It is the unusual way they went about achieving that goal is the basis for this unusual story. Arthur Hinty is the stage name for a 48-year-old Milwaukee man who works for a major company Downtown, dabbles in standup comedy and has had the good fortune to surround himself with a tightly-knit group of intelligent, interesting, thoughtful, talented, funny, quick-witted, slightly twisted friends. (Editor's note: due to the nature of his job, Hinty asked that we refrain from using his real name or photos).

Several people in Hinty's circle are comedians: Doug Stanhope, who is recognized for his work on "The Man Show," "The Howard Stern Show" and in the "Girls Gone Wild" DVD series; Andy Andrist; Sean Rouse; and Lynn Shawcroft. They like to call themselves "The Unbookables." Like many people who travel the country, stand in front of brick walls and tell jokes to strangers, these people have their share of flaws and vices. Some are bad in relationships. Some smoke too much. Some drink too much. Some dabble in other substances.

Hinty has a vice, too: a lifelong addiction to food.

"There is something wired in my brain that makes me pound food down my throat," he said last week.

Even by the generous standard of his home state, Hinty is a big man. He has been big for most of his life. And he was big the first time he met Stanhope, whose comedy he admired, after an e-mail exchange nearly a decade ago. Their first in-person meeting came when Stanhope played in Appleton. Hinty and a few cousins went to see the show and went out for beers with the comic afterward.

"You know, when you meet someone on the Internet you always have a fear in the back of your mind that they'll look … just like you, bastard," Stanhope told Hinty.

Exasperated, frustrated and just plain fatigued by the cycle that battered his self-image and was eroding his health, Hinty began to consider having gastric bypass surgery.

"I was thinking of having it for three years," he said. "It's something you have to get your head around. It was covered by insurance, so I decided to do it. I had to see a psychologist to see if I had the right mind for it. If you don't respect the surgery for the first six months, you can be in trouble.

"I thought about it and finally I decided to do it. With the way my life is unfolding, I don't have any super health problems right now, but I could tell it's starting to go south a bit. I've got diabetes, high blood pressure, tingly feet and cloudy vision.

"So, I started working on putting it together and it started to make more sense. I'm 46 and single. I started to think "If you have bad health, who is going to be around if you have a heart attack?"