I want to thank everyone for the continuous, ongoing support I receive. Your encouragement is greatly appreciated and helps drive me in the competitive, tough sport of bodybuilding.

I've been competing within Musclemania since 2001. I turned professional in Hollywood, California at the 2005 MM World. Winning the heavyweight division was exhilarating to me. It was the result of a long-term goal I set for myself years ago. It made me realize that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to with enough hard work, positive thinking and self-confidence. I feel like I am apart of a wonderful organization and will do my best to be a positive image and role model for it.

Becoming a Musclemania pro has opened up many doors for me within the health and fitness industry. I've had the opportunity to work in fitness modeling with photographers Norman Johansen, Irvin Gelb, Kurt Brown and Matt Shepley. I have been featured in several mainstream muscle magazines, including Muscle & Fitness and Musclemag International. I have also begun to write bodybuilding articles on bodybuilding.com in order to help others achieve their goals.

My goals for 2008 are to make my pro debut in Musclemania and to be featured on the cover of Muscle & Fitness. I then later want to obtain an endorsement of some kind. I'm enjoying myself in Southern California since moving from Milwaukee, Wisconsin 3 years ago. I am in the Mecca of bodybuilding now. My twin brother, Matt, has moved out here too and we share similar lifestyles. I plan on using bodybuilding and fitness modeling as a stepping stone for acting. It can give me the exposure I need to best market myself and image. We have signed with a few agents and have been going to auditions on a regular basis.

In early 2007, California Sate University Northridge accepted me into their graduate Kinesiology program with a concentration in exercise physiology. I will be completing my thesis work there and graduating with my Masters degree in the spring of 2008. I currently teach at CSUN by instructing strength training courses. Recently, I became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), which has greatly enhanced my teaching and writing skills.

I also had the opportunity to film a bodybuilding documentary in Santa Monica, California this year. The documentary covers all my training, posing instruction, interviews on several bodybuilding topics including; nutrition, supplementation and training philosophies. The DVD, Sculpted by Choice, is intended to help educate and motivate aspiring bodybuilders and gym goers of the mainstream population. I also share all my knowledge in my fitness book, Muscle Rx that has been endorsed by 3-time Mr. Olympia, Frank Zane. Both the DVD and book can be found on my website.

After competing in a couple NPC events in 2007, the Arnold Amateur and Junior California, I decided to enter a show that evened the playing field- the Mr. Natural California. The show is drug-tested and requires you to be natural. I won the heavyweight class and was awarded the overall title. I was absolutely thrilled about this victory; I had never won an overall title before, only my weight division. The audience also voted me as best poser. The overall win qualified me to turn professional with the NGA drug-tested organization.

I welcome the challenge of competing within the professional division of both Musclemania and the NGA. It will only push me further in becoming the best bodybuilder I can be. It's time for me to take my bodybuilding onto the next level. I have been training really intense and have made some considerable gains while staying lean. I still have plenty of time to dial in an improved package of symmetry, muscle mass, and conditioning. It will be interesting to see how the improvements I make will shape up against the pros I share the stage with.

I've made some good friends and acquaintances since competing within the Musclemania drug-tested organization. It's been a great experience to say the least and I know the best is yet to come. My ultimate goal is to help and motivate others within health and fitness throughout my lifetime. I want to wish all the great competitors out there luck with their training this year. It is always nice to hear from all you bodybuilders out there, so don't hesitate to drop me a line.

Stay strong and healthy,

James

Send me a Message

© 2006 Fitness Universe, Inc. - All Rights Reserved