My first show and my first gym… both over 25 years ago. I had no clue what I was doing with either, but I was willing to learn. I got my posing trunks the night before the show and had never even been to a bodybuilding competition. I just figured if I got in the best shape I possibly could, it would all work out. I placed 4th out of 16, and I was hooked.
That was the start of a 20+ year run of competing, shooting for magazines, and staying active in the game, all while staying 100% drug-free.
My first gym? Calling it a “gym” is generous. It was a ladder closet-sized retail space off Livingston and Brice Road in Columbus. I had nothing, but I had drive. I was 20 years old, willing to take a chance on myself, and figured if it didn’t work, I’d go back to the coal mine and pay out the lease. What I didn’t realize then was how I was evaluating risk differently than most.
I wasn’t scared of failing — I was scared of not trying.
I knew how to work. I just needed to apply that same grind from the mine to something I loved. Once I committed, I never thought about the downside… only about winning. Over time, small wins stacked up, and I started to see myself differently.
I started to believe I was a winner, and that belief changed everything.
Everyone’s got hardship. Everyone’s got something that could hold them back. But you get to choose what to do with it. I chose to build. To learn. To keep showing up. That’s what started all this, and it’s why I’ll never stop.