Three years ago, Michail Antonio was a Championship midfielder, dreaming about life as a Premier League footballer.
The 27-year-old joined West Ham United in 2015, and has impressed at both Upton Park and the London Stadium. During the summer, he signed a new deal worth nearly €80,000 a week.
While Antonio has yet to be capped for England, he was called up to the squad last season, and could well feature for Gareth Southgate's side in the coming months.
Last year's Player of the Season at West Ham, Antonio injured his hamstring in April and ended up having surgery on the injury, missing the remainder of the season.
Speaking to the Daily Mail ahead of the start of the new campaign, Antonio revealed the extreme measures he went to in a bid to be fit for the start of the season.
I went to Las Vegas - the only place you can have a stag do! We were there for seven days. There were all my boys and Fraser the physio! I was doing workouts pre and after celebrations. I was up for 10am every day for sessions.
While Antonio was lucky enough to bring a group of friends to Vegas for a week, the fact that West Ham's physio Fraser Young was part of the travelling party shows how serious Antonio is as a professional.
The winger began his career at non-league Tooting & Mitcham United, before moving to Reading in 2008. Unlike players who came through Premier League academies, the Londoner has had to come up to the Premier League by an unusual route.
It's takes a determined person to bring a physio on their stag do. Antonio will not be in West Ham's squad for this weekend's game against Manchester United on Sunday. He's expected to return to Slaven Bilic's side the weekend after against Southampton.
