THE BEGINNING

I know it sounds cliché, but Arnold was my inspiration to start training. I was thirteen, and was watching the late night movie with my dad. “Conan the Barbarian” was the first time I remember seeing a real bodybuilder. I remember watching the scene where Arnold grows from a little boy into a man as he is forced to work as a slave. I looked at my father and said, “I want to look like that.”

My Father replied, “It would take you ten years to look like that.”

The next day I dug out an old weight set my brother used to lift, and without any bodybuilding knowledge whatsoever, began to lift. I would do bench press, military press, bent rows, curls, and squats. I guess I had a good understanding of what the different muscles were designed to do because I had three years of Tae Kwon Do, and had always been quite active. That’s the only way I can explain how I wound up doing the exercises correctly. I lifted those old weights a couple times a week for 2 months, and after I turned 14, decided it was time to join a gym. There were a couple guys I was in grade 9 with at the time, and they offered to take me down to World Gym where they worked out after school. April 28, 1990 was the first day I walked into World Gym, in Grande Prairie, Alberta. I weighed 138 pounds.

By the end of the summer, I had gained about 40 pounds. Of course, a lot of that would have come anyway because I was growing in height as well. I still didn’t know much about nutrition, I just knew I had to have a couple protein shakes a day and eat lots

I played football in grade 11 and 12. I really enjoyed it, but I loved the weights more. I would go to practice, and then drive to the gym and train. One particular leg workout sticks out in my mind. I had scabs on my knees from football practice, and every time I squatted down they would painfully rip open a bit more. This was the first memory I have of being irritated that football had interfered with my workout.

By November 92, my grade 12 football season was done. I had been awarded the “League’s Best Linebacker” award and my team had won a championship. By this time I was 17, six foot, 225 pounds, and was living, eating, and sleeping bodybuilding. I was very certain that I was done with football.

I guess I had always been drawn to individual sports, and definitely wanted to be different. I skied for 13 years, stopping when I was 16 because I was always at the gym. I also stopped BMX freestyle riding, another love of mine, at that time.

In 1993, I befriended the best bodybuilder at the gym, Eric Leroux, and was inspired to enter a local contest as a junior. I dieted from 225, down to 200lbs in 12 weeks. Winston Green, a former Mr. Canada was one of the judges, and he told me that if I could get my stage weight up around 230lbs, I would do very well at the Northern Alberta’s. I decided that I would do just that, and wouldn’t compete again until I had made some massive improvements.

AUSTRALIA

By 1995, I was 19 years old, and very much unsure of where my life was headed. I had taken my training to a new level, and weighed about 250lbs. My training partner Sean Coogan and I wanted out of Grande Prairie, but we didn’t know how we would leave. A friend of ours, BJ convinced us to just travel somewhere for a year. So we bought airline tickets through Asia, and on to Australia, got Aussie work visas, and left.

It was very hard to eat and train properly in chaotic cities like Hong Kong, so we rushed our Asian tour. We landed in Brisbane, and travelled up to the Gold Coast. It was here that I walked into one of the most hardcore gyms I have ever seen in my life, even to this day. Archer’s Gym was upstairs in a run down building, with old equipment, some of it home made. It was full of bodybuilders; I had never seen so many big guys in one place before. The blue paint had chipped off a lot of the machines, and some of the equipment looked unsafe, but was very well oiled and maintained.

I remember my second workout there. I was sitting down between sets trying to survive the heat and humidity, when up the stairs came one big dude. Now, I had met a few pros by that time, including Dorian Yates in 1993, so I knew what “freaky” looked like. This guy still made my jaw drop. He was 6’ and a lean 275lbs. He had shorts on and I remember how big his calves were, they stunned me. I tried to focus on my workout, but found myself watching him between sets. I guess I was looking to catch “the secret”. I asked the guy at the counter who the really big guy was. He replied, “That’s Big Jon Davie. They don’t make them any bigger than that around here.”

About a week later, I wound up chatting with Jon and he mentioned he had a room for rent at his house, so I agreed to move in. I was excited to learn from him. Over the next couple weeks, I found a job as a bouncer at a popular strip club, and started training with Jon. By the end of the year I was 20 years old, and weighed 260 pounds.

I also began to make friends with Nick Jones, a popular local bodybuilder. Nick is without a doubt, the coolest, most charismatic bodybuilder I have ever met. In May 1996, I left Australia for Canada. It was tough to say goodbye to Nick and Jon, but I knew I’d be back.

I knew it was almost time to compete. By the time I turned 21 I was 265 pounds, and felt I could definitely be 230lbs on stage. In Feb 1997, while going to college, I started dieting for the Northern Alberta Championships. I weighed in at 234lbs, and won the heavyweights. It had been a year since I returned from Australia, and I knew exactly where I was going next.

I arrived in Adelaide Australia in May ’97. Jon and Nick had both moved there since I last saw them. It was quite a reunion; we couldn’t wait to train together. We quickly picked up where we left off. Nick and Jon both started dieting for their respective shows. Nick was going to do the NABBA Australasian and Universe; Jon would do the IFBB Nationals. I learned a great deal watching them diet, seeing as they both dieted differently. Our workouts were incredible. It was very common to have half the people in the gym watching us train. Even today, when I need some mental fuel for my training sessions, I think back to those workouts. I was very proud to be part of the team. Nick won his class at the Australasian, and was off to England for the Universe where he would place 4th. I was off to Sydney with Jon for the Nationals.

