What Was Your Motivation for Competing? (competitors only)

[Howard]

Swing! Holy shit did I read that right...110 shows?!!?! My goodness. I can totally relate to being the small skinny kid. People would say I was scrappy and it would piss me off. I took that to mean if it was time to throw down I was considered nothing more than a nuisance. So - insert chip on my shoulder away I went.

Swings contest longevity impressed me as well.
Plus he looks damn good in that recent contest pic .

I'm 7 years older but he'd beat my physique of the past 20 years, like a rented mule

[bigmikecox]

Great story .

I actually went to watch a natural NPC contest just outside of Detroit in the early 90's . I distinctly remember a fun ,loudly cheering group from powerhouse gym in the auditorium.

I can't remember his name but they had a really good pro from that region as guest poser . Great show , I think promoted by this couple from SE Michigan.

I went to school in Toledo during that time and we'd go and see NPC shows in Detroit.

[bigmikecox]

20230812_113544870.jpeg I guess I will put my story on here...partly because it is different than a lot of others.
Early motivation was Spiderman...ended up way bigger than any screen Spiderman.
Later I continuously got beaten up because I was 5'6" and 105. Long distance runner. The guys from Jr High were lifting at the high school before Freshman year and asked me to go. I gained 25 pounds that 1st summer. Another 25 the next year and there was a flyer for the "Mr. Springfield" contest.
Bragged that I was going to do it...then had to follow through. This was 1980 and no Teen class yet so I had to do Novice as a 140lb 15 year old. Of course I didn't place but the audience went wild as the next youngest guy was probably 22-23.
Stayed natty until 2 years ago this October and only on 100mg Test a week, I have competed over 110 shows, never stopped competing.
Competing for the 3 time this year this weekend in KC. Still do Open Middleweight...not Masters. I have won my State weight class in about 3 or 4 different decades. Won lightweight 2 years ago, Won the Arkansas Middleweight the last 2 years in a row.
Still competing at 58 and will probably never quit.
This is 3 weeks ago...

Man that is awesome!!!

Much respect for still killing it!!

[Howard]

Man that is awesome!!!

Much respect for still killing it!!

Seriously now , I last competed when I was 20 years YOUNGER than Swing is in that recent pic .

I gotta give him credit for being an impressive example of lifetime bodybuilding

[Howard]

I went to school in Toledo during that time and we'd go and see NPC shows in Detroit.

Great shows and to think that was 30 years ago....yikes

I think the promoters were this nice couple named Mike and Gloria Buckle ??? Or some similar name??

What was the name of the awesome pro from that area during that era ? Unreal delts with incredible striated pecs .
I remember him doing powerhouse gym ads and being from Detroit.

[GeorgeUK]

20230812_113544870.jpeg I guess I will put my story on here...partly because it is different than a lot of others.
Early motivation was Spiderman...ended up way bigger than any screen Spiderman.
Later I continuously got beaten up because I was 5'6" and 105. Long distance runner. The guys from Jr High were lifting at the high school before Freshman year and asked me to go. I gained 25 pounds that 1st summer. Another 25 the next year and there was a flyer for the "Mr. Springfield" contest.
Bragged that I was going to do it...then had to follow through. This was 1980 and no Teen class yet so I had to do Novice as a 140lb 15 year old. Of course I didn't place but the audience went wild as the next youngest guy was probably 22-23.
Stayed natty until 2 years ago this October and only on 100mg Test a week, I have competed over 110 shows, never stopped competing.
Competing for the 3 time this year this weekend in KC. Still do Open Middleweight...not Masters. I have won my State weight class in about 3 or 4 different decades. Won lightweight 2 years ago, Won the Arkansas Middleweight the last 2 years in a row.
Still competing at 58 and will probably never quit.
This is 3 weeks ago...

Big respect bud.

[bigmikecox]

Great shows and to think that was 30 years ago....yikes

I think the promoters were this nice couple named Mike and Gloria Buckle ??? Or some similar name??

What was the name of the awesome pro from that area during that era ? Unreal delts with incredible striated pecs .
I remember him doing powerhouse gym ads and being from Detroit.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!! That was them! LOL

Ron Love!!! Heused to come to Toledo to guest pose at some local shows. His delts were silly!!

[Howard]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!! That was them! LOL

Ron Love!!! Heused to come to Toledo to guest pose at some local shows. His delts were silly!!

Ron Love , how could I forget . His delts were the best I've ever seen plus he had these thick striated pecs that looked
like some artist ethched in the striated pec and delt lines

I met him briefly as a grad student at Miami of Ohio when he trained at Power station gym in Middletown, Ohio
( it's actually called Power station not powerhouse ) .

I actually stopped my own workout to just watch him do side laterals for those amazing delts in a tank top .

After his first set , I looked around and 4-5 other gym rats were doing the same thing .
Anyway his side lateral form was perfect and reps were definitely over 10 per set with just 30- 40 lb DB's .

After 3 sets , I swear his delts were actually swollen like ebony melons on each shoulder. Unreal .

[lifepulse]

"Swollen like ebony melons". You missed your poetic calling, Howard, lmao.

[bigmikecox]

Ron Love , how could I forget . His delts were the best I've ever seen plus he had these thick striated pecs that looked
like some artist ethched in the striated pec and delt lines

I met him briefly as a grad student at Miami of Ohio when he trained at Power station gym in Middletown, Ohio
( it's actually called Power station not powerhouse ) .

I actually stopped my own workout to just watch him do side laterals for those amazing delts in a tank top .

After his first set , I looked around and 4-5 other gym rats were doing the same thing .
Anyway his side lateral form was perfect and reps were definitely over 10 per set with just 30- 40 lb DB's .

