Always into fitness and health, Brody Robertson never thought of himself as the body building type, but through rehabilitating an injury, he received support and encouragement to give it a try.
And he's glad he did as the work paid off with a second place finish in the men's physique-tall class at the British Columbia Amateur Bodybuilding Association's Sandra Wickham Fall Classic, Nov. 10 at the Massey Theatre in New West.
"One of the funny things is, I never really thought about body building before," he said. "Last August, I was injured in an accident and went through several months of physio. A few months after that, I started playing hockey again, but I was getting a lot of groin pulls. I went to see Pat Cross at Cross Trainers, which is the gym that I go to. Pat did a compete fitness test and got me back on track with some exercises and stretching, which really helped."
While he was training and working with Pat, Pat's brother John Paul Cross, a former body building competitor, suggested to Robertson that he had the right body type and muscle development to give body building a try.
"The seed was planted, I guess," Robertson said. "One of my other friends, Mikayla Custance, (who Coast Reporter has featured, as well) also suggested that I give it a try. John Paul helped me on my diet and my training and in the spring and early summer, we really stepped things up."
The Nov. 10th show was Robertson's first competition.
"I was nervous, for sure. My first time up on stage in front of the judges - I didn't know what to expect," he said. "They break the day down into two shows, and in the morning they selected the top five from the 13 in my class. When I made the top five I was really excited. Then in the evening, they started calling out the top five and when they got to number two and said my name, I really couldn't believe it. It was certainly a proud moment for both of us. I owe a lot to John Paul."The top three in each class are eligible to move on and compete in the provincials this summer, which Robertson will be doing.
Robertson turned 31 on Nov. 11. He said he couldn't imagine a better birthday gift than his second place finish.
"I received so much support from family and friends, but John Paul helped me so much getting me mentally prepared," he said. "Mikayla also told me two things that I never forgot - trust your trainer and trust your body. All the hard work really paid off."
