Blast from the Past

We can all get caught up in the frantics and stresses of today's body building lifestyle and all the hype associated with it through our modern day media channels like Face Book and magazines but sometimes it's good to look back and reflect on the what I call the "the good old days".

I would like to take you back, way back in fact haha, the year was 1986, the UKBFF was then known as the WFBB and was headed by then my mentor, the late great Paul Grant, in those days one had to qualify for the Mr Wales, this ensured that every finalist was of a high standard for the big one at the end of the year.
Anyway the previous years finals were smashed into shock with the emergence of the enormous Gary Taylor, over 18 stone with an eight pack, he swiftly moved through the ranks winning the British Intermediates by a mile, no weight classes for inters in those days so he emerged as champion via a huge class of entrants. The rules were that only once you had placed in a intermediate show were you able to migrate to the misters!
Again in Wales we didn't have weight classes, every mister went against every mister regardless of height or weight, at that time I lived in Haverfordwest which happened to be one of the qualifiers and I was expected to enter. Having gone through a divorce and unemployed training and dieting were far tougher than anything I have ever experienced since, my nutrition consisted mainly of eggs, tuna and rice, all cheap commodities at the time but they seemed to work well, there were no good supplements around either!
As the day approached I'd heard the monster Gary Taylor was using this show as a qualifier and so realistically I had resigned myself to placing below him naturally, however I stepped up my cardio and cut my carbs even further, perhaps too much as I resembled a zombie walking the streets of Haverfordwest, but boy did the fat come off, I carbed up the day before on potatoes and used brandy and raisins on the day, crazy stuff eh?
Pumping up was a scary prospect too watching those vascular 21 inch arms swelling before my very eyes, I just did my thing, my abs were deeper than ever and my face resembled that of prisoner of war from a concentration camp. Gary was the favourite though but I was fighting for 2nd, Gary and I were the first call out, which I thought was strange, they were comparing a 12 stone 7 pounds guy to an 18 stone plus monster. I noticed the judges were looking back and forth at Gary and I through out the judging which became a blurr in the end, I think exhaustion saw to that.
ladies and gentlemen in first place................Renzo Algieri, my jaw dropped, Gary sportingly shook my hand and embarrassingly took my trophy, I couldn't believe what had happened but many people said I deserved it, I'll never really know, only two people ever beat Gary Taylor, Dorian Yates was the other, then Gary went on to win the worlds strongest man.
The memory is etched deep in my mind and heart as one of my greatest wins, to this day I fear no one regardless of size, believe in yourself, do your best and TRAIN WITH PURPOSE,