Contest History/Highlights 2011: Colorado State 1st Light Heavyweight
STARTING OUT “I was born in Saudi Arabia and started bodybuilding when I was 16. One of my friends invited me to go with him to the gym because he wanted to lose weight. It was a whole different whole world. I liked it and got a membership and started going there every day.”
READY TO COMPETE “I didn’t really know anything about bodybuilding, I had just seen some pictures of Arnold and stuff like that from the movies but had no idea about competing. After like six months I asked my coach about competing, and he was like ‘Are you just kidding with me? Because you just got to the gym’. But I was serious. I did that first show and placed third, but wasn’t really satisfied. The next year I did the same show and won.”
OLD SCHOOL INSPIRATION “I look up to a lot of the old school bodybuilders like Kevin Levrone, Flex Wheeler and Shawn Ray. I like their symmetry and the way they pose on stage, the way they pick their songs. I don’t really see it these days – I just see people pick any to pose to. Those guys picked songs that matched their poses and matched their personalities. That’s the thing I like about them.”
LEARNING PROCESS “Back home we have trainers from everywhere – America, the Philippines, Egypt – who come to Saudi Arabia to work . Basically each one had his techniques, but I figured out that I should gets something that I liked from each one of them, something worked for my body, and make it my own technique.”
END RESULT “I like the whole process. It’s really kind of hate and love relationship you know? I love what I am doing but at the same time I hate it because it’s really hard. It’s not easy to wake up at 5 am go to the gym and train, to eat every two hours and go to the gym twice a day. All this stuff is hard and I really do hate it at times, but l love it at the same time because the end result is awesome.”
SHOOTING FOR THE TOP “My goal overall is to win the Mr. Olympia. That’s what I want. For the next year my goal is to compete at the Arnold Classic amateur and get my pro card. Then I would love to do the New York Pro and qualify for the Mr. Olympia. I want to be the best bodybuilder in the world.”
