About Me

Name: Jason
Hometown: Manassas, Virginia
Degrees: B.S. Biology, Minor in Business, George Mason University / M.P.H. University of Florida
Profession: Epidemiologist

The year was 2010, and I was in a very interesting place in my life. I had one more semester to go to finish my undergraduate career at George Mason University in Virginia, and I knew that a lot of my dreams and aspirations both professionally and personally were not going to come true, or were far from what I wanted them to be. I was in a way feeling down. I was stuck in a mind-set of uncertainty with figuring out what the next steps were going to be after I got my degree and how I could get out of the rut I was feeling within my mind of never being a guy that anyone really cared about, knew, or wanted to be around.

It seemed to me that everyone I knew was either beautiful and / or physically gifted, intelligent and on their way towards the higher education programs they had worked hard towards the past four years, or excelled in SOME skill that made them stand out and have some importance to some crowd. Here I was, a guy who every time he looked in the mirror would see the most mediocre, average, and boring guy in existence who was incapable of flourishing in any social circle and didn't have anything special that really defined him and made him interesting.

It was January, and it was that time of the year where a vast majority of people were making resolutions and goals for personal change. I can't say that I had given any previous thought to having a New Year's resolution of any kind, but that was about to change.

As a kid growing up, and even to this day, I have been drawn to superheroes and dominant personalities. I grew up in the days of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, DC comics and Marvel superhero shows and movies, and professional wrestling. I also had an obsession with legends like Bruce lee. As a freshman in college, I also grew very interested in the game of football and the passion, intensity, and physical dominance that these professional athletes displayed. I would look at the bodies of all of these fictional or unfictional characters and just be in awe at how aesthetically pleasing and dominant they looked. The intimidating, overbearing look that made it seem they could handle any kind of extreme that the world threw at them really had an impact on me.

And so one night I found myself doing what I normally did, sitting in my room on my computer surfing the web mindlessly until eventually finding myself on Youtube. I can't tell you exactly what initially sparked my interest in looking up a video on alcohol and bodybuilding, but I remember very distinctly stumbling upon a video entitled "Alcohol and Bodybuilding" by user Scooby1961 and, as weird as it sounds, becoming in awe at how well developed his body was and how it nearly looked like all of the heroes and role models I had growing up. It was unbelievable looking and, before I knew it, I was looking at more and more bodybuilding videos and becoming overwhelmed by this weird feeling of interest in something that I had never really given too much thought to.

Then something grew inside of me. I reflected on my life as I had many times before, but for some reason this time was a lot different. I'm not trying to be overdramatic here, but a more intense kind of feeling was going through my body this time which is hard to explain. It was as if the feeling of anxiety towards my self-perceived shortcomings in life was there once more, but this time I actually wanted to attack a goal harder than every before, and more so than anyone else I knew and be pro-active at finally making something happen. I didn't want to just talk about something anymore to myself only to never do it or fail and give up days or weeks after starting it. I wanted to latch on to something and never let go. I wanted to overcome my rut and do something with more intensity so that I could look at everyone else in life who I thought had an edge on me and didn't want to give me the time of day and affirm to myself that while they rode their talents, I did something that could only be attained through an inhuman amount of dedication and hard work that they could never comprehend. I wanted it to be that whenever I stood next to or interacted with those people, they would instantly realize that their successes and strengths were mostly given to them, while mine were the the result of welcoming pain, hardships, and countless hours of grinding towards some goal. I wanted to take every single moment in my life where I felt defeated and worthless and take every ounce of that negative energy.....consume it.....embrace it.......and throw it back into the universe as something beautiful.

I also thank Scooby and his videos, because they stress very heavily the importance of nutrition, and so early on in my bodybuilding life it was hammered into my head that nutrition is the single most important part of any body transformation goal. I remember sitting at the table my first day of my bodybuilding journey and preparing the most bland dish of my life in front of my sister, and her saying "what....is that", and in a serious voice told her "It's food". I continued to tell her that this is the kind of thing that I would be hopefully eating for the rest of my life, and looking back I kind of chuckle at it, but am also kind of stunned that I actually have kept a strict diet going since that day.

One month turned into three, and three months turned into 6, and before I knew it I had been lifting weights for a whole year, which I had originally thought would have been an eternity to stay consistent with a workout and, in all honesty, thought I would give up on early in the game. But I stuck with it.

As I kept lifting, I started to see results. I never told anyone about it....never posted a Facebook status about it....because weightlifting and bodybuilding to me was just something I wasn't cut out to do. I didn't want to be a poser or be embarrassed by being laughed at by people who actually had experience with the gym and working out. I also didn't want to talk about it until I actually had results and experience to back it up. I wanted to be sure that it was something for me.

It wasn't until a year and a half to maybe two years where people started noticing something different with the way I looked. I wasn't used to getting compliments, but as more and more of them came in, the more and more it strengthened my determination to go back into the gym and work even harder to attaining whatever the ultimate version of my body aesthetic could be. While a lot of my success was an individual one, the people who supported me in what I did also had a big impact on keeping me going.

Bodybuilding surprisingly has done a lot for me and my life. It has given to me the skills and traits I had always wanted in life, and has taught me a lot about who I am and what I am capable of. It has taught me how to become social through interactions in the gym. It has taught me how to maximize the look of my aesthetic in what I wear and how I carry myself. It has taught me how to work hard and focus, and the benefits of doing both. It has given me a new sense of confidence for which to attack life with, and the mindset needed to be successful at natural bodybuilding has bled over into all other aspects of my life in a positive way.

I thank bodybuilding and fitness for all it has taught and given to me. As I continue on this journey, I'd like to give back to people the knowledge I have attained and experiences I have been through. It feels really good when I'm able to do that and I like feeling like I have affected someone's life in a positive way and was a reason they decided to make a change in their lives for the better. I hope that this blog is another way I can do that.

Thank you for stopping by and being a part of my journey! Keep checking in for new posts, and leave messages / questions if you have them!

-Jtrain