CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE May/June Issue | Page 39

the making of a
by Alex Bland
bodybuilder
photos: Paul Girvan Photo
Ever since I was a little boy I was
obsessed with big muscles.
My favorite show as a kid was Dragon Ball Z, the
characters had huge rippling muscles and they
were expert martial artists. I would walk around
practicing my fight moves and throwing up front
double bicep shots before I was even 5 years old.
My parents put me in taekwondo as a kid and its
been apart of my life ever since. I was competitive,
even at a young age. I competed at my first national
Taekwondo at the age of 11. I was a junior black belt
at the time. I started lifting weights and doing a lot
of calisthenics as a teenager to help get stronger to
be a more well-rounded fighter.
My life went a little sideways by the time I got into
high school. I ended up going down the wrong road,
got into drugs and partying hard, quit taekwondo
as well as working out and ended up moving away
from home when I was 15 years old. It only took a
couple years of couch surfing and living in dumps
before I really started to hate the life I was living
and needed to make a change. I got myself into
a little bachelor apartment, got myself out of the
negative environment I was always in and rejoined
taekwondo. At this point in my life, I was 17 years
old and started taking advantage of the weight
room in my high school during my lunch breaks, so
that way I could work when I got off school or go to
taekwondo for the night. I started putting on size
quick, jumping up two weight classes by the time I
was 18. I was highly competitive training everyday
and I started going to the YMCA to lift weights.
I started hitting the gym with my lifelong friend
Brody Richard, who was getting ready for his first
bodybuilding show. He taught me how to train like a
bodybuilder, how to train each muscle group to grow
and we became good training partners. I helped him
with bodybuilding, and he showed me the ropes in
the gym while I continued to prepare for fights. This
is where my passion for bodybuilding developed; I
wanted to look good, I wanted to look like a strong
fighter.
Years before I ever committed to bodybuilding I can
remember getting ready for fights, watching Kai
Greene motivational videos to pump myself up.
2012 was my last year for competitive Taekwondo.
I won a silver medal at the Canadian Nationals and
brought home a Gold and Bronze medal from the
world open in Mexico. It was at this point I was
at a crossroads in my life, I was burnt out from
taekwondo and I had taken it about as far as I would
be able too. I needed something new to try and
at this point. I had been in love with bodybuilding
for years and had a decent foundation of muscle
on my frame from a lifetime of taekwondo and
training, now was the perfect time to try my hand
at bodybuilding.
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