Articles Bios & Interviews From Surviving to Thriving: Ben White and Nicole Ball's Bodybuilding Journey!
Once in a while, during periods of flipping through the pages of our favorite magazines or websites where we see the incredible muscular imagery and catchy article titles, we need be reminded that 
perhaps less thought should be given to esoteric things like bench pressing and well-shaped calves and more be focused on what we as individuals are truly capable of. Upon initial examination of pictures of IFBB Pros Ben White and Nicole Ball, one cannot help but be captivated by Nicole and her piercing blue eyes or amazing contoured delts and thighs. . . or Ben's Oak Tree-like arms, replete with their own network of snaking veins and capillaries. When you look at the sum of their parts, what's more impressive than their titles, celebrity, and humungous musculature is their accomplishments that have nothing to do with bodybuilding.
Where did you grow up at and what kind of childhood did you have?
NB: I grew up in a small town in Alberta called Viking. We lived on a farm. I have 3 older brothers and an older sister. My parents moved from London in the 70's. And it's where we've stayed ever since.
BW: I grew up in North Carolina raised by grandmother. My mom and dad didn't have a whole lot to do with my upbringing. I grew up poor. I was always wearing the same clothes to school. No running water. I went from there to living in an apartment.. Then I turned around and lived with my father then mom for a while. Then back to where I stayed and ended up with my grandmother. I knew where I was though, and I appreciate where I am now because I see where I came from.
What kind of student were you? Good kid? Class clown?
NB: I was a good kid. I did a couple years of student council. I went to my ten year high school reunion and my friends brought up that we had to make these posters for a class and turns out I had a poster pullout from a magazine with a bodybuilder on it!
BW: I wasn't interested in school based off of my parents. I knew they didn't go so I wasn't looking forward to it based on that. I had decent grades. I was a B and C student. I ended up graduating with my high school equivalency, or GED, whatever you call it.
It sounds like both of you came from very humble beginnings. For the fans and everyone who will never experience this, what were the feelings or emotions going on inside when you won the 2006 Canadian Nationals, Nicole? And the 2007 USA for you Ben? What did it mean to you?
NB: A few things actually. The year I won nationals is the only show my dad ever missed. My grandmother fell very sick and my dad flew to London to be there. My grandma had passed before I got onstage. The biggest thing going through my head was I wanted my dad there. When I won I just wanted them there. My 
boyfriend was excited but my overall feeling was sad. I was excited to be a pro but didn't have high expectations.
I felt good because I went on after nationals to the IFBB Pro stage at the IFBB Atlantic City Pro. I didn't think I was going to place. I was going to go there and get my name out. But I went and brought the best I had. That particular year Lisa Aukland won her weight class and I won my weight class. Then I went on and placed 8th in my first Olympia! I went in positive and never expected more than I had to offer.
BW: I felt I finally finished a goal and didn't quit! I knew my life was finally going in a different direction and a new chapter had begun. I'm not going to stop yet; something is coming out of this. My hard work and time put into it wasn't in vein, and I found a career I loved. When you realize it's a job you love and you learn every day you can't beat that. I don't work at 8 a.m. anymore, hate my boss or deal with people I don‘t want to. I worked at Wal-Mart unloading trucks and managing, then Blockbuster. Later I went to Greyhound and was manager of the bus station. I learned how to talk to people and it taught me how to work hard.
How has turning pro affected your lives?
NB: It hasn't. Speak to anyone about me and when I do a show I come home and I live the life of bodybuilding. I don't let bodybuilding live me. Weekends are for me. They're for my family. I spend time with my boyfriend and I don't look at myself any differently.
BW: Basically when I turned pro nothing changed. I noticed as you get more out of life people get bitter and nothing changed. I was sponsored by Muscletech then took a low placing at the New York Pro. Then I disappeared for a while and started working with Dave Palumbo. Nothing around my area really changed. I'm just trying to be the best but there was and still is a lot of jealousy. You'll get that everywhere though.
Would you say turning pro was one of the most proud moments of your life?
NB: For sure. I was very happy to turn pro. My parents divorced a year into me bodybuilding. So when they split they went separate ways but good things have come from it. It brought my parents together to watch my first ever Olympia after their divorce. That was pretty special.
BW: It was definitely a proud moment in my life. Grandma always told me succeed, succeed and always look forward. I was about to give up before Tampa Pro. I thought if I can't win a small show why am I competing? There was a lot of doubt. So I almost gave up right then and there. You get discouraged because you diet hard and I needed someone who understood my body. Dave does with the Keto diet.
Going back a bit in time, how did you first get into weight training and physical culture? What's the story there?
NB: I was in a bad relationship with my ex fiancé where looks were everything. So I turned myself bulimic. It was one of the hardest times for me. I took myself away from meat and dairy and became a vegan. I was bulimic for about four years then I started training because my boyfriend was into it. One of the trainers at the gym set me up on a diet. When I started to diet down it turned out bodybuilding saved my life. I dieted on six cans of tuna a day for my first show! It changed my life and I was onstage eight months after at 108 lbs. It was a rebound from an eating disorder that gave me the confidence and strength to change.
BW: I first got introduced to weight lifting by a guy named Louis Brody. Eventually he offered to bring me to the gym and I found my knack for bench pressing and simple lifting weights. Nothing crazy. I never really got into bodybuilding until later but the whole time I've been power lifting. It's been 13 years powerlifting the rest; I'd say four or five years bodybuilding. I would say my best numbers are; Bench 711, Dead 735 and I really don't Squat but if I had to say I would say 600.
