My story!

I genuinely have a love of the gym.


Half a dozen years ago I made a move in my life that I believe, had a huge impact on where I am today. It had been a series of poor decisions and a complete failure of identity that lead me on a path of successive failures, and it wasn’t a hard decision for me to pack my little family up Beverly Hillbilly style, in a 89 Toyota truck, with all of our belongings stacked so high that I could swear we clipped a few underpasses, and move half way across the nation to distance myself from it all….a fresh start……and believe me, I needed it!

It was a fabulous time. I got to know my wife on a different level. My second daughter was born. I saw and participated in a business that saw growth and an eventual buy-out for millions of dollars. I found a fondness for the Midwest. I discovered myself. I discovered the gym.

Now don’t get me wrong, I had spent time in the gym before…in fact there was a short stint while in college that I was almost serious about it, but this discovery was different. This time the gym became my friend, a trusty ally in a very uncertain time. It started with me just wanting to get back in shape, but something clicked. The pain became pleasure. I could feel my body responding to what I was doing. My mind became clear and I felt alive! Arnold has a quote in Pumping Iron that always flashes through my skull when I talk with people about this…He said “The greatest feeling you can get in a gym, or the most satisfying feeling you can get in the gym is... The Pump. Let's say you train your biceps. Blood is rushing into your muscles and that's what we call The Pump. You muscles get a really tight feeling, like your skin is going to explode any minute, and it's really tight - it's like somebody blowing air into it, into your muscle. It just blows up, and it feels really different. It feels fantastic.” I have always liked that quote because I too have felt The Pump and I know what Arnold is talking about, but even more than The Pump…in the way that Arnold describes it…there is this moment, after you have pushed your body to its limits, that your body starts clicking on all cylinders, your synapses are wide open and heating up from the massive data being transmitted, your body is communicating in a clear and concise way, endorphins are released, adrenaline flows and a transformation takes place. It is a sensational feeling and for someone like me, it’s what keeps me coming back for more. There has never been a time that I left the gym feeling worse than when I went in (with the exception of injury), but there has been plenty of times where I have felt worse for NOT going to the gym. Whatever pain or discomfort I experience during an intense workout has always paid off ten-fold. This payoff, this clarity, this feeling of creation became an addiction.

I researched and studied. I bought magazines and books, and went into supplement shops and asked questions. I trolled bodybuilding forums. I pulled guys aside in the gym to find out what they were doing. From witnessing my brother-in-law win a body transformation competition years earlier, I knew that diet, supplementation and rest were just as important (if not more so) than the time that I was spending in the gym, and I was looking to maximize my efforts. I experimented with different workouts. I tried dozens and dozens of different supplements. I played around with nutrient timing, tried to dial in my diet, and I focused extremely hard on quitting sugar (my absolute weakness) and my results didn’t go unnoticed. I was feeling great, looking better, and excited about life. My mind was clear when I left the gym and it was at that time that I did most of my brainstorming and goal setting. I felt like a warrior and had the expectations of a god. I could see that I was shaping my body. I was creating something not only physically, but mentally and spiritually, and I could hear the whispers from others that they too were seeing a transformation. I want to emphasize here that I don’t believe I am a narcissist. I have always struggled with confidence. I believed in myself, but I struggled to find my spot. I always felt very normal but I never felt special. I still wrestle with my weaknesses and am very aware of what they are, but it has been this reenergizing of my body, mind, and soul that has helped me to understand what I am capable of.

A turning point for me came one day when I was walking out of the gym after an intense arm workout. With my gym bag over my shoulder and sweat tumbling down my temples, an older gentleman walked by on his way in to the weight room and said “Damn son, where can I get some of those arms?” I remember smiling as I turned around and pointed in the way he was already walking. My response was “You’re heading in the right direction.” It was an extremely fulfilling moment for me. I became the person that people were pulling aside in the gym. I became the person answering the questions. In that moment I was special.

So here I sit, a changed person, with an overwhelming urge to share my story. Not because its miraculous or earthshattering, but because it means something to me and I hope that it will mean something to someone else. I remember hearing a life coach I once knew say “in order for things to change….you must change. If things are going to get better…you must get better!” We heal ourselves and then we can heal others. We find ourselves and then we can help others find themselves. I am a firm believer that we are all connected and that true fulfillment in life comes from creating. We can create better lives…better directions….help ourselves and others make better choices. The gym gave me that clarity, and I will be forever indebted to that proving ground, that classroom, that chapel.

Charlie