MAN v FAT Rugby member Mariusz Luczakowski is gearing up for an exciting 2026, both on and off the field at Cheltenham.
Marius has been part of the rugby community since things started in the fall of 2024 and has lost almost 15kg in that time.
The weekly sessions at Cheltenham Tigers were a change of focus for Marius after a busy week of work, where he ran his own company ChoColours as a chocolatier.
We caught up with the 43-year-old to find out more about his successes in rugby and the world of chocolate – as well as his own Six Nations product.
What prompted you to get involved in MAN v FAT in the first place?
I’d never played rugby before, never watched it, didn’t understand the game at all but then I met my wife! She’s from Toulouse, which some call the city of rugby kings! She took me to a match and the rest is history.
Since then, I’ve always wanted to try playing, but I was worried about getting injured in full contact rugby, and I wasn’t fit enough at the time. One day, I saw an ad on Facebook for a MAN v FAT Rugby club opening in Cheltenham, and I thought now was the time.
What really encouraged me was the fact that you didn’t need to have any rugby skills or be fit to join. I was looking for some type of activity to help shift some fat! And here I am, still very involved from day one, over 15kg lighter, and with some rugby skills.
How has the community supported you to reach your health and well-being goals?
I’m a very competitive person, so every week I tried to lose as much weight as possible to support my team and score tries. This feeling of teamwork, support and motivation has really worked for me and kept me going week after week.
I love the game, and I love spending Wednesday nights with the boys. I feel like if you’re having a hard time at home or work, going out and playing on a Wednesday night will help you forget about your problems for a little bit. Having a good game adds more satisfaction!
My company also sponsored the team during the first MAN v FAT Rugby tournament last year.
Talk to us a little more about how you transitioned into a career in chocolate making?
I used to work in luxury hotels around the Cotswolds as head pastry chef. After the birth of our little boy, I began looking for some alternative options that would allow me to spend more time with my family and watch my son grow. I decided to invest my knowledge and passion in chocolate.
After selling a few chocolates to my friends, I found a real business opportunity. Now I produce thousands of chocolates to satisfy gourmets all over Britain!
What are the challenges and important points of participating in this role?
Running your own business is always a challenge – daily concerns about the supply chain, keeping up with invoices, managing corporate orders, and dealing with individual customers. The high point is freedom. I can create without limits.
How do you balance eating chocolate throughout the day and stay on track with your health goals?
Trust me; After spending all day surrounded by chocolate, you don’t really want to eat it. My goal was also to make relatively healthy chocolate. By this I mean avoiding unnecessary sugars and fats that are often used as preservatives, and instead using pure, high-quality chocolate with fruits, nuts and high-quality ingredients.
What made you decide to put together a Six Nations chocolate collection?
I always try to create something special and unique. I came up with the idea this year while watching my son play rugby one Sunday morning. I thought about how to create something special and connect it to the Six Nations.
First, I designed the shape of the chocolate. Each one represents a country, drawn with the national flag and created using the most popular flavor associated with that country. I hope it brings some smiles to rugby fans (and please don’t ask which country I support!)
Would you like to have your own set of Marius chocolates?
Mariusz has very kindly provided a special discount code for MAN v FAT members to purchase a pack of these amazing Six Nations chocolates!
Simply use code MANVFAT10 before the end of March to save on ChoColours!