Date of birth (or current age): 37
Home town: Maywood, Illinois
Height: 5'9"
Contest Body Weight: 173 (Middle Weight)
Off Season Body Weight: 195
Name of training facility: Bally's River City
Tell us briefly about yourself. Any general information you want to provide about who you are, what you do, family life, special interests etc.
I'm a father of two; I have a 10 year old daughter and 6 year old son. I've been married for 11 years and live and work in the City of Chicago. I am President and General Counsel of Flex Development Corporation. http://www.flexrealestategroup.com . Our company develops, manages and constructs both residential and commercial real estate in the Chicagoland area. Prior to joining Flex Development Corp, I was General Counsel at a 2 billion dollar asset bank based in the west suburbs of Chicago. Managing a business such as this one gives me the ability to incorporate the necessary strength and cardio training I need for peek performance at the shows I compete in. I see bodybuilding as an extension of my professional training. In that, if you commit to do high quality work, have self discipline and a game plan to reach a specific result, you should do well. That was the challenge to myself when I decided to train for the NPC Illinois State Bodybuilding Championships this year.
Did the name of your company have anything to do with your interest in bodybuilding?
Believe it or not, the company’s name was created long before I had any interest in competing in bodybuilding. The original concept behind the name was to convey our company’s flexibility to offer products and services that adapt to and change with our customers ever changing needs. However, in light of my recent success, maybe we should look at creating a dual meaning for marketing purposes.
How many years have you been training?
I’ve always participated in sports from elementary school through college; I've been into fitness and cardio training for the last 20 years. I wrestled, played football and baseball during high school and college. I started specifically training for bodybuilding at the beginning of 2008.
Why did you get into bodybuilding?
I had been working out at Bally's in River City for the last three years. Shortly after starting to workout at the gym, one of the trainers, Marcus Hardaway, suggested that I think about pursuing bodybuilding competitively. For the last few years he would ask me about competing because he thought I could do well with the right diet and training. However at the time, mentally I was not ready to commit to the type of diet and training program necessary to compete and do well. I think the turning point in my attitude about body building began after attending the 2007 NPC Illinois State Championships. After that competition, I started thinking about the discipline that the top competitors at the show had to exercise to get their body in such great shape. I always try to get involved with different activities or projects that may not be in my comfort zone. It was in December 2007 that I decided that I was going to compete in the 2008 NPC Championships. I wanted to push my body limits and see how well I could make it look and perform. I wanted to do something in '08 that was outside of my comfort zone. This was truly it. I never envisioned myself being in front of 300-400 people in a posing suit flexing my muscles!
How many competitions have you done?
I have competed in two competitions to date. The first was May 3, 2008 in Rockford Illinois. It was the Kevin Noble all natural show. I competed at novice light heavyweight. I won first place in my division and also took first place overall in this class. I competed in this show as a tune-up for the Illinois Championships. I wanted to get at least one competition under my belt prior to the big show that I was training for. The second show was the NPC State Championships. I competed at open middleweight and masters 35-39. I officially started training for this show on March 1st of 2008. I won first place in both divisions and first place overall in both classes. I am now training for the NPC Jr. Nationals Body Building Championships being held on June 20 and 21. After that, I plan to take a break from competitions for the remainder of 2008!
What is your main motivation to compete now?
My main motivation now is to really master the technical aspects of posing and maximize the physical look that I can bring to each competition with the mental and physical attributes God has blessed me with. I’ve been told that at national competitions the guys are a lot bigger. I'd like to compete against the best at the national level and see where I stack-up. I know I have a lot of hard work to put in, but I am confident that if I stay focus and disciplined that I will do well. The Illinois State Championship had some great competitors. Now I want to see how my work compares to others nationally. Competing is a part of who I am and what I do. I love to compete.
Who did you work with throughout your contest preparation, if anyone, and how did they help you?
Marcus Hardaway is my trainer. Marcus won 1st place in the novice light heavyweight division and took second in the open division at the 2007 NPC Illinois State Championships. He created my diet, helped adjust my strength and cardio training programs and coached me with respect to posing and what to expect at the competitions. He really provided me with the guidance necessary to do well in my competitions. One of the biggest concepts I learned from him was to understand how your diet affects your body, especially when you are attempting to sculpt it into a fine chiseled machine. It was really great to have someone help me who had recently competed and whom I had confidence in. I don't think I could have accomplished what I did without his guidance. He's been terrific and I want to acknowledge and thank him for all of his help while preparing for each of my competitions.
