I've been a fitness nut/gym rat since my early 20s. I was a distance runner for 15 years or so, but my feet and my achilles tendons wore out so I had to hang up the running shoes. I have always wanted to be a bodybuilder, but always sabotaged myself because I thought bodybuilding was shallow. I got to a point where I decided I didn't care whether it was shallow or not, it was what I loved and wanted to do. I've done two contests and I have two more planned for the upcoming season. I used to say that "I'm into" bodybuilding, or "I like" bodybuilding. No more, I tell people "I am a bodybuilder."

I love the iron. I like going to serious bodybuilding gyms, where everybody there has a purpose and a focus. For me, it feels like a dojo. I feel almost a reverence for the people and the environment.