I walked into an old school style gym
and looked at the walls filled with
photos of the classic bodybuilders,
I completely fell in love with the
look of the golden era. I was totally
mesmerised by the thick muscle
bellies and the shape and posing
style. The guys looked like Greek
Gods.”
Although Pod had now left football
behind and replaced the sport with
lifting, he wasn’t giving the weights
room 100%.
“I gained a bit of muscle, but it was
really just enough to look good in a
t-shirt,” he admits. “I could have
been working much harder, but this
was when I introduced partying
into my life. I would go out most
weekends drinking loads and not
getting much sleep. This was of
course followed by feeling rough
and worst for wear, and then taking
until at least the middle of the week
to recover. Once I’d recovered,
I then spent the remainder of my
week days training for that t-shirt
pump, and then starting the whole
process of going out all over again
on Friday night.”
Millions of people all over the
world live for the weekends.
But after doing this for a period of
time, Pod realised that the partying
was just masking certain issues.
It occurred to him there was no
future in what he was doing. He
wondered where his life was going.
Reality hit.
“One day it just dawned on me
that I couldn’t keep living the way
I was,” Pod recalls. It was then
I decided to channel my energy into
something positive and enter my
first classic physique competition. It
was the most challenging process
I’d ever taken part in. Right from the
competition diet through to the
posing routine and the methodical
grind of the daily weights sessions
it was a truly gruelling process.
But here I am today, representing
the golden era look I fell in love
with when I first stepped inside
of that gym.”
28
FLEX | APRIL 2018
Pod is now into his 4th year
of competing with UKUP.
“I feel so fortunate to have found
an amazing federation where the
people and athletes alike create
an incredible atmosphere at the
shows,” he says. “It’s the best thing
I’ve ever experienced and been a
part of. The natural high is better
than any night out I used to have,
especially as I’m not intoxicating my
body with alcohol. Going on stage is
such a huge buzz. I don’t feel that
anything could replace that feeling
for me now.”
The last show Pod entered was
the UKUP Pro show in November
2017. It was a tough show packed
with outstanding competitors.
“For my last show I trained, posed
and dieted the hardest I’d ever done
in my life,” he says. “It definitely paid
off, as I won the overall classic
physique category. The feeling of
winning after the deepest grind I
have ever put myself through is
something else! I will never forget
that feeling.”
Having come so far in bodybuild-
ing, you’d be forgiven for thinking
Pod would be truly satisfied with
himself. But he does have some
regrets.
“My only real regret is not applying
myself to this amazing sport and
way of life many years ago,” he
says. “I really wish I had started
bodybuilding earlier on in life. Having
said that, I am now a firm believer
that if you’re willing to truly apply
yourself and lose your inhibitions,
then realising your potential knows
no bounds.”
@godmodehektor