jessie lindsey

2009

fayette, al

student/ restaurant manager

1997

I grew up watching pro wrestling and reading comic books. I used to daydream about being all muscled up winning a championship belt while saving the world from super villians. I admit that i have a very active imagination. Growing up i was always small. I graduated high school at 5'6" 120 lbs. during that time of my life when I would tell people things like "I wanna be a wrestler" or "I think i'd like to play football", they'd always tell me that i was too small to do an of that stuff. After graduating high school i went on to junior college where i met the strngth and conditioning coach, a powerlifter by the name of Ted Butler. He was in his 50's at the time and was an animal. He held several records at the time in his age and weight class. He is one of those people who have done it all. He went from being a marathon runner to a powerlifter. I didn't believe him either until he show me a pic of him back in his running days. Oh, and he's also a blckbelt in Kenpo karate. Like i said, he's done everything. I remember the first time we actually spoke to one another. i think i was doing some kind of pushdown with a rope or something. Coach came over to me and said,"How come i always see you using cables? Cables are for wussies (wussy was his go to word that he always used)! You wanna learn how to lift real weight?" from that day until Christmas break i went from weighing 120 to 150. i thought i was a bad animal!-haha and that's how i went from playing around with weights to weight training.

The challenge. i love the fact that the same people who used to say i was "too small" now when thy see me are like "wow! you've changed!" Also, i'm never satisfied with myself. Personally, i don't like my body. That goes back to the challenge i guess, making myself better.

One thing is that i don't buy into compliments that people give me. They're just being polite. The truth is what i see in the mirror.I've been told "you're too small" for so long, by too many people that i guess it's stuk in my head and i have to prove them wrong. Yes i'm little, but let's workout and see who gives up first!

Let's see, i don't have any major accomplishments. Here are some of the things i'm proud of though: the first time i curled 60lb. dumbbells for a set, the first time i benched pressed 300 lbs., the first time i hit 315 lbs. on my squat, that people in my gym ask me to spot them or for my advice. That, to me, says that others in my gym not only like me but respect my heart and drive in the weight room. You'd just have to workout at my gym, we're pretty tight knit.