Tim was a freak...
Tim Belknap was born in Rockford, Illinois, in 1958. As a youngster, he was very active and gravitated to sports where strength was involved.
As Tim developed as a weightlifter, he utilized the nutritional knowledge gained as a type-one diebetic to organize meals for more muscular growth. While his intensions were to become more massive, he occasionally suffered from adverse reactions to his insulin injections, resulting in the loss of appetite.
Because of this, Belknap, at age 18, decided he would eat as much as possible when he could. He faithfully followed advice found in Muscle magazine and began to build a championship physique, recalling that he knew he had "serious genetic problems".
A few years spent following this approach, Tim, at the height of five-feet, four-inches tall, and weighing 230 pounds in off-season, began competing in physique contests. In 1981, he cut his bodyweight below 200 pounds and won the AAU Mr. America Light-Heavyweight and overall. He continued on to win the 1984 NABBA Mr. Universe short-man class, the 1985 NABBA Mr. Universe overall, along with the 1985 NABA World Championship.
Belknap's competitive bodybuilding career came to an abrupt end in the early 1990s when, at age 37, he underwent open-heart surgery. However, his battle against diabetes and heart disease never affected his love for the sport or willingness to compete.
