Long long story. In college over 10 years ago, I lost control of my appetite and gained a lot of weight. Steve Weatherford can tell you how big I was ("Big Rich"), and how could inhale Pizza Hut family meals in a day like it was nothing. Immediately after school, I made a goal to lose all the weight, which I did in 9 months, and then faced a problem of being too skinny instead of too overweight. The "Big RIch" days have been long gone since then (without any desire to go back) and it was not until I met Aaron Whitten that I first got introduced to proper weightlifting and saw noticeable improvements in my health and physique. And of course, I got motivated even more so when I saw different books on bodybuilding, read the struggles of others (it's assuring to know I'm not the only one who's struggled), and got introduced to bodybuilding.com and bodyspace.

Primarily, I love the way bodybuilding makes my body look. I like working hard 6 days a week and enjoying the 1 day a week where I play hard and have girls (hot hot girls) notice me and coming up to me.

Secondarily, I love the way my body can function in the real world. I can do more with my hands and get more physical work done in a day than I could before.

Thirdly, I would say I am not at all genetically gifted. I'll see so many people on here who have better before photos than my after photos! So yeah, no headstart for me by any means. Every ounce of fat I burned, every muscle gained, I had to work for. When it comes to DNA, I'm not one of the lucky ones. I *have* to workout or else I pay the price dearly.