What motivates a NATURAL PRO!?!

November 2nd, 2009

Just want to stress why I workout, what motivates me, my plans for the future, what I would like to accomplish in the Natural Bodybuilding world (i.e. the WNBF) and how I became “The Youngest Natural Pro Bodybuilder in the USA.”

It all started after high school. That’s when I began lifting seriously. For me, that meant consistently going to the gym.

As for my athletic background, I was a wrestler during my last couple of years of high school…and I even became the captain of the team due to my leadership skills and strict work ethic.

I brought that determination to the table once I decided to focus on my own physique and where I wanted to be with it in the future. So, it was time to turn it up a notch!

Going to a community college 30 minutes away from home and weighing 140-145 pounds in the Fall of 2004, I started working out at the college facilities (which wasn’t the best place but it was sufficient enough) and, in my eyes, it was a start.

I then took a fitness class so I could test myself against my other classmates and, as a byproduct, since I was also paying for the class for college credit, I took it extra seriously.

Shortly after I began that fitness course, I also started working at the facility as a part-time job so I got to spend pretty much every waking hour there.

Now with all of those things going on in my life (i.e. school, work, and working out), I didn’t feel the need or urge to go out and “Get Drunk or F*&K Up” all that energy that college kids use to find their next party or go to the next bar.

I was using that energy in a productive manner…and I strictly focused on lifting!

Little did I know by lifting, I opened up a whole new can of worms because my metabolism was now at SUPER-SPEED!!!

I HAD to eat every 2 hours!!! I was hungry all the time. That was a constant.

I also usually lifted by myself because nobody else was reliable enough to count on when I headed to the gym…so I was on my own.

So I went at it for a little less than a year, and that’s when the rumors started FLYING.

“Have you seen Godderz?? Have you seen Godderz??”

Within a little less than a year, I successfully changed my freshman 15 pounds of BEER FAT into 10 pounds of CHISELED MUSCLE, and I was weighing around 155-160 pounds now!But let’s get this straight: I now looked better than everyone else because I gained about 10 pounds or so of muscle…while my high school peers gained 15 pounds of BEER FAT at the exact same time–so there really was a HUGE difference in the way we now looked.

As a result, I was starting to get fingers pointed at me for “cheating”!!!

It was INSANE!!!

Keep in mind, I graduated with 54 people in my senior class, so EVERYBODY knew EVERYBODY and what they were up to and they all talked behind each other’s backs.

So, while still being only 19 years old, I felt obligated to prove to people that I hadn’t taken anything to cheat to get my physique!!!

As a result, I did my research and found the NANBF (a bodybuilding organization in the midwest that has a trained FBI agent polygraph their athletes and make them take urinalysis tests to ensure that they’re not on steroids).

That organization also tests more frequently than any other in the industry.

So I applied, took all of their tests and, of course, I passed with FLYING COLORS and was accepted into the organization!!!

That proved I was (and always have been) COMPLETELY NATURAL!!

So, after proudly being accepted into the NANBF, I entered my first bodybuilding show called “The Best of the Midwest 2005” in Cedar Rapids, IA.

I stepped onstage to a round of applause and when I finished up, I was declared the WINNER in all of the classes that I entered!!!

I won the Teen Division, I won my height class in the Novice Division, and most importantly, I also won The OVERALL as a NOVICE!! It was Crazy!

And, I had just turned 20 years old a few days earlier. That meant I was The Youngest Natural Pro Bodybuilder in the USA (a title I still proudly hold).

What also meant a lot to me was that all of the other competitors were very helpful and supportive of me because they saw potential that I could go far in this industry.

That was just the icing on the cake because keep in mind that my main desire was just to put the kibosh on the rumors about my physique!!!

That’s where my bodybuilding career really took off.

The reason why I still work out these days is because I LOVE the results. I don’t think I’m big-headed, stuck up, or too cocky 🙂 haha… but I do like what I’ve accomplished.

Looking back, not only are my fellow competitors proud to have competed against me, but they’re excited to have watched me grow and become successful in the industry.

That’s like playing against an athlete in high school and they’re now in the pros and they can say…Hey, I competed against that guy!!!

I also can’t get a better compliment than: “Jessie, you have the look I’m going for!” Or…”If I could, I would want to look just like YOU!”

That’s what it’s all about!!

I know people look up to me and being NATURAL FOR LIFE is what’s important to me. It’s how I started and it’s how I’m going to finish!

What continues to motivate me are ALL THE HATERS!

I look at it this way: my job is to take my body to the limit, theirs is to hate on me, accuse me of cheating, and say I could do that if I wanted to.

Take this interaction for example:

Me: “What did you do last weekend?”
Hater: “I went to the clubs and drank…oh man, I can barely remember!!!! WHooahhOOO!!!”
Me: “What separates me from you is my Friday consists of working out and eating, my Saturday is working out and eating, my Sunday is WORKING OUT AND EATING!!! Consistency is key!! I don’t taper off…you can’t expect big things if you do!!!”

Of my more recent bodybuilding achievements, I have since become Mr. Natural Iowa 2008 and I’m still The Youngest Natural Pro Bodybuilder in the USA.

I would like to reach out and spread the word of my NATURAL accomplishments and hopefully take on the role of a spokesperson for the WNBF (which is the Professional Division of the NANBF…and of which I’m now a proud part of).

That’s all for my little rant and rave right now. Thank you for your time!