Jordan Caldwell has battled anorexia since he was 12 years old.

Now 30 - an age his parents feared he would not reach - Jordan marked this milestone birthday with a long-awaited gym photoshoot.

After reaching out to a personal trainer, Jordan, who is a youth football coach, said it was "the day everything changed for the better".

He wants to share his journey to show other sufferers that it is possible to find strength "in something that you love and have a passion for".

Jordan said he hit his lowest point at 18, when a relapse led to a stay at a London treatment centre specialising in eating disorders.

The trauma of his intense struggle with anorexia resulted in a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

However, the turning point came four years ago when Jordan reached out to Aamir Ishtiaque, an online fitness coach, to ask if he would "mentor" him.

The Newtownabbey man has always had a love for sport, particularly football - where he is a youth coach at Glentoran FC - and bodybuilding.

"I've always looked up to bodybuilders as like superheroes and something I aspired to be."

Now actively navigating recovery, he holds an honest perspective on his long-term health, accepting he may never be fully cured but is taking every day steps with goals to manage his disorder.

"I believe it is something I will battle with everyday, but I can be on top of the negative side more than the negative side being on top of me."

He said the "most important" thing for him is having someone to speak to and trust on his journey back to health and well-being.

"The first year or so, it was just getting myself back on the straight and narrow and actually seeing there is a point in living again," he told BBC News NI.

His renewed sense of purpose soon shifted into ambition, culminating in a goal to mark his 30th birthday with a professional gym photoshoot.

"I said for my 30th I want to be in a state again where I can say 'I had anorexia, it's not stopping me anymore' and I've actually built back muscle and built towards something that I've said I've dreamt of since I relapsed again."

Reflecting on the moments leading up to the camera rolling, Jordan said it felt "pretty cool" to get a spray tan and try out bodybuilder poses for the shoot.

"I would probably say, if not the best day of my life, then it was the second best day!" he said.

The only other moment in his life that could compare, he said, was playing high-level sport as a young boy, before his eating disorder took hold.

"Bearing in mind my whole life basically has been living with anorexia, yes it was the best day of my life.

"For me to now look back and think 'that was me', it shows you there is hope."

For Aamir, working with Jordan has changed him as a coach.

"The journey with Jordan has been quite interesting. First and foremost it's made me a much better coach. It's made me understand that everyone comes from different positions."

He said with Jordan as a client the most important thing he had to do was establish his trust.

"Getting his trust was very important because I knew that he was finding it very difficult to take advice from other people.

"If I can gain his trust, do small things initially, then that leads onto bigger things."

Aamir said that after the photoshoot he will have new goals for Jordan to reach.

"Once you hit a goal there is always a period of where you're kind of in limbo and I didn't want that. I couldn't afford to have that with Jordan."

Aamir acknowledges that Jordan's battle with his eating disorder is not a linear journey. But he says their close working relationship has reached the stage where he now considers him family.

"I have transformed thousands of people in my career but this is probably the best, simply because the relationship I have developed with Jordan has been a lot more than just a coach and a client."

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, you can access help and support at BBC Action Line.