I wish everyone could feel what I am feeling right now as I write this. There are feelings of joy and happiness for Chris, of being very proud of not only having him as a client but a very good friend and a leader for Team Gorman. Im not going to lie, when Leslie and I had to decide and name him the winner, there were quite a few moments I had a lump in my throat just because of who he is and I will get those feelings again as I write this. I never know how something I write about a client will come out until I just sit down and write it, so here goes. Let me give everyone a little background on Chris, and even though his journey was only judged from the time of his before pic to his after pic, there’s a pretty cool story to tell about how he came to be part of Team Gorman.
Leslie and I first met Chris in 2010 at the KC Gold Classic, we were judging that show. I had known Chris from a log he kept on the Muscular Development Forums, and I knew he was going to be at the show. Leslie and I judged him, and like the other judges we were FLOORED at his physique. I mean he literally outmuscled everyone in the entire show that day, the only problem was Chris had a lot of loose hanging skin from losing a lot of weight- he was in the 300’s at one point afterall. Here are a couple of pics of Chris on stage with loose skin, you can see the potential here. But regardless Chris was not ashamed, and was living his dream of being a bodybuilder.
Leslie and I introduced ourselves to him at the show, and I told him later on that if he got his loose skin removed he would have a very good chance at potentially winning a pro-card. He went on to do another show later that fall and he and I continued to talk off and on and I gave him some advice and help on his peak week. He did well, but still had to overcome the loose skin that hung in some spot by inches.
Chris and I kept in touch here and there, and later he decided he was having surgery to remove the excess skin and I was truly happy for him. He ended up getting with me and we decided to work together for the fall of 2011 to go for a pro-card at the KC Classic. And this is where our journey begins for the Transformation Contest, and where his before picture starts below. Notice, not only is this quite painful but also the tubes for drainage from the surgery.
Chris as you can see here is very flat, and lost quite a bit of muscle in his upper body due to not being able to work out. He ate clean, and did some cardio when he was able to later, but for the most part this was a mental struggle for him. We decided that before we started any dieting, we had to get him some muscle back, and boy did he ever blow up. QUICK LIKE.
In 10 short weeks Chris went from about 206 lbs to 224 lbs, and muscled up! He still had some abs in this pic below, and we knew his short offseason and rebound was good. We decided we couldn’t wait any longer so we started dieting in May for the KC Classic in September.
Chris has a very stubborn body type, he’s very endomorphic. He can put on muscle pretty quick, but when it comes to fat loss it’s a struggle. We had his carbs well over 300 in the offseason, but we had to take them down slowly over time for the KC show. We landed at about 205-207 lbs range but knew we still needed to be leaner and Chris’s body was fighting him. Also was the fact that the muscle he had put on in the 10 weeks offseason still didn’t have a whole lot of time to solidify and “stick” so to speak, so trying to hold onto that fullness was a struggle. That coupled with only being at a caloric surplus for 10 weeks wasn’t that great for keeping his metab revved up during prep, which we knew going in but we jumped in none the less.
Now I say “we” quite a bit, but I want to be very clear on something, Chris and I are a team but Chris is the workhorse here. I use the analogy that I am the passenger in a car, and I read directions from time to time but Chris is the one who did all the work and driving, sometimes I would reach over to steer or read directions but the athletes should get most of the credit here. We worked well as a team.
Chris placed 4th in the open class in KC, and we knew he had the size to win he just needed leaner. He wanted to push on from Sept to November and do the Super Pro Qualifier in his hometown. We slowly pulled carbs back but we both knew Chris responded very well to ketogenic dieting, something I try to avoid with natural athletes unless it’s only for short spurts so I designed a targeted keto diet (carbs pre and post workout only to at least protect against muscle loss) but with a big weekly refeed. Chris become well known for just sitting down with one HUGE bowl and eating cereal for hours J Chris started to get leaner and leaner and it was working.
One big accomplishment was when Chris stepped on the scale and it read 199 lbs. Now this was an emotional day for all of us, Chris hadn’t weighed that since he was a kid. That right there really hit home, and I could feel something special was happening.
The show came, and Chris was sitting about 200 lbs or so, the leanest he has ever been. We were backstage pumping up and there was a WNBF masters pro there in his class, shredded out of his mind. I mean this guy was lean, but Chris was a better overall bodybuilder. As the class went out to get judged, we all went out to watch Chris. This is the moment I saw something special in Chris. See Chris is the last person who wants glory, or attention. Something great happens and he automatically tries to spread around the feeling to others or help others feel good about themselves. But I saw Chris come alive on that stage and he took it to that class like a BOSS. His posing was perfect, he left no doubt what-so-ever that he was there at his best. After that class it was clear it was between him and the other guy. Later that night at the night show Chris was announced as the winner and NEW IFPA Pro! I remember immediately getting a lump in my throat and tears, Leslie did as well.
It was a very special moment for myself personally as I saw a very humble, good friend of mine flashback through my mind from meeting him in 2010 up there on stage, un-ashamed of who he was or of having loose skin, to having surgery and the battle with depression that surely had to set in with not being able to workout and losing so much hard earned muscle, to watching him get the go ahead from the doctors and killing it in his 10 week offseason, to shaking off a 4th place finish to digging deep and feeling like straight DEATH some days as he pushed on to hit 199 lbs to winning his IFPA Pro card this night. THIS is why we have picked Chris as our 1st place winner this year, his constant battles he fought through, never complaining, never backing down, and always coming out better and better than before. Chris’s transformation and his story from his beginning pic here to his ending picture set the standard for Team Gorman for the 2012 Transformation Contest.
Congrats my friend, it’s truly and honor for Leslie and I to give you this award, and to watch you continue to represent to ALL people what a true champion is, what true heart is. Thank you for that, from all of us.
Oh and one last thing I want to say about Chris. The last week or so leading up to this contest being final and judged, Leslie and I announced on FB just how hard this was for us to judge and just get a Top 5 figured out let alone the 1st and 2nd place winners. Chris messaged me and suggested that we spread the money out evenly to the Top 5 so everyone was a winner. See, Chris is always wanting others to succeed, even over himself. He’s always putting others before himself, even to a fault. When I asked Chris the other day just who he had in the Top 5 in his opinion, he didn’t even have himself there he had 5 others he thought were better. We could all stand to be a little more like Chris, more humble like him, more unselfish like him, and always trying to lift others up even if it’s at his own expense. YOU my friend are rare, don’t ever change brotha. This is just the start of your incredible journey, and Leslie and I are proud to be your friend and be a part of this with you watching your amazing story unfold from the sidelines with ALL our Team Gorman Teammates cheering you on.