Wow that's a lot of questions and good ones at that, i'll do my best to answer them.
1 I have always been sporty played football until 16 and was reasonably good at it. First walked into a gym at age 14 and saw a guy doing standing biceps curls, I remember not being able to take my eyes of his biceps, eventually I manage to summon up the courage to ask him would he teach me how to do that, I was hooked.
2 I trained for about 5 years clean when the owner of the guy asked me would I compete for the gym, he offered me gear and I refused but said if he would give me a shot I would compete natural, he took a chance I placed third at a state level. I have never not placed since.
3 My journey was hard, I got told constantly this was a shit sport, mum and dad never understood it and to this day have never seen me win, they don't come to my shows.
4 I never new I wanted to be a bodybuilder what I was looking for was a sport I could do for the rest of my life, in question 1 when I was walking into that gym I was on my way to a karate class, never made that class but the requirements are the same, discipline, mental toughness and the ability to overcome what ever life throws at you and keep moving forward I love the mental toughness side of things, most people physically are the same, its the want to succeed that varies.
5 I never followed anyone's plan to start other than the program my first gym gave me, im like I was born with bucket loads of reason, maybe it was my sporting background but training for me is so instinctive, it come so natural that I find it hard to teach other people as what is so easy for me seems to baffle some. One turning point however was me coming across the book Physco Blast Buy Denny, this book changed the way I trained for ever.
6 I need to correct something as I started this with the best intensions, my pro card is not far of and if I had not been so stubborn and competed in my age division yes I would have it.
As it stands now im the Australian champ in the under 85 kg division (187lbs).
That being said I have personally sat down with a lot of the Olympia contestants, the most memorable being Dorian, again lucky when the IFBB was bring Dorian to Aus he came to our gym, now it just so happens that the gym owners wife was English and came from the same town in England as Dorian.
It was not unusual to find Dorian sitting on the lounge just hanging out like a regular dude, now you now why I say im lucky.
I also worked in the supplement industry here so got to meet everyone of our top bodybuilders, mate I surely have been blessed so that why I say I might not have all the answers but I now where to find them.
7 And I saved this for last on purpose, I never consider myself to look any better than the rest, I have access to some things that others don't and it really gives me pleasure to help you guys out with honest up front no BS answers.
