Big Beat celebrates his one-year anniversary as member of the Rx Muscle Forums and is also this month's Member of the Month! Let's learn more about Big Beat!

How were you introduced to the weights?

It was 1985 and I was 13 years old. There was a guy who lived on my street who was a genetic freak. He had 16-inch arms at 15 years old. He was training in the local gym and was a disciple of Arnold. I started asking him questions about training and he gave me Arnold the Education of a Bodybuilder to read and from there I joined the gym. Arnold was my hero.

educationofa.jpg

How did you learn about Rx Muscle Forums?

It was from watching bodybuilding interviews given during shows mainly and seeing Dave and thinking he had good interview skills. I then looked up more of his videos. I wasn’t following bodybuilding at the time of the split with MD, etc.

I remember watching an Ask Dave from a year a two ago where Greg Valentino joined in. It was the day Greg was in the labor court versus Blechman. It was hilarious and I kept watching. The after hours type stuff is entertaining.

askdave-rx.jpg

What’s your favorite part of Rx Muscle Forums?

The general banter and gossip around the big shows. It's also good that the likes of Dave and Chris Aceto come on the forum, it really gives the place a shot in the arm when they get involved and it draws in posters.

What would you do to improve the site and the forums in particular?

Sometimes the forum could be more active but I don’t mind a slower pace, when there is an avalanche of posts on forums most of it tends to be garbage which kind of gets tedious. Generally RX is a bit more mature than some of the other bodybuilding sites. There is a good collective knowledgeable base among the members.

Do you have a favorite movie?

I watch a lot of movies and it's one of my hobbies. Here’s three big movie that come to mind.

Goodfellas... I think Scorsese took all the knowledge he had gained up to making Goodfellas and just made the perfect movie, his masterpiece in my view.



Schindler’s List.... Probably the most profound movie I have ever seen in a theatre. It was so visceral, I remember when the movie ended nobody spoke and leaving the theater it was like a funeral procession. Very powerful, very moving.



The Usual Suspects... I knew nothing about the movie walking into the theater, when the Kaiser Soze twist happened I got the shivers, it felt the devil was in the room. It haunted my dreams lol.

What is your favorite part of the iron game – strongman, bodybuilding, Men’s Physique, Bikini, etc.?

Men’s open bodybuilding and strongman are the only two I watch. I am getting more into the 212 division. Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s I used to follow female bodybuilding and really wanted Sandy Riddell to win an Olympia... close but no cigar.

sr4.jpg

I’m following the strongman Eddie Hall and I thing he can be world's strongest man.

What's your favorite thing about bodybuilding?

The training, being stronger and the banter in the gym. I also like to see perfect genetics like Bob Paris. I like the analysis of physiques, breaking down bodybuilders in terms of structure and bodyparts, flow and aesthetics, etc.

What's your least favorite thing about bodybuilding?

That the balance of training, nutrition, rest and drugs is being so heavily slanted towards drugs. The blown up GH/Insulin/Anabolics/Heavy carbs is creating bodybuilders that don’t have the all around quality of physique of bodybuilders of 20 or 30 years ago. The race for mass has left quality in the trash can.

Site injection oils should be banned in my view, if the muscle cannot be built then that is it. Site injecting should be judged negatively. It’s not like it’s not hard to spot it.

What's your opinion of all the different categories or divisions?

I have little interest in Men’s Physique and Bikini or the other women’s classes with the exception of Physique.

What is your goal?

I am 44 years old and have arthritis in my knees and hips, probably genetic but brought on by training fairly heavy from a young teenage age when the ends of my bones were still soft. I have two boys that are 2 and 4 years old who I will be steering away from the weights until they are at least 18.

So my goal now is to stay healthy and to be relatively strong. I can’t shift the weight I could when I was younger and this pisses me off but I work with what I’ve got.

strongandhealthy.jpg

Would you share your greatest experience in the sport so far?

