When I was about eight years old, my father brought home a Muscle and Fitness magazine that he had taken from one of his students and I have been intrigued by the human physique ever since. At the young age of ten, I begged my parents to buy me a home gym (a bench and some weights). My dad worked with me and taught me how to use the equipment. After mastering my home equipment, I started to sneak into the gym at a nearby YMCA to lift weights. When the trainer there caught me and told me that I was too young to use the equipment, I continued to sneak in whenever I got the chance. Finally, he realized that he was not going to stop me and he began to work with me so that I would not hurt myself.

Bodybuilding has saved my life in many ways. After having to give up football, bodybuilding quenches my thirst for competition. Training for me is a coping mechanism that helps me deal with the stresses of everyday life. Training and bodybuilding go hand in hand, and because of that it makes me a better person.