What was the hardest thing about preparing for this most recent competition?
The most difficult thing is balancing running a business, family and training. The commitment to training really took a lot of time. I worked out 2-3 times a day and finding the time to get all the exercises in that I needed was tough. I woke up at 5:45 every morning to get in my first cardio session. Initially, my legs and back were my weak points and I needed to address them in a timely manner prior to the show. The change in diet was a challenge in the beginning, but I got over that pretty fast. My wife and children were great with encouraging me along the way and helping me stay on diet and keeping me from cheating with bad foods (although my kids lobbied me on several different occasions to go out and eat Mexican foods with them while I was training!).
What kept you motivated and focused on your goals prior to your most recent competition?
As I saw my body transform and become more muscular and shredded it motivated me to work harder and to push more. It also helped that I had already won my first show in Rockford this year and I wanted to build upon that going forward. I wanted to build on my Rockford show success by doing well at the Illinois State Championships.
Why do you think you won over the competition in your most recent show?
I believe that I was the most shredded, had the most symmetry, muscularity and was the most overall well proportioned athlete in my class.
Tell us about your off season training, nutrition and supplementation program. What does that look like typically?
Off season, I eat a lot of fruit, apples, peaches and oranges. I try to eat a clean diet even in the off season. So I tend to snack on a lot of fruits and nuts. One of the best things that I've learned through my contest diet preparation is sodium reduction. This has become a big lifestyle change for me that I plan to continue whether or not I’m competing. I didn't realize how much salt is in food naturally, and once you have been on a no or low sodium diet, you can really taste the salt in foods. Off season I also try to eat as little processed carbs as possible. However, that's not to say that I won't have my occasional pizza here and there during the off season. Finally, I drink a lot of water.
How were you doing the day of the show? What were your main concerns and what were you thinking about?
The day of the show, I was very calm. I was a little nervous with the Rockford show since it was my first, but the Illinois State show I was okay. I had proved to myself that I could push my body and do well. I knew I had prepared and did everything I could to do my best so I was ready to go.
Tell us about your in-season training, nutrition and supplementation program.
There is nothing magical about it. I never used any performance enhancing substances; I work with what God has given me and prepared the old fashion way with a lot of hard work and being disciplined. I started preparing 12 weeks from the State show. It was done methodically, my trainer and I put together an action plan and then we worked the plan. That was the key!
In your opinion, what does it take to achieve a goal someone sets for themselves and to win?
Number one set a road map to reach your goal. This holds true for bodybuilding or any other worthwhile goal. When you set your goal, make sure there is a realistic path to reach it. I could not have done what I did without a plan and having enough time to make adjustments along the way. The most important thing is to stay disciplined and keep your eye on the ultimate place you want to be and when detours arises (and they most always do) you'll be able to keep yourself on track.
What advice would you would give to others working to compete in an NPC sanctioned show?
I think for those who are new, like I was, I would suggest that they attend an NPC show and get a feel for how it works, see how the guys look and pay attention to what they do on stage. The 2007 NPC show was my first insight into the bodybuilding world. I suggest that if you are looking to compete, you should find and work with someone who you have confidence in who can help you to train, diet and prepare for the show. Most importantly, put together an action plan to achieve your goals.
What are your future plans? Are you preparing for any upcoming contests?
I'm planning to compete next on June 21st at the NPC Jr. Nationals at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in the Open Men's middleweight division.
Final thoughts? Anything that is on your mind not covered in the questions?
This whole experience has been unbelievable for me. My kids have had a ball sharing in the experience with me and cheering me on at the competitions. My wife has been very supportive and motivated by my commitment and successes as well. As I mentioned before, two years ago I never saw myself doing this. It was totally off my radar. I'm just going to keep on rolling and see how far I can go. On a more serious side, I've learned so many healthy ways of eating and now have a better understanding how healthy and unhealthy foods affect my body. It's been a really mind blowing experience and I'm looking forward to having more of them. It's been great and I have been truly blessed throughout this journey!