The first time I stood on stage. From the age of 13 to 21 I lived bodybuilding 24/7 and I competed 4 times as a natural between the ages of 16 and 20. There was a big crew from my gym competing the day of my first show, so there were plenty of people in the crowd who knew me and were shouting my name. I got a lot of compliments after the show and people said I had potential. I landed in the top 6 out of 12.

What has been one of your greatest disappointments?

Easily my last competition. I am 6’2 (genuinely not a bodybuilding 6’2) and as a teen I was competing against guys winning the shows who were 5’6 or 5’7 and juicing. I decided to come in heavier than previous shows for my last show at 210 lbs. This was 1992 before the mass monsters had truly arrived. Anyway, trying to come in bigger backfired and I was way too smooth.

I looked good under gym lights but stage lights are a different baby. I blew it and was really disappointed. I had been busting my ass for 7 years and I basically decided to change my focus to my studies, I was studying engineering in a good college.

In the end I was given some great advice by a top level competitor who had helped me out me over the years. He said to make it I would need to take a serious amount of drugs at my height (he described some stacks) and I would have to make bodybuilding my life and that meant probably taking a McJob that involved little stress or physical effort.

He said I was doing well at school and that I should think about the right direction for me to go. Over the teen years I realized I was not going to be the next Arnold and I thought to be financially successful in bodybuilding in my mind that meant being Top 6 in the world. So instead my effort went into my studies and now I own and run a design consultancy. Looking back I made the right choice.

Do you have any favorite bodybuilders or strength athletes?

Back when I lived bodybuilding my favorites were Bob Paris, Vince Taylor, Berry DeMey, Brian Buchannan, Levrone, Wheeler, Benfatto, Eddie Robinson.



Today it is Dorian Yates as much for the way he is able to dictate how he lives his life and for identifying what makes him happy and doing it. I wasn’t a massive fan of Dorian’s look when he competed but I have grown to appreciate what he did.



Who is someone you look forward to meeting and perhaps picking their brain?

I would like to have a proper conversation with Arnold or Dorian. I admired Bob Paris and met him when he was guest posing at a show when I was 17 years old, he was very nice and gracious. The first time I heard the idea about being who you are and being true to yourself came from reading a Bob Paris interview. He was talking about being gay which I am not, but what he said applies to every walk of life.

How’s your training going?

Its not too bad, I just train for health and fitness now and to have some strength. It has always been all about the training for me.

And how long have you been training?

31 years.

calendar31years.jpg

What’s the craziest workout program you’ve followed?

I tried a lot of things but never went too wacky. The worst was probably training with a guy who was into trying to the hit the muscle from different angles, he was always making up new exercises many of which were ridiculous.

What has been the most effective workout you’ve followed?

That's easy, it was call Perpetual Progress by Stuart McRobert. It was an article in Ironman called Hardgainer from the late 80’s. I still have the copy of the magazine. At 17/18 years old I got very good gains and added a fair bit of strength on this routine.

Favorite TV show?

The Wire and Sopranos. It’s very close but I think The Wire gets the nod as the best series for me.



What are three things you couldn't live without?

My wife and kids.
My guitar.
Work... have to pay the bills, but I can’t survive without nice holidays.

What currently drives you nuts?

Work. Its a double-edged sword, I enjoy my work but like anyone who runs a business I work insane hours. My work/life balance is way out of sync.

The Rich Piana, Bostin Loyd type phenomenon kind of annoys me. They stay relevant by pulling stunts but it's fairly obvious stuff.

What motivates you?

Family and ambition. I think I have something special inside me that is going to come out some day. lol

What are your hobbies?

Music. I have been playing guitar for more than 20 years.

guitar.jpg

Like a lot of others on this site I follow boxing. I trained in a boxing gym as a young kid. I used to watch 4 or 5 fights a week. Now it’s a few every month.

My parent are artists so I like art and there’s maybe a link between bodybuilding and sculpture in my head somewhere.

Do you have any pets?

No. I got attacked by a dog when I was a little kid since then animals never appealed to me.

Thank you for participating on the forums as the March Rx Muscle Member of the Month, Big Beat! I really appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions.