DJ Fat Tony has shared details of a violent attack and his struggles with addiction during an appearance on Pete Wicks’ Man Made podcast.
The DJ and nightlife figure joins Pete Wicks on the latest episode to reflect on his life, from growing up in Battersea to building a career in global club culture while battling addiction and personal trauma.
Tony speaks candidly about a violent incident in Margate in 2024 that left him with serious facial injuries after an altercation in a DJ booth.
Explaining what happened, he said the situation escalated after a disagreement with another DJ and a friend.
“One of the other DJ’s that was coming on after me came in the DJ box with his mate and they were like, they were doing stuff and I just literally was like, listen, can you leave the DJ box? Right? We started having a row.”
Tony says the confrontation worsened when the man’s friend used a homophobic slur.
“And as I turned round, he sucker punched me twice. Knocked me out. Completely out. I woke up in an ambulance and that’s how severe it was.”
The attack left him with a broken eye socket in four places and a fractured cheekbone; injuries he says affected him mentally as much as physically.
Tony also admits he regretted posting about the incident online the next day.
“But what I did, I made probably one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made in my life, was to post it on social media the next day, like, ‘oh, my God, look what happened to me’.”
Despite the severity of the incident, Tony says he holds no resentment toward the man involved.
“I wish him the best in life. I hope he finds recovery. I hope he finds what it is he that he needs,” he said.
Elsewhere in the episode, Tony discusses living in the shadow of famous friends including George Michael and Boy George while building his own career.
“When I was growing up, all my friends were superstars… I was always the mate,” he says, describing how that left him with lasting feelings of imposter syndrome.
Tony also recalls meeting his husband while living at George Michael’s house in Hampstead, before the pair lost touch for a decade and later reconnected during a difficult period in his life.
Pete Wicks Man Made podcast available now.
