Why I Lift Weights

My first real idol

Initially, I started lifting weights because it is what my first real idol in my life loved to do. This is my grandfather, Frank Boone. He loved lifting weights and being strong, and needless to say, I fed off of his mindset and carried it through to my life.

I knew that he wanted me to experience the feeling of being undoubtedly strong and built like no other man in town. He didn’t ever come out and say this to me necessarily, but he did talk about other guys around town on how big or strong they were. This served as a source of motivation for me to be bigger and stronger than them one day.

Even at the age of 12, 13 and 14 years old, this motivated me and flooded my thoughts, which ultimately helped them come true.

The evolution

Then, it evolved to not only keeping all of those items in mind, but also adding in the confidence factor.

This is something I became addicted to because it is a direct byproduct. In my teen years I had a decent athletic ability, which helped feed my performance, strength and confidence in whatever I was pursuing. With many kids today having self esteem issues, these points are vital because when someone is in their early teen development years it can increase or decrease their quality of life.

I think I took to this subject matter quickly because I had figures such as my grandfather and father in my life. My grandfather was big and strong, and even though my dad was a smaller man, he also looked well put together when I was at a young age. I observed the way both men carried themselves and went about their business, and it’s something I aspired to be.

Back in high school

When I was in high school I was smaller, so I knew that I was going to have to make up for it with being stronger than most. This is exactly what happened, and I honestly think it is because many underestimated my strength because of my size.

I always would rather be the underdog, and I am fine with and used to it. In high school I had some issues, but I believe the weights kept me out of the real trouble. Lifting became my refuge to turning what I call an “angry youth” into something more positive. If kids at school would piss me off or I was mad about something with my father, I would channel that anger into the weight and the heavy bag.

I wasn’t always so smiley and fun to be around, and I had my challenges at certain times throughout my life. I was constantly always trying to navigate my way through the bullshit of being a teen, and trying to find a way out of my situation. Lifting weights was always there for me to turn to so that I could maintain a level head to help me dream to do something.

Magazine cover dreams

I dreamed of being on the cover of the magazines, being wealthy one day, and lifting weights as a profession. Where I am from, no one in their right mind thought this was remotely possible.

Lifting itself has evolved extensively over the years, and when I became 18, it seemed to be my way out. My future with it was definitely unclear, but if I could discover that path out of the valley, I knew that I would be successful with it.
I was confident in my ability because I flat out love it and it is my passion in life.

So, how did I know that it was my passion? The reason I am so sure is because it is the only thing I could fully concentrate on, the only thing I wanted to read about, and the only thing that I wanted to increase my ability with. I uncovered the path to how I could mesh these two to make a career out of it, and now I am living out my dream.