ITVA man who spent £33,000 to look like David Beckham is more determined than ever to reach his goal after he nearly lost his life in a fire.
Jack Johnson, who calls himself Jack Beckham, has undergone a range of cosmetic surgeries to make himself look like the star, including a nose job, chin implants, liposuction, botox, fillers and facials.
The 22-year-old has taken out loans and even bought the same clothes as Beckham to achieve his dream of resembling the footballer.
On November 8 Johnson was frying some potato waffles in a chip pan and scrolling social media when he dozed off. The pan caught fire, and the wannabe-lookalike woke to find his flat engulfed in flames and covered in smoke.
In an attempt to stop the fire Johnson threw a duvet over the flames, but he didn’t realise there was a deodorant can inside. The aerosol exploded and knocked the Beckham fan unconscious.
Telling his story to Nottinghamshire Live, Johnson said:
It exploded. It threw me back onto the bannister. When I got out of the flat I fell unconscious and that’s when I woke up from a coma 24 hours later at Queen’s Medical Centre.
I have lost everything. I am in a lot of debt anyway, but now I am in more debt because I did not have insurance. It has destroyed me.
Jack was treated for smoke inhalation, and though he has since been discharged from hospital is still struggling to get back on his feet.
Since he lost his flat in the fire and has a large amount of debt, Johnson is having to sofa surf between friends and family – but that’s not put him off wanting to spend money on his ongoing transformation.
In fact, it’s made him more determined than ever.
Johnson continued:
I will not stop until I’m dead. I do not look like David now so even if someone gave me £1m I still wouldn’t look like him but I will keep trying.
It has made me more determined to reach my goal because I nearly died.
The 22-year-old already has other operations in mind, with his bone structure the next thing up on the chopping block.
He’s been looking in to having three ribs removed so he can wear the same waistcoats as the 43-year-old footballer, and not even his own mother can dissuade him.
Despite his ambitious plans, Johnson is struggling to get his hands on any cash to help make his dream come true.
He explained:
I am blacklisted everywhere [for credit].
I will carry on until I know I look like him. If I don’t listen to my own mum, when she tells me to stop, I am not going to listen to everyone else.
I have got no problem with my appearance but I just want to be a David Beckham lookalike, the first person in Britain to look exactly like a celebrity through work being done.
After he lost his belongings and home to the blaze, Johnson has set up a GoFundMe page with the hopes generous donations will help him get back on his feet.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.