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“I Don’t Want This Life Of Ease”: Luke Combs Opens Up About Body Image & Why He Refuses To Take Any Weight-Loss Drugs
There’s no doubt that Luke Combs has been a pillar of country music for the better part of a decade at this point. Being the second-highest-selling artist in the genre of all time, receiving not one but four certified diamond singles throughout his career and scoring crossover hits like his Grammy-nominated cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” the North Carolina native has continued to be one of the biggest stars to come out of the genre in recent memory.
From the get-go, however, Combs never really fit the mold of a true country star during the era. Debuting in 2017 with This One’s For You, the genre was still in the throes of both bro and boyfriend-country. In turn, you had a plethora of pop country stars that both looked and acted like male models, highlighted by the likes of Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, Brett Young, Dustin Lynch, Jake Owen and many more.
It was so bad at the time that the “Hurricane” singer was actually told by record executives that he was destined to be a songwriter, not an artist, because he “didn’t look the part” at the time (which still makes absolutely zero sense til this day).
With all that being said, body image has always been a thing that the 9x CMA winner has struggled with. And in a recent interview with the New York Times’ Popcast, he got incredibly candid about how it’s affected him throughout his career.
Late in the interview, co-host Jon Caramanica would ask Combs what form of self-doubt has he struggled with on his way to stardom. Not missing a beat, Combs would say his appearance, recalling how many times he felt he wouldn’t get a shot for being a “bigger dude.”
“Definitely my appearance… It was like, ‘Am I really not going to get a shot because I’m a bigger dude?’ There’s a lot of self-doubt in that department. You know what I mean? I knew I could perform as good as anybody, I felt like. Put on a good show and write songs that I felt like people could enjoy… That was a hard pill to swallow because you can’t really change the way you look.”
Joe Coscarelli, Popcast’s other host, would then ask Combs if there had ever been conversations with his management/label to change his appearance. In turn, he’d say no. Coscarelli then joked and asked him if he ever thought he needed to look like the aforementioned stars, such as Sam Hunt. Immediately, Combs would say yes and that he thinks about it til this day.
“Bro, every day. I think about that every day still. I do the fasting thing and the gluten-free thing. The gluten-free thing started for mental health stuff… That’s where the gluten-free stuff came from, because I was trying to get to the bottom of why am I having this [OCD]? Obviously, there’s some genetic things that can’t be overcome, and I’m very good at dealing with it now after years and years of struggling with it.”
The 35-year-old singer/songwriter would then get extremely honest about his struggles with his weight, noting how hard he’s tried to lose it over the years.
“I’ve always struggled with my weight. It bugs me a lot that I can’t figure it out… It’s this puzzle I can’t figure out. People are gonna say, ‘Well, you just don’t eat as much.’ Well, yeah, I f****** tried that. But it’s a constant battle with two kids and the job that I have. I try to work out as much as I can. I’d say most weeks, I’d get three days in.”
After touching on the balance between trying to maintain his mental and physical health, on top of being a husband, father and musician, Combs would admit that it’s hard. With that being said, he’d note how he embraces it and doesn’t like it when things come easily. Additionally, he’d note how he’s avoiding any medical weight-loss supplements such as Ozempic.
“It’s hard. I don’t want my life to be this life of ease and everything’s easy. I like when things are hard… That stuff [Ozempic] scares me more than I think I would enjoy the benefits… This is going to sound so mental-illnessy when I say this to you guys, but I feel like I’ve never done anything hard in my life, as weird as that sounds.
There’s maybe some guilt associated with I really enjoy my job. I really enjoy what I do. And I’ve been really blessed to make a really great living and reach a high level, and that never felt difficult. It was difficult, but I enjoyed the process so much that never once did I feel like, ‘God, I’m in this grind, and it’s awful. I hate it.’ Sure, there’s days that were tough. Sure, there’s times I was tired. But I’m not out digging ditches. It’s not that hard of a job. Anybody that does the music business and gives the whole “woe is me” thing has lost a little bit of perspective.”
The “Beautiful Crazy” singer would wrap up the candid section by admitting that his struggles with body image are something that he still hasn’t beaten yet before promising that he will eventually.
“It’s like this thing that I can’t conquer no matter how hard I try. It’s just been this impossible nut to crack for me. I will do it, but I’m not going to do it the short way… For me, I need to win the thing. I need to beat myself.”
Watch the full podcast here:
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May 9 Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium – Norman, OK
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July 18 Slane Castle – Slane, Ireland
July 19 Slane Castle – Slane, Ireland
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August 1 Wembley Stadium – London, UKThe post “I Don’t Want This Life Of Ease”: Luke Combs Opens Up About Body Image & Why He Refuses To Take Any Weight-Loss Drugs first appeared on Whiskey Riff.