The 50-year-old producer posted before-and-after shots, called himself “Slim Jim,” and said he needed a whole new wardrobe. Side-by-sides like the one on this graphic did the rest. Left side is the old Khaled: heavy chain, striped shirt, bigger frame. Right side is the yellow suit by the water, walking like the clothes finally fit.

He said the work was walking and golf. Fifteen thousand steps a day. Eighteen holes with no cart. Up at 6 or 7 in the morning so the miles were done before most people were awake. He also said he was eating better and staying focused. In February he appeared in a Super Bowl spot for the Wegovy pill and talked about going hard in the gym without seeing results. He framed the drug as another tool, not the whole story.

By the Miami Grand Prix in late April he was on a yacht telling PEOPLE people were calling him Slim Jim. By May the Mother’s Day video and the blue-jacket clip were everywhere. By July he showed up slim at his MCM party in New York. Reports in Spanish-language coverage put the drop at more than 20 kilos. He never posted an official number.

The jokes wrote themselves. DJ Salad. All I Do Is Thin. We The Best, but smaller. Underneath the memes was a 50-year-old father saying he wanted the weight off for his family and that the shine showed up in his energy and even his hairline.

Khaled has always sold winning as a lifestyle. This time the win was the scale. The viral posts were not a mystery rollout. They were just pictures of a man who used to fill the frame and now leaves space in a gold suit.