Male

23

Australia

Radiographer

Jul, 2004

I was tired of being skinny and intimidated by others around school. I never wanted to be the intimidater, I just wanted be able to have a presence in the room and not get walked all over. I also played a high grade of basketball so weight training helped develop my strength. I went from 65kg in 2004 to 90kg in 2006.

I love the feeling you get about 10 mins after your last set.... you know when you sit down with a shake and a banana and the blood is rushing to every part of your body... there is a real sense of accoplishment and an overall feeling of being healthy.

I recently (2006) almost lost my leg after a severe injury while playing football, so that keeps me motivated. Even before the incident I was motivated. My self motivation comes from being my hardest critic. I am constantly trying to better myself. After the incident (my 13th broken bone), I lost everything i had worked for (I went from 85kg to 62kg), 11 days in hospital and 6 operations, 3 weeks in bed, 3 months on crutches - everything was lost. Initially it was tough but if you have that thing, that internal framework, to succeed and prosper then any hurdle can be jumped any adversity can be overcome. After i was off the crutches it took 6 months to gain all my strength back.... there is no greater feeling then overcome great adversity and coming out the other end. For one hell of a story about courage and overcoming adversity check out thenaturalone'lky (Chad Shaw's) bodyspace...truly motivational.