Team Beachbody Guest

My story is unique; I joke that BeachBody has helped to transform me from a “Scrawny” to a “Brawny!”

I grew up in a humble family with very strict parents who forced me to do well in school and kept me very sheltered at home. I was the epitome of a high school nerd – top 5% in my school, wore thick glasses, had big hair, etc. I was asthmatic, didn’t participate in any sports, rarely went out with friends on weekends for bowling or movies. All I did was stay home and study.

I excelled in school academically, but P.E. was a different story – a daily nightmare, a constant source of humiliation and I dreaded going. “Team Sport” days were the worst. I’d stand in a lineup of kids, sometimes hopeful that this time might be different, but then always the last person to be picked for a team. Another particular incident I remember was when the gym teacher gave us a fitness test. Not only did all the other boys score higher than me, but more than half of the girls beat me too (the worst part was when I threw up after a 100 m dash run, while everyone was watching). Of course, news spread quickly and I’d often be reminded of my ranking. Kids made fun of me, gave me hurtful nicknames. Just when I thought it was over and people had forgotten, someone would bring it up and the laughing and the jokes would start all over again. I was really shy, didn’t have a lot of friends and gym class just fueled my already low self-esteem.

I turned inward, concentrated on getting good grades and won a scholarship to a world renowned university where I hoped to start over. But, as an skinny (weighed around 105 lbs at 5'9 tall), shy, awkward international student, I realized that my past had followed me to college, I decided that enough was enough and I had to at least try to change my body - and hopefully my life.

I tried going to university gym to work out, but having no friends to go with and not really knowing what to do and being surrounded by world class athletes and other regulars, I was just too discouraged and intimidated and gave up after the first day. I needed a guide.

The summer after my freshman year, while flicking through TV channels, I ran across Tony Horton’s infomercial on Power 90. It gave me hope and inspiration and I decided to take a chance and ordered P90 that night. I told a couple of my friends and family that I was about to change my physique but to my disappointment they all laughed at me for wasting my money and told me to keep on dreaming. I vividly remember some friends telling me just to accept the fact that I would always be skinny, “it’s in your genes and there’s little you can do about it.”

I started out easy at first using only the resistance bands that I got with my order of Power 90. I did everything in the privacy of my own apartment – just me and some guy named Tony Horton on TV. I did some research online and bought some whey protein which I took 3x a day. After only 30 days, I started to notice some never before seen definition in my chest and arms. By mid summer, I felt confident enough to hit the gym again and use dumbbells to replace the bands (but only at 6 am because that’s when the gym was at its most deserted and I wouldn’t be intimidated by a bunch of big, muscled-out guys). By the end of the program session, I had visible pec muscles for the first time in my life and weighed 135 lbs - an increase of 30 lbs muscle mass in just 3 months! It was nothing short of a miracle. Everyone had been wrong. Not only COULD I change my body, but I HAD changed my body in one summer.

When school started my sophomore year, a lot of my classmates were amazed at my transformation. Some joked that I must have used steroids, but I assured them my weight gain was all natural. I started my sophomore year confident and with a renewed sense of self. Once shy and withdrawn, I found myself able to talk to strangers about anything. What’s more, I found people wanting to talk to me. I had no problem going to social events; I started making new friends and even joined the Greek system. I no longer felt like an outcast amongst my peers; I was accepted and even admired.

Later, in the summer prior to my senior year, I had begun to incorporate what I’d learned from my weight training class that I took in college into my Power 90 workout. With a high but healthy caloric intake for muscle building, my strength improved tremendously and by then I weighed 155 lbs with around 8% bodyfat. Entering my senior year with an additional 10 lbs of muscles, my friends were amazed again with my transformation and even more were joking that I should just admit to steroid use. I just laughed it off and took it as a huge compliment. I had gone from being called “Skeletor” to “Lil Rambo”!

After college and working as an electrical engineer, I was still working out diligently, but ready for a new challenge. I signed up for a martial arts class at Santa Monica’s original Muscle Beach. I guess it was fate that on the very first day of my martial arts class I met my fitness hero at the beach – TONY HORTON! I had the honor to meet him, shake his hand and even told him my transformation story. He recommended I check out P90X.

I’ve just recently finished my first round of the X and the results are amazing. Along with Joey Petri and his “300 Challenge Group,” I even dressed up as a Spartan this past Halloween and my picture was featured on the BNN Halloween edition!

I am living proof that whether you’re from a “genetically” skinny or fat background, you can still change your body and live your life to the fittest. Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do or be what you dream of. All you need is some discipline, motivation and commitment. Just don’t give up! I’ve told a lot of people that if an asthmatic, nerdy guy like me, from a long family line of skinny people, managed to transform my body, surely anyone can do it.