Big Vinny Feels ‘Limitless’ With New, Improved Physique

Big Vinny, the Trailer Choir singer whose real name is Vincent Hickerson, is now a staggering 206 pounds lighter, thanks to his experience on TV's 'The Biggest Loser.' The 28-year-old failed to win a monetary prize on the weight-loss competition but insists his healthier lease on life makes him a champion anyway. He's now learning to adjust to his new, svelte figure.

"On Yahoo News the other day, they said that with my new body and the way I look now that my options are limitless, and that's really the way I feel," he reveals to Nashville's Tennessean newspaper. But while his previous size made life challenging for him, he adds that being a fit, muscular man is also presenting its share of tricky situations.

"The other night, we were at the finale. Some girl walked up and was like, 'You are so hot,'" Vinny recalls. "I was like, 'Uh, this is my fiancé [Lori Dias], nice to meet you. It made me feel good, but Lori was like, 'Uh, excuse me?'"

Finding his name on a radio station's list of sexiest celebrity men (including Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper and Keith Urban), Vinny acknowledges that his 'Big' moniker may not suit his new frame. Still, he has no plans to change it.

"I think Big Vinny is the size of my heart and the size of my actions and who I am as a person more so than the fact I was ever big in my stomach," he explains. "When God gives you things, if you keep them to yourself, it will be the last thing you ever get. I want to share this and help other people."

Now that he's back from the 'Biggest Loser' ranch and living in Nashville, Big Vinny is ready to focus on his music career with duo partner Marc "Butter" Fortney. He promises the new material will show off a different side of him than fans have seen in the past.

"I'm not a 400-lb. break dancer anymore, so it's going to be a little different on stage," he tells The Boot. "I'm still going to be the wild, crazy one on stage, and having fun like I always have, but I won't necessarily be the spectacle image anymore. We're going to show off a little more of our songwriting."

The band plans to release a six-song EP in early 2012. Their debut single from the new project, 'Love Me First,' is climbing the charts. Listen to the song here, and read The Boot's full interview with Big Vinny here.