I will never forget that day in Sydney. If I had to list the most important moments in my life, I would definitely say being there to see Jon win that show was one of them. I remember rushing backstage during the pre-judging when he stumbled off during the call-outs. I got backstage just in time to catch him as he was passing out. I just kept encouraging him to breath, clear his head, and suck it up. After the show, I had a much better understanding of the level of sacrifice this sport requires. I became a much better bodybuilder that day.

My one-year visa was rapidly expiring, so I had to decide what I would do. I planned on dieting for 10 weeks, returning to Canada for three more weeks of dieting, and competing at the ’98 Alberta Provincials. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

LESSON

I was 22, and had managed to get my weight up around 280lbs. Everything was going well until I left Australia. When I arrived in Calgary to finish my diet, I felt very homesick for Adelaide. I realized that three weeks out from a show is not a good time to go through the stresses of a move like that. I still don’t remember exactly what happened, I guess when you are that close to a show, you don’t always do the most intelligent things to begin with.

Ever have a rude awakening? I guess mine was at the weigh in. I was looking around the room thinking that I was the biggest guy in the show. I guess I was. I weighed in at 259lbs. I knew I wasn’t shredded, but still looked pretty decent. I saw Jay Hutton, the guy everyone was buzzing about, and in my naivety thought he looked small. Then he took his tracksuit off. He was the single most ripped guy I had ever seen in my life. The show was totally over. I’d seen what “ripped” was before, but it really sinks in when it is about to beat you. I asked him how he got so hard, and he said three words, “Brian and Donna.”

REDEMPTION

After getting third at the ’98 Alberta, I made a commitment to come in shredded in ’99 and win the show. I knew I had the size and shape, I just needed to be really hard and no one would deny me. I ate really clean all year, in retrospect, too clean. My bodyweight topped of at 275lbs, and I really didn’t see any strength or weight gain all year. I also called up Brian and Donna Logue, and asked for their guidance in preparation for the show. I lived in Grande Prairie, and they were in Edmonton, about 5 hours away, so they dieted me by video. I would send a tape every week of me hitting my mandatories, and Brian would call me and adjust my diet. In 16 weeks Brian only saw me in person three times, before the diet at 275lbs, 10 weeks out at 262lbs, and at the weigh ins at 244lbs. When I was announced as the overall champion, it was the best moment of my life at that point.

In the days following my big win I experienced my most unreal weight gain ever. In five days I went from a shredded 244, to an incredibly bloated 294. I gained 50 pounds in five days, and looked and felt like hell. With all that water in my joints I was very strong, and got a bit carried away in the gym. I was doing flat bench about two weeks after the show, and after I racked the weight, I reached up to adjust my cap. I heard a loud pop in my left elbow. My triceps tendon had partially ruptured. It would be six long months before I was able to press, and train triceps normally.

By the summer of 2000, I was living in Edmonton with my best friend Scott, and weighed about 285 pounds. I started dieting for my first Nationals, which by a stroke of luck, was being held three hours away in Calgary. I dieted myself this time, to save money, and wound up placing second in the new Super Heavyweight class.

SETBACK

In 2001, I started prepping for the Nationals to be held in Halifax. I hired the Logues again to take the stress off me. I showed up in Halifax and weighed in at 257lbs. I placed 5th, and was very shocked to say the least. I don’t ever want to take anything away from anyone who places ahead of me, but I felt I deserved top three. I was gutted at my placing.

SURVIVAL

I had a really good off-season in 2002. At 300lbs I was the strongest and hardest I had ever been at that weight. Although it was a good year, a couple injuries had me start my diet a bit light, at 285lbs. Everything was going really well until 16 days before the show.

I was leg pressing and felt a sharp pain in my left glute. I didn’t think much of it at the time. 24 hours later it was noticeably swollen, but there wasn’t any bruising. I took some anti-inflamitories and iced it. The next day it was very swollen. I went to my doctor and told him the whole story. He said I must have had a knot in my glute that tore when I was leg pressing. He said I had deep muscle tear, and a haematoma, a large pocket of blood inside the muscle. He used a needle to draw 30ccs of blood out of the pocket. It was a very disgusting sight. He gave me seven days worth of anti-biotic to prevent any infection. I knew that the prescription would water me out a bit, but if I didn’t take it and got an infection, it would be in much worse shape. I decided that I would take the anti-biotic, and see a physiotherapist twice a day for the next 7 days. The pressure was on.

By ten days out I was a total mess. My physique was quite watered over and soft looking, especially my legs, and my glute was very enlarged. It looked horrible. I guess my water problem was a combination of the anti-inflammatory, anti-biotic, and the incredible stress I was under. To top it off, I had a fundraiser at The Urban Lounge, where I bartend. I couldn’t believe I would have to get on stage and pose in that type of condition. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if it wasn’t for my friends. My close friends kept reminding me that most of the people who would come to see the fundraiser wouldn’t know the difference anyway. It still amazes me to think of all the support we got that night at the Urban Lounge.

With the fundraiser out of the way, I just took it day to day. Since I was holding so much water, I was dieting blind. I dropped my calories lower than I have ever had them, and upped my cardio. By Thursday, I was in Toronto and realized that I was drying out well, but was very flat from the extreme measures I had taken. My glute was still very noticeable and I was facing the possibility that I still might have to pull out of the competition. Friday at 5pm, I took a long hard look in the mirror, and decided to go through with the show. I weighed in at 249.5lbs, lighter than I had hoped. On the bright side, I was in really good shape and I figured I could hide the glute during pre-judging.

I placed third, and was very happy with that. Normally I would be disappointed with third, but I was just glad to have survived an ordeal that just as easily could have crushed me mentally.

Well, there it is; my training background up to 2002. Watch for updates in my news section.