Obsessed… It’s an interesting word when describing bodybuilding. It’s often misused. You see, bodybuilding is a lifestyle. This means eating, weight training, sleeping and taking supplements every day. The sport requires consistency and routine. Therefore, obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated because they do not truly understand what it takes to be successful in this sport. There’s a difference between recreational bodybuilding and pursuing it for other purposes, from a business perspective, for example. If someone is pursuing the sport because they are passionate about it and they are seeking to make a living by it than focus, dedication and determination must be applied. Even then it will be difficult though.
During my middle school years I was a skinny kid who didn’t know anything about weightlifting. It wasn’t until I was in high school and began to play sports that I understood the need to be more athletic. In my mind this meant I needed to be bigger and stronger. I began reading some of the old weightlifting magazines from the Arnold Schwarzenegger era; my uncle was into weightlifting so he passed these magazines down to me. I remember thinking to myself, I want to look like that. I went to Wal-Mart and purchased some Joe Weider protein. This stuff tasted like fish flakes and was hard to get down but I managed to get through the container before I tried another method. I tried consuming raw eggs and ate lots of peanut butter. It did nothing because my metabolism was so fast and I understood very little about the actual science behind fitness and nutrition. During the course of my high school years I took whey protein but that was about it.
Joining the Marine Corps changed my life drastically with regard to health and fitness. I deployed to Okinawa and because there wasn’t much to do on my free time I worked out, read fitness magazines, nutrition books & watched any videos I could get my hands on. There was a supplement store on the gym at Camp Schwab (Okinawa) so I finally got on my first supplement routine – protein, creatine monohydrate, multi-vitamins and glutamine. After quite a few months of this regimented schedule I managed to put on some quality muscle. It was much needed after I graduated Marine Corps boot camp at about 167 lbs. I returned from this deployment to MCB Camp LeJeune, NC ready to get into the same type of routine there. The difficult part of being in the Fleet Marine Force was the amount of running we did. On a light day our squad would run 4 miles. On a long day, who knew how long we’d run. And, it didn’t matter what the weather was like outside – rain, snow, cold, hot, humid…it really didn’t matter – we ran, and ran, and ran some more. And when we thought we were done, we’d keep on going!
Once I was settled back in from the Okinawa deployment I was screened by a section from the Marine Barracks in Washington, DC – the Marine Body Bearers. There was a group of Marines (to include me) who were given a strength test to determine if any of us were candidates for becoming a Body Bearer. I took the strength test and was given a hand shake. I thought that was it. A few weeks later I was called to the HQ office. The Career Planner asked when I wanted to take leave. I had no idea what he was talking about. He told me I had been cut orders to be assigned to the Marine Barracks – the Body Bearer section. Needless to say, I was extremely excited.
When I arrived at DC I checked into the office and for the next few days processed in. I hadn’t realized how big the Body Bearers were until I met them all and I got some nasty looks for being a rather “slender” individual. This was the motivation I needed to push myself to achieve something that would be necessary to be successful in this duty. I ate more food than you can imagine, sometimes to the point I would make myself sick, literally. I drank weight gainer shakes twice per day, 2500 calories each. After a couple of months I had packed on quite a bit of body weight and was very strong carrying the casket so I finally became a Body Bearer. Just for note, becoming a Body Bearer is extremely intense & not to be described in this forum; there’s a traditional value to the section that just can’t be described so the hard work that goes into this is beyond the realm of “normal.”
And this is essentially when the change began…it’s when everyone came to know me for fitness no matter where I went or what I did. My life finally had a defining moment. I became an aspiring bodybuilder because coupled with the change in lifestyle through the Marine Corps and from bodybuilding I had a focus and discipline I had never had before. There was a hunger inside of me that was ignited.
On my spare time while in Washington, DC with the Body Bearers I would go to the Vitamin Shoppe to read articles, look at supplements and compare products. In 2001, I trained with another fellow Marine, Joe Byrd, to compete. Even though I did not end up competing that year due to unexpected events, the learning process of competition preparation was excellent. Him and I motivated each other through the tough times where you’re depleted and have no energy. I promised myself that I would eventually do a competition but I’d have to focus on putting more quality muscle on my tall frame. Being 6’3” is tough in the bodybuilding world.
From the Body Bearer section I moved on to work personal security for General Peter Pace. My place of work during my tenure with him was at the Pentagon. I was fortunate because the POAC gym went away and the PAC gym had been built. The gym was perfect for what I needed. After our morning movements or afternoon movements, whenever I could fit it in, I would go downstairs to the gym and train. I had truly been “bitten by the bug.”
After I departed General Pace, I ended my active service and became employed as a contractor in Baghdad, Iraq. I still wanted to pursue bodybuilding but I had to get myself into a better situation financially. I had no idea what to expect about trying to keep a routine working in this environment. When I got situated in Baghdad on Camp Slayer I was able to establish some type of routine. Usually this meant either lifting early in the morning or after work. I kept this up for over 3 years and I have to say it’s been the most challenging thing I’ve done because doing this with full time work and pursuing college online, there wasn’t much time for sleep. In my last months in Iraq and I’ve finally made the step to work with a professional Coach, Tim Gardner. Through his expertise and experience doing this I planned on competing in October 2009. My contract will ended in July 2009 at which point I returned to the US and begin the contest preparation. And from here on, the rest is history!
There’s been many people over the years who have said my training intensity and dedication to the sport is unparalleled in anything they’ve ever seen. Every time I step foot in the gym I’m there for a purpose – it’s all business. Every set counts and every rep in each set counts. It’s all one step closer to achieving something I wasn’t sure I was ever going to be able to do. It’s such a surreal feeling to be where I’m at now. To be able to walk into the gym & that be my place of work. To rely on the way I look & the knowledge I have in the fitness arena to make my living. That, in itself, is a dream come true.
Train Hard!!
