I've always been a bit bigger. Far from fat (I used to be athletic) but I wasn't skinny. I realized my love for fat when I was 7 or 8 when I watched a kids show that had an episode where they all became fat. I started gaining weight on purpose at 15 and went up 80 pounds since then, but I was doing belly inflations since ten.
I have always been the chubby guy in school who had the belly so I have never not seen myself as that until I started to become good at multiple athletic skills in several sports. It was when I dated a female associate professor at my alma mater and that changed the game for me. I have always liked bigger women and it germinated from admiration to encouraging to gaining after she helped me changed my perspective on it because our ego tells us that folks will make fun and stare at us but the truth is that no one actually gives a damn and that is the aha moment which will send your gaining into overdrive.