To continue from Part One, my article ended with all the drama leading up to the weigh-ins at the Canadian Nationals. For Part Two, I will introduce a new character to my odyssey - a bodybuilding icon - Lonnie "The Swami" Teper. Yes, Lonnie was the guest MC for the Canadian Nationals that year. Even after many, many, many years; he's still got the same electrifying stage presence.
After the eart- shattering weigh-ins, I got pulled aside by Bob Kennedy (Musclemag). I remember 
Bob telling me how impressed he was with how I looked. For those of you that do not know Bob, he doesn't just throw around compliments, so this was a big deal. One could allege that he had an interest in me crushing my competition at this show. At this time, Muscletech was just getting off the ground and Musclemag was very close with them. Muscletech, Paul Gardiner (owner), Musclemag and me would all greatly benefit from me turning pro in this show. I have gone into greater detail on this topic in previous articles so I'll leave it at that for now.
I was exuding confidence. Imagine being one of the biggest, most shredded, guys ever to step on stage at the Canadian Nationals. In addition to that, I rocked everyone at the weigh-ins and had Bob Kennedy telling me how great I looked. I was eating over 2000 grams of carbohydrates in an attempt to fill out, but it just wasn't happening to the extent I would have preferred. Worried, I decided to put a call in to the infamous Nasser El Sonbaty. Remember, at this time, we were still friends and I hadn't seen the maniacal and sociopathic side of him. I had asked for his opinion earlier in the week and he told me that he did not believe in insulin-loading. Lo and behold, when I talked to him on this day, he suddenly had seen the light of insulin and was a true believer. Frankly, he said that I should do a shot of insulin because it would help load more glycogen into the muscle. So there I am, the Friday night before show, getting this advice a week too late. Funny guy. I slammed the phone down so hard that I broke the cheap plastic. I guess that's just another reason why they call me the Canadian Colossus.
Like a good boy scout, I always come prepared. I had brought an extra bottle of insulin to the contest with me just in case. I had been contemplating using it but I wasn't sure if it would be beneficial. I had this feeling that I might need it, contrary to what my stellar "friend" had advised me earlier in the week. Back then, finding a pharmacy that would have been open at ten o'clock on a Friday night would have been impossible. After I hung up - sorry, destroyed the phone - I started my insulin protocol and I became increasingly vascular, fuller and leaner. I ate every 3 hours throughout the night and by prejudging I was just full enough. Not perfect in my mind, but close enough. This was so long ago that the Nationals did not have a Super Heavyweight Class, only Heavyweight. So it followed that the most important thing to have at that show was conditioning, over fullness.
For six months, I visualized the ending to that contest. I walk out on stage, hear gasps of shock and awe from the audience. Then, I get called in the first lineup, and they put me dead center. On either side of me, the second and third place guys stand there, dwarfed and looking like small children. The comparisons were between 200-210 pound men to my 300 pound leviathon. These guys were excellent bodybuilders but they couldn't compete with me. I made history that day; I was the first bodybuilder to ever step on stage at over 300 pounds. I had good reason to be confident.
After the prejudging, as I was eating with family and friends, I can vividly remember the only negative moment of that entire glorious day. Everyone was saying it was a clear victory. Taking the opportunity to rip me down a peg, my ex-wife squeals "I don't know... The other guy looks pretty good and he's ripped. They like that in Canada."
To recap, it's the biggest day of my life; I'm on the verge of achieving my dream, my goal. I'm feeling positive and optimistic and have the night show coming up. I couldn't believe she chose to say that. Your support system is there to support you, not plant seeds of doubt. What did I do? I just let this bounce off my chest like a weak punch from a girly-man and I went out for the night show without a doubt in my mind.
The finals ran smoothly and I received a perfect score. I took the Heavyweight title without any difficulty. I heard a couple of heckles from other competitor's friends, but it made no difference. If anything, it just fired me up. If the size difference in my own weight class wasn't bad enough, you should've seen the difference between the other guys and me for the overall. I heard snickers from the crowd and judges alike as I posed-down for the overall title. I felt bad for my fellow bodybuilders up on stage with me. It didn't take a swami to predict the outcome of the overall, but we had one anyway. Lonnie "The Swami" Teper took to the stage as the round drew to a close. I will never forget the words that came from his mouth. A quiet came over the crowd, "The Canadian Nationals Overall Champion and new IFBB pro is ......"
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