about longevity,” Kyri said: “He encouraged me to get some blood tests, especially as I was in my mid-40s. I’d asked my GP before about getting my PSA levels checked for prostate cancer, but was told: ‘You’re too young, under 55, you don’t need it.’”
Viktor helped to arrange private blood tests for Kyri, mainly to check hormone levels and overall wellness markers. “At first, I was just curious about my testosterone,” Kyri said. “But then my PSA levels came back as quite high for my age. My GP ordered another test, and it was same result. I was referred to a specialist, and they did all the blood tests and scans and told me there was something there.”
The diagnosis came as a shock. “It was a pretty horrible moment in time, to be honest,” he said. “My brother had prostate cancer in his late 40s and early 50s. And then I read about the Olympic cyclist, Sir Chris Hoy, who didn’t find out about his prostate cancer until it had spread.
“But, thankfully, mine is at such an early stage that I don’t need any surgical intervention or treatment right now. It’s watch-and-wait, with regular monitoring, and ensuring I make changes to my lifestyle to remain fit and healthy and keep it at bay.”
His specialist told him the cancer might remain dormant for decades. “It could stay like this for 20 years,” Kyri said. “But if I hadn’t gone for that blood test, I’d never have known. It could have spread silently.”
That knowledge changed everything. “I used to think ignorance was bliss,” Kyri reflects. “But now, I’d rather know exactly what’s going on inside my body. The scans even picked up that I have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease – nothing dangerous now – but something to watch. If I didn’t know, I’d have carried on eating junk, thinking I was fine.”
With guidance from his specialist and Viktor, Kyri adopted a high-protein, fibre-rich diet, one that fuels his training and supports his long-term health. “I’m so much more aware of what I eat and what I put into my body, and the importance of regular exercise and training, because I know what’s going on internally and that I need to be mindful of staying on this health journey.
“My whole approach to life has changed. I used to think: ‘I’ll eat what I want, and I’ll be fine.’ But that’s not the case. If I’m eating junk food, it’s going to cause a problem internally. So, I’m a lot more vigilant.”
That change in mindset has been profound. “It almost feels like a cliché, and I don’t want to be a cliché (!), but I’m just so much happier in life,” Kyri said. “With my family history – my dad had a triple bypass, my uncles all died young from heart attacks – I honestly didn’t think I’d live past 65 unless I changed my lifestyle.
“But since going on this journey, and now looking better, and feeling better, and knowing I have people around me like Vik and the medical team looking after me, I’m in a much better place. For the first time, I have started to plan for retirement. I’m putting more money into my pension because I feel as if I can live to 85 and still be active and have a really good quality of life.”
Kyri’s journey has also made him an passionate advocate – particularly during Men’s Health Month this November – for the importance of men over-40 having a health MOT. He wants his story to inspire other men to act before it’s too late.
“As men, we can ignore symptoms until they become really bad, and then we go to the doctors,” he said. “So, I’ve been telling people recently to just go for a test and get things checked, especially when you turn 40. Be proactive about your health, because it could save your life.
“It’s not overstating things to say that, without Vik urging me to get blood tests done, I would not have known about the problem with my prostate, which could have potentially gotten a lot worse and spread. Luckily, it’s a minor issue at the moment, but it might not have been, and I wouldn’t have known were it not for Vik. So, I’m really grateful to him.”
Kyri’s trainer Viktor said: “Kyri’s transformation is one of the most holistic and inspiring journeys I’ve had the privilege to guide. The numbers only scratch the surface of what makes this story remarkable.
“Most powerfully, Kyri’s prostate issue was discovered early, and he has since taken full ownership of his health. Today, his life has truly turned 180 degrees. He is leaner, stronger, healthier, more mobile, and deeply motivated by long-term wellbeing.”
