Respectful Rivalry Of Bodybuilders By Kev Taylor

By Author: Rayford Marks
Total Articles: 186
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One of the special things about competitive bodybuilding is that however hard you have trained, however tight you have held your diet, however much blood, sweat and tears you shed en route to competition in your quest for gold, the respect for your fellow athletes always stays strong. We're all in the same boat and there's always a 'Knowing' of what we've gone through to get to show day. That is the Main prize bodybuilding has to offer and that is priceless.

Now a few of you may know that I’ve been involved with bodybuilding for over thirty Years. l had made the change from the UKBFF after being there for three decades and decided to return to the NABBA stage after 30 yrs. l last competed as a NABBA Junior in 1984 but felt that with my light frame l would fare better ln the weight classes of the EFBB. l knew that NABBA class 4 had an abundance of quality chunky physiques and l weighed about 10 stones at the time, 70kg class seemed to be the most obvious place for me to be. Now almost 30 years later i thought it would be interesting to see how l fared. My NABBA reintroduction would be the Mr England 2 weeks following ...
... my swansong guest spot at the UKBFF NE championships and it brought a new lease of life and a buzz of excitement to the end to 2013.

It Was at this show l would be up against reigning champion Mathew Seddon of Bury St Edmonds. A top drawer physique at Just 26 years of age at that time. I'd Seen him Win the NABBA Mr England in 2012 and was extremely impressed back then. He showed a maturity in his physique that belied his young age. This time however, we Would both be battling for glory at the Mr England which Was the Last qualifier for the Mr Universe. Mat came in big in order to defend his title. He showed me great compliment backstage when he explained his reason for coming in with extra size was because he knew l would be bringing my condition. It was very close but l narrowly squeezed to victory. Bit like apples and oranges if ya like. l had better Condition and matt had me by two stone displaying. great balance. He was a touch out on that occasion but l knew at the time he would be a right handful on his day.

After we both represented Britain in the Universe class 4 (alongside Lee Priest Wow ) l said,"well have to stop meeting like this LOL", and he said yeah, after the NABBA UK next week. My extra tightening up my condition for the UK is testament to Mattew seddons quality. After the UK we had become friends and stay in touch. We chat about bodybuilding and different approaches, training methods and nutritional programmes. Matt said he wanted to get my conditioning to accompany his size so l invited matt up to fitness Connection gym in Ravensthorpe, west Yorkshire. Early in March we got together for a workout and l was able to introduce him to Moe Nawaz & Jeannie Ellam, Who have transformed this gym into a bodybuilding Mecca over the past decade. They have always supported me in all my ventures and always give a Warm welcome and good bodybuilding advice to everyone that pays a visit.

matt arrives after a 5 hour motorway slog. We meet, Man hug, talk, eat, talk, train, talk, pose, talk some more. 8 hours later matts heading back home fully charged. We had arranged to do a photo shoot with top physique photographer Lee Archer of photo flex close to the Britain in Southport on 31st MAY 2013. www.photo-flex.co.uk

The photographs for this magazine article are by Doncaster photographer Lee Archer from www.leearcherphotography.co.uk
Lee is also a south Yorkshire wedding photographer who covers the uk. Lee uses only Graphistudio photobooks.

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