You're both IFBB Pros and you both experienced success in the Pro ranks (Ben and Nicole both won the Tampa Pro. Ben in 2010 and Nicole in 2008). Is it what you expected?
NB: Yes and no. From the public view, all is absolutely. Personally I have tons of fans but I guess out of the first two years I competed as a pro the judges said I had a look they loved. But who's getting the recognition, though? The bigger women! I hear it from people all the time; don't let your size get to you, but it did. I always remain positive and respectful. You know, you have to. I've done well and I'm happy. But that is the reason so many women are dropping out because they know they don't have the chance to get there. With regards to bodybuilding, that's where I'm frustrated.
BW: It's more than I expected and I want more. I'm able to pay all my bills. I don't need any assistance. I have a good clientele base as a trainer. I never see myself as "thousand aire", always a millionaire or billionaire. I still have to add a few zero's behind my name.
Who would you say was your biggest influence in life and the most instrumental in getting you to where you are today?
NB: I have to say my family. My brothers are my biggest fans. My father too. Just to show you how they support me, when my brother was going through bankruptcy he flew to Vegas to see me compete! My brothers call me every day and encourage me. They have always told me they looked up to me. With them I'm always a winner.
BW: It's my grandmother. But it was Teresa that helped most recently. In the beginning she helped me a lot financially. She stuck with me through hard times. My parents had no influence on me. My mother was only 12 years older than me so she was just a friend and my father was elsewhere raising another family. So they weren't there. It was only my grandma. It takes a real man to stay around and watch his kids hatch. I want to make it easier on my kids than I had it growing up.
What is your greatest strength?
NB: The way I was raised to be down-to-earth. And how I'm compassionate and have heart. I was raised that if you think you're the best you'll lose because there's always someone better. Like my trip to India. Not a lot of people know about it but I went to India and talked to large groups of women about competing and basically self-acceptance. We also went to an orphanage with a bag full of footballs, soccer balls and jump ropes and gave them to the kids. They loved it! Now in November the women get to begin competing. Over 100,000 people came to meet me. It felt amazing to give back.
BW: I never gave up. And how I think forward. You have to think like that. Your past is your past; you have to let it go. You have to accept it. You have to focus on your present because the present predicts the future. You have to make the right choices. Everyone has a purpose on this planet. Once your purpose is done, you die. I was bullied in school, but they didn't get the best of me. They're in jail or dead. Each person has their own purpose. It's always one person with the ball. I have the ball. I bet my grandma is looking down smiling. She would be ecstatic if she saw me now.
In the end after it's all said and done, what kind of legacy do you hope to leave behind as a person or bodybuilder?
NB: I would love to hear people say I kept my symmetry and my femininity. That's most important. Basically be known as a woman who never gave into changing herself and for being compassionate. I want to continue to have opportunities to travel and give back like my India trip. I want to have opportunities like that to put on my roster because I think it would help the sport and help others. One of the things I want to do this year is send a dinner to the outreach center for Christmas. And down the road I want to open a lifestyle advantage center for people who have lost weight, fought cancer, fought bulimia or beaten any kind of problem. People think bodybuilders have to go through so much for what we do but its nothing compared to other people and what some have to fight.
BW: I want to see Ben as a Mr. Olympia. Not everyone gets the opportunity to try and be Mr. Olympia so I have to seize it. Being where I am now though I want to finish out bodybuilding and see how far it takes me. Down the road I want to build a gym. And I want to give inner city kids the opportunity to train with a pro athlete if they keep their grades up by starting a free service for them. I want to give back to kids and other people what I never had. I'd like to always stay involved with bodybuilding in some way so I can continue to give back.
Ben White and Nicole Ball have both fought, struggled, and overcome personal demons, poverty and the ultimate psyche destroyer; doubt. Their indomitable will is a testament to the power and strength of the human spirit. The struggles and obstacles they've had to dodge would have made the average person a statistic. While most succumb to the pain and woes of uncertain t
imes, Nicole and the Showstopper did not. After the interviews were finished and the transcriptions were saved, I closed my laptop and turned off the stereo that rests atop my kitchen cabinets. I sat for a minute and was taken aback by some of the things Nicole and Ben had opened up to me about. It was amazing to see how humble they were; especially Ben. We're used to seeing the shtick image of Ben here on RX MUSCLE. But the man was never once boastful nor did his voice ever reflect an ounce of pride. And Nicole couldn't have been any more open or honest.
What had my head going in circles though was how many pro athletes let alone bodybuilders have donated their time to speaking to women about body-image and self-acceptance? Who's brought bags full of footballs, soccer balls and jump ropes to lonely orphans in India? Or spoke of setting up a program geared towards helping underprivileged inner city children by giving them the opportunity to train with a professional athlete under the condition they maintain good grades? I can't think of any off the top of my head. In our sport, rarely do we think of anything outside the realm of "I, Me, My". But their examples prove we're just as gracious, giving or concerned as LeBron or Tiger. Just a tad bigger.
The next time you're looking here in the threads of RX Muscle or spot pictures of these two in the magazines you'll be reminded of the that that "strength is only skin deep". True power comes from within. For Nicole and Ben, it's their courage and unwavering commitment to never become anything less than what they could be that has brought them to where they are today. And it's their struggles that have defined them and solidified their character. I'm quite certain we will see big things from them in years to come; on and off the posing platform. They certainly have fought the good fight and paid their dues. Have you?
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