Hugo Hurley Reyes is one of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. He was estranged from his father, who left the family when Hurley was 10 years old and didn't re-establish contact until 17 years later -- after Hurley had won a $114 million lottery jackpot.Before that, Hurley developed an eating disorder after his father's departure, gaining a tremendous amount of weight. He felt guilty over the deaths of two people that resulted from a deck collapsing after he stepped onto it. The deck was designed to hold eight people and there were already 23 on it when Hurley arrived, but he felt responsible and slipped into a deep depression and continued overeating, eventually winding up in a mental institution. After overcoming his stress and being released, Hurley is working at Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack when he wins his lottery jackpot by playing numbers -- 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 -- that he'd heard another patient repeatedly mumbling at the institution. After a run of terrible events -- including the death of his grandfather, the burning down of the house he'd bought for his mother, and the priest at his grandfather's funeral being struck by lightning -- Hurley decides the money is cursed and goes back to visit Leonard, the patient at the hospital who'd mumbled the numbers. He learns that the numbers originated in Australia, which takes Hurley to Sydney. He was on his way back when the plane crashed.Hurley is happy and cheerful on the island, constantly keeping people's spirits up with his quips and funny observations. Hurley is a helpful guy who wants to do whatever he can to keep everyone calm and happy despite their dire situation. He discovers a set of golf clubs and decides to create a golf course on the island, much to the delight of the other survivors. Hurley develops a romantic relationship with Libby, who we see in flashbacks was a patient at the mental institution but Hurley hadn't noticed her.