Stats: Before
Age: 17
Weight: 190lb
BF %: 12%
Height: 6’2

Stats: After
Age: 18
Weight: 212lb
BF %: 8%
Height: 6’2

HOW I STARTED:

When i was younger, i was always really competitive. Growing up with an older brother (Theo) basically made everything we did a competition. My brother and i were always a little different than the other kids in our grades. We were into things like The Lord of the Rings, anything having to do with fantasy, and on the other hand, we went shooting and hunting with my dad every weekend. That however was not the only thing that set us apart. Theo and I always had idea that we were meant for something great. I was involved with team sports at an early age, starting with soccer. After several years of soccer, my parents let me switch to a more physical sport, lacrosse, a year after my brother did.

I started lifting my sophomore year of high school. I was always one of the stronger and bigger kids in my grade, but when i started to workout at lunch everyday and eat a lot more food, i went from about 170 to 200 pounds in a semester. However, i never started a hardcore bodybuilding program until my junior year second semester. I saw my brother who started lifting very young, and i noticed how strong he was and how damn good he looked all the time. However, when i started bodybuilding, he had hit a major growth spurt when he was 19 years old and started to get huge. I figured if he has these genetics, then i must as well. I like to cite my brother as my main inspiration to start lifting. My diet however was mainly influenced by my dad who has pushed me to eat clean and healthy all of my life.

I never started lifting to get girls, or make people notice me. From the start, I felt like this was something I was meant to do, every time I went to the gym, I felt something deep inside set on fire. When it comes to priorities weight training comes first for me, no matter what. Arnold Schwarzenegger has always been my biggest inspiration for me. He also has a similar body type to me, which helps me to visualize what I could become.

WHY I LOVE IT:

I love body building and power lifting more than any other sport or activity i have ever done. Literally after a week of forcing myself to go to the gym every single day and radically changing my eating habits, i fell in love. Since then, the first and last thing on my mind every day has been weight training. Going to the gym after an entire day of thinking about what i want to do, and what i want to throw in or change to my workout, is the high point of my day, every day. One of the best things about bodybuilding is the opportunity to advance and get better every single day all year every year of your life.

One of the other things I love so much about bodybuilding is the amount of material out on the internet and in magazines. When I first started, I would spend multiple hours a day using Stumble Upon for bodybuilding, which really introduced me to a whole new world. After spending hours a day on multiple websites, I have come to focus on articles on T-Nation, Simply Shredded and obviously Boddybuilding.com. Spending all of my free time reading about what I love introduced me to hundreds of new programs, techniques, movements, and physiological information. I believe that besides my over the top love and obsession for working out, this is one of the biggest factors to my success: Learning. Remember train smarter not harder. Or both.


In the future I plan to finally compete in a competition and win. I’ve never been one to settle for second. At this point I plan to stay natural and develop myself to my genetic peak. I’ve always been very unclear on the idea of bodybuilding shows and how to get involved. That is also one of the reasons I’m trying to spread my name around, and get some recognition.

TIPS:

My tip to other bodybuilding hopefuls out there is to form your base with big barbell movements, and to really develop the posterior chain instead of being a curl and bench guy at the gym. People respect my 550 deadlift much more than my 315 bench. Also, all of your power come from your posterior chain (the back, hamstrings, etc.). Remember more power equals bigger lifts. Don’t be unbalanced.