Teen Elvis refuses to be rocked by school bullies

A teenage Elvis Presley mega-fan has defied his bullies to become a full-time impersonator performing as his idol to thousands of people.

Lewis Goddard, 18, said he could not help falling in love with Elvis when he stumbled across a video of someone performing his songs online four years ago.

The teenager, from Kirkby-in-Ashfield, in Nottinghamshire, began to practise his moves and style, but bullying by his classmates over his passion for the King left him skipping class and ultimately dropping out of college.

He refused to let this stop him and last weekend he performed as Elvis to an estimated crowd of about 5,000 people.

"I just fell in love with the music, the moves and stuff," Lewis told the BBC.

"The hair, the moves, the sideburns, even the way he speaks, just the music is unmatchable... that's why I love Elvis.

"I decided I'll choose my Elvis instead of putting up with bullying.

"It makes me proud of myself to know that I can do that with the greatest music I've ever heard.

"I get to spend pretty much every day of my life just sharing that music with other people."

Lewis said he had never heard of Elvis before he came across a video of another impersonator performing his songs on YouTube in 2022, and his mum had to tell him he was a real singer.

He began scouring charity shops with his nan for Elvis-style baggy suits, and trying to recreate the star's signature hairstyle.

But an image of this was picked up by classmates at his secondary school.

"I posted it on a story and that was the first time I experienced the bullying," he said. "A picture of that got shared around and people would just bully me for it and share it around the class.

"It got to the point where I'd stay at home because I wouldn't want to go to school out of fear of those people.

"I just never did it again, I just stayed away from it."

When he moved to college, he decided to pick it up again, and hoped the older pupils would be more understanding.

The bullying continued. But this time he did not stop doing Elvis.

Instead, he decided to stop going to college - which gave him to chance to dedicate himself full-time to performing as his idol.

His first performance was at the care home where his mum Katie worked.

He now regularly performs at care homes, pubs and bars across the local area, and on TikTok - where he met his girlfriend.

In 2025, he was a finalist at the Porthcawl Elvis Festival, and will return this year to compete and to perform as one of the headliners.

He also performed at the Ashfield Show last weekend, his biggest crowd to date.

The young Elvis is driven to care home gigs by his mother, Katie Goddard, because he has not yet passed his test.

"I think it's brilliant. I don't know where he gets it from," said the 42-year-old.

"Watching him in front of 5,000 people, it felt a bit surreal, it's like, that can't be my son.

"When they're at college, you've got that pressure of they've got to go to college, they've got to do this, they've got to think of the future.

"But it comes to a point, because of some nasty bit of bullying going off, where you have to have his best interests at heart and live for now.

"And that's what he's doing and he's having a brilliant time and we're all having a brilliant time with him."

And Lewis's message to others being bullied for pursuing an unconventional passion?

"Don't do what I did the first time, where I gave up," he said. "Which was the biggest mistake.

"I think the best thing you could do, if you know it's a dream you want, is to follow it."

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