This photograph is from March 1994, interviewing the great Flex Wheeler at the IFBB Southern States show. The reason this is significant to me is that it was this night that I announced that Doherty’s Gym was going to open in Brunswick 2 weeks later on April 8th. Which means that it is 20 years ago today that it all really started for me.
I knew that this was my last shot at it, as I had nothing and owed about $200,000 which was loaded against my parents home. They had backed me from day one and I had let them and everyone close to me down. I had pissed it away and partied like a rockstar, thinking I was shit hot. Thinking I was bulletproof, a success in my own mind. Truth is, I was delusional, dazed and way, way ahead of myself.
I opened the doors on April 8th without a single member, no staff, no money in my pocket, nothing in the bank. I had no idea how I would get through the first week, let alone the first year. I just waited for someone to come in and train and after a few hours, a young couple came in and joined up. That first day I had about 10 people come in but no one else joined. This went on for a while and I just kept at it. Kept showing up, day after day, week after week.
The first year I sold everything to keep the doors open, house, cars, furniture, you name it, I lost it. The phone or power got cut every month, at least. I had no where to live and no car, all I had was a vertical grill and a rice cooker. I slept on the couch at the gym for that first 12 months, I would get up in the morning and walk up to the main road to get a paper and a coffee. This way it looked like I had actually come from somewhere. Then I would walk to the gym to open up at 6AM. I would work through to 9 or 10PM, most days on my own until everyone had left, once again I would lock up and pretend to head home until everyone had gone, then sneak back and let myself back in.
I developed a saying that I still use to this day. “Don’t worry about what you can’t do, worry about what you can do.” So with that in mind, when I couldn’t afford to buy new equipment, I would buy a can of paint. When no one came in, I would move everything in the gym. I would dust, clean, re-arrange everything. After a while, people would come in and say, “Hey you are always doing something.” That inspired me more, I thought if people come in and I’m sitting around or complaining, they will pick up on that crap energy. If they come in and I’m busy, they will know I care.
Slowly I started to straighten myself out, killed the ego, got back into heavy training, lost the ponytail and kicked myself until I got up and about. I realise now, how far I had fallen and how close I came to falling through the cracks. I knew that from then on, I would give life everything I had. By that I mean, I made a deal with myself that I would never have regret, or die wondering. No more excuses, no blaming others, no turning back.
I’m writing this for anyone doubting themselves. Anyone thinking about giving up, or thinking they don’t deserve success. For the ones out there that have made stupid mistakes and bad choices. For everyone that has been told they are no good, everyone that has been written off and laughed at. You must never quit, never give in, never let the doubters wear you down. You gotta be tough, you have to stop worrying about what others think. You have to find it within yourself. You have to hold your head up high and stay humble, no matter what, you have to grind. You have to get up every day and attack it like it is your last day, your last chance. When you put you head down at night, you have to know you did everything today, that you could to move forward. Sometimes it will seem fruitless, useless and slow. That is when you dig in harder, you must trust the process, trust yourself and most of all believe in yourself, I mean deep down inside where no one else dwells, that’s where you have to believe in yourself.
Grind hard - Don’t quit!
