Friends,
As you all know, I only just recently started posting here. My intention for requesting an account was to share my experiences as a lifetime natural competitive bodybuilder. Although my competition experience is very limited, I have been an overall champion in 4 out of 5 contests.
•2010 NPC Team Universe Championships Open Men's Light-Heavy Weight 4th Place.
•2010 Musclemania Universe Professional Champion.
•2010 Musclemania Capital Tournament of Champions Open Men's Overall Champion.
•2009 NPC Lenda Murray Championships Open Men's Overall Champion.
•2009 NPC East Coast Classic Novice Men's Overall Champion.
Because of this, I thought that I would be respected and could provide some valuable insight into what is required to compete at that level. Over my many years of following the sport, it has come to my attention that there is a long held misconception in competitive bodybuilding. This 'myth' is that the only way to be successful in bodybuilding (competitive or otherwise) is to take steroids or other hormonal enhancements. It is one that both the fans and people who know nothing about the sport seem to accept as fact.
By truly being the genuine item, a lifetime natural, my success has shown that this is not true. For some people, taking the natural approach is a very hard pill to swallow. The results may not come as quickly and the gains might not look as impressive as the enhanced variety. But, if you are willing to stick with it for a very long time, it can be very rewarding. Furthermore, I do not understand why natural athletes are looked down upon so frequently within our subculture/ community. Bodybuilding is not a mainstream sport, and we should be willing to support it in all it's incarnations.
My intention is not to come across as overly proud or self righteous. My beliefs and approach to bodybuilding, has been rooted into the core of my being after thirteen years of recreational involvement. For me, the risks involved with taking drugs (steroids) are not worth it. The high likelihood of issues like high blood pressure, heart disease, and impotence [Google.com] far outweigh any perceived benefit that can be attained from taking them. Please bear in mind, as I am saying this, I am in no way looking down on anyone else. If it is your prerogative to use drugs, then that is your business. I just don't want to know anything about it.
I will not be deleting my account, but I will no longer be posting in this particular thread because of the derogatory comments you have made about several of my friends. I do not want to repeat any of those statements or phrases because they were very rude and hurtful. The people who know me in real life, and support my ambition are not a part of this discussion. By posting their pictures and making negative comments about them you are crossing the line.
For me, being ridiculed is nothing new. This is something which I have had to deal with for pretty much my entire life. In my blog (
http://patbanya.blogspot.com/), I talk about the insecurities I had growing up because I have a very unique name. I also talk about being clumsy and terrible at sports. I am by no stretch of the imagination, a "perfect" human being. If you have seen some of my early posing routines which are on my youtube channel (
http://www.you.com/patbanya) you will see I am far from perfect.
My use of that word in some of my videos is in homage to personalities like the now deceased WWF wrestler Curt Hennig, aka Mr. Perfect. As a child, I was a fan of his personality and in the ring antics. I felt that by adopting that moniker, my videos would get more views and I would develop something of a following.
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this entire thread, this post, and making comments. Even though not everything that has been said here is very positive, I have a feeling that the majority of them were just jokes. I do not take anything personally and I am not holding a grudge against any of you. You guys are great, and I really do consider you my Getbig.com friends.
I will continue to log on to answer any personal messages you might send my way. Remember, I am the natural alternative to GH15. So there are plenty of things that I won't know anything about or be able to help you with. But, if you are interested in following my example, I have a feeling that any one of you could achieve great success in natural bodybuilding. Good luck to you all and please continue to do what you do best here at the Getbig.com forums. In my mind, you have earned your distinction as, the "Thunderdome."
P.S.
Ron (Forum Owner and Moderator),
Thank you for honoring my request by monitoring this thread. I have a feeling, if it were not for your help and intervention, things could have been much worse. You are a great person who I also consider a friend. In the future, if there is ever an opportunity, I would like to be a contributor to this website.