After 3 sets , I swear his delts were actually swollen like ebony melons on each shoulder. Unreal .

I won the Mr. Ohio and Battle of Champions in Middletown at their campus!! Barb and Jesse Matheson owned that gyn didnt they?

[Howard]

I won the Mr. Ohio and Battle of Champions in Middletown at their campus!! Barb and Jesse Matheson owned that gyn didnt they?

You won some legit contests .
The Ohio State and battle of champions were stacked contests in the 90's .

When I trained at Power station in.Middletown it was owned by Mike Ferguson.

[leigh]

Sorry I’m late to the party on this one.

Bestia encouraged me to post my story.

From a young age in Sydney I was running long distance competitively on the track and cross country.

Focusing on anything from 1,500m to 10,000m.

Finding success and winning titles on both the State and National level.

At the age of 18 I was 178cm (5’10) and always hovering around the 50kg (110lbs) mark.

At this time I contracted glandular fever, my bodyweight dropped and I was hospitalized and placed on a drip to supply nutrition. I lost weight to the point I was unable to function.

After getting out of hospital I attempted to return to training but unfortunately the recovery was going to take a long time and I was way off my best.

I decided to take my first break ever and found myself with free time that I’d never had. Usually balancing school and training twice daily.

In my free time I decided to spend more time with friends. This is where I soon realized I was half the size of my friends and had zero self esteem. Growing up in a rugby culture all my friends were quite big and muscular.

I’d literally swim with my shirt on and in many situations wear 3 shirts and 2 sets of pants to appear bigger than I was. I had pretty bad mental complexes about my appearance.

After consulting doctors the common response was try weight training.

So try I did. I was so weak, couldn’t even press the bar or do a single bodyweight dip.

It’s wasn’t a slow transition though. I went from zero to one hundred overnight.

I put all the energy I put into running into the gym.

Ditched all my friends for twice a day session that were way too long and counter productive.

I did everything wrong in terms of training and nutrition but I was stubborn and persisted.

After a while I had minimal progress but joined a hardcore bodybuilding gym.

That is where I learnt about competitions and Arnold’s encyclopedia of bodybuilding haha.

Then after seeing a poster on the wall I decided to go and watch a comp.

I was hooked. I knew straight away that’s what I want to do.

I looked nothing like the guys up there but now I had a goal.

I then found out about Natural comps and competed a few years later as a junior.

Placed 4th just missing the top 3 and that’s all I needed.

20 years later with a bunch of wins and even more loses I’ve competed every year since. Often several times a year.

After 10 years on the Natural circuit I tried some of the now banned pro hormones and switched over to untested federations.

I’ve lived and competed all over the place. Australia, UK, Canada, America, Japan, Hong Kong, and Philippines.

Have a few good titles and have placed 3rd and 2nd in my class twice a pro qualifiers.

Was offered pro status with NABBA Japan after winning the national title twice. However it’s not for me.

I’m not pro level but like to test myself on different stages.

So yeah there is a lot more to my story but I hope you get the idea. Over 20 years later still hopelessly addicted to bodybuilding haha.

[leigh]

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[nomercy]

When the local gym idiot who is only 19 years starts posing next to you as you are working out and says nobody can touch this i said pick a show 3 months from now i will fuckin destroy you.

[1Patrick]

Sorry I’m late to the party on this one.

Bestia encouraged me to post my story.

From a young age in Sydney I was running long distance competitively on the track and cross country.

Focusing on anything from 1,500m to 10,000m.

Finding success and winning titles on both the State and National level.

At the age of 18 I was 178cm (5’10) and always hovering around the 50kg (110lbs) mark.

At this time I contracted glandular fever, my bodyweight dropped and I was hospitalized and placed on a drip to supply nutrition. I lost weight to the point I was unable to function.

After getting out of hospital I attempted to return to training but unfortunately the recovery was going to take a long time and I was way off my best.

I decided to take my first break ever and found myself with free time that I’d never had. Usually balancing school and training twice daily.

In my free time I decided to spend more time with friends. This is where I soon realized I was half the size of my friends and had zero self esteem. Growing up in a rugby culture all my friends were quite big and muscular.

I’d literally swim with my shirt on and in many situations wear 3 shirts and 2 sets of pants to appear bigger than I was. I had pretty bad mental complexes about my appearance.

After consulting doctors the common response was try weight training.

So try I did. I was so weak, couldn’t even press the bar or do a single bodyweight dip.

It’s wasn’t a slow transition though. I went from zero to one hundred overnight.

I put all the energy I put into running into the gym.

Ditched all my friends for twice a day session that were way too long and counter productive.

I did everything wrong in terms of training and nutrition but I was stubborn and persisted.

After a while I had minimal progress but joined a hardcore bodybuilding gym.

That is where I learnt about competitions and Arnold’s encyclopedia of bodybuilding haha.

Then after seeing a poster on the wall I decided to go and watch a comp.

I was hooked. I knew straight away that’s what I want to do.

I looked nothing like the guys up there but now I had a goal.

I then found out about Natural comps and competed a few years later as a junior.

Placed 4th just missing the top 3 and that’s all I needed.

20 years later with a bunch of wins and even more loses I’ve competed every year since. Often several times a year.

After 10 years on the Natural circuit I tried some of the now banned pro hormones and switched over to untested federations.

I’ve lived and competed all over the place. Australia, UK, Canada, America, Japan, Hong Kong, and Philippines.

Have a few good titles and have placed 3rd and 2nd in my class twice a pro qualifiers.

Was offered pro status with NABBA Japan after winning the national title twice. However it’s not for me.

I’m not pro level but like to test myself on different stages.

So yeah there is a lot more to my story but I hope you get the idea. Over 20 years later still hopelessly addicted to bodybuilding haha.

Awesome stuff man