Shelby Starnes interviews Troponin Athlete Brad Davis

Our second Troponin Athlete Interview is with Brad Davis, a 5'5", 193 pound Troponin Nutrition veteran from Paducah, Kentucky who has done very well on the NPC circuit over the past couple years. Brad is currently preparing for an all-out assault in the light heavyweights at the 2007 IFBB North Americans, to be held on August 31st and September 1st in Cleveland, Ohio. Let’s get to know a little about Brad…

Shelby: Tell us a bit about yourself, Brad.

Brad: I’m a 35 yr old father of two lovely girls, Kiana age 8, and Marissa, age 11, and husband to one of the best women in the world Brigette Davis. I work as a chemical operator for Air Products and chemicals in the Emulsion Plant in Calvert City, Kentucky. I reside in Paducah, Kentucky a few miles from my work place. I’ve been in Paducah for the last 10 years now.

Shelby: How did you initially get into bodybuilding?

Brad: I have lifted weights since age 13 for football, but it wasn't
until I joined the Army and got stationed at Fort Bragg, NC that I was
introduced to bodybuilding by some local guys at an off post gym I
went to called Big Guyz Gym in 1991. I didn't actually compete in my
first show until 2003, as I just didn't feel like I was ready to get
on stage, and to be honest I was a little scared. In 2003 I finally got
the nerve to get on stage and entered the Kentucky State Championships
in the light-heavy open class. I came in a lil’ out of shape but still
managed to get 4th place. A year later I went to Arnold, Missouri right
outside St. Louis, and entered the Caveman Classic where I won the
light-heavy class and went on to win the overall. In 2005 I hooked up
with Troponin Nutrition and Justin Harris and entered the Jr.
Nationals in Chicago and placed 2nd in the light-heavy class. Then
last year I took a big step up and competed at Nationals in my first
pro qualifier and placed 14th in the light heavy class.

Shelby: Tell us a bit about that experience.

Brad: I got my butt handed to me at Nationals and learned a great deal
from it. Conditioning kills! You’ve got to be ripped on that level as
everyone has a great physique, but very few can get totally hard and
shredded.

Shelby: Who did you look up to when you first began training?

Brad: I have always been a big fan of Shawn Ray’s physique, and I am also a big fan of Mike Francois. When I first started out I guess Shawn Ray was the physique that I wanted to copy.

Shelby: What is your favorite thing about bodybuilding? Least favorite?

Brad: My favorite thing about bodybuilding is watching your body
transform during contest dieting; it actually makes dieting fun for
me. The least favorite thing is that it’s a subjective sport, and your
outcome is always in the hands of a panel of judges. I’ve seen some
weird calls over the years and this is what I don't like about the
sport, so you have to just get in your head that you’re competing
against yourself and take the judging out of your mind.

Shelby: Tell us a bit about the gym you train at, whether you have a training partner, what it’s like having a partner, etc.

Brad: I train at Mega Gym in Draffenville, Kentucky owned by my two workout partners Billy and Pg Georgiou. I have worked out with the Georgiou brothers for about 6 yrs now and just last year they opened their own gym, so it’s nice to have have a gym I can pretty much call home. Billy and PG both are also competitive bodybuilders and young up and comers in the sport. Billy and Pg always push me hard in the gym and more important give me brutally honest feedback. It’s not wise to surround yourself with people that just always tell you how great you are, but rather will tell you what they really think when you need to hear it.

Shelby: What principles guide your training, and do they change from offseason to precontest?

Brad: I switch up training constantly. For part of my offseason I do DC
training and for part of my offseason I do more of a Jay Cutler
higher volume training. When I switch to precontest I just play it by
ear and train smart as the last thing I want is an injury. I always
train as heavy as possible but I try and not get too sloppy with my
form just to get some weight up.

Shelby: Brad, your back is obviously a stand-out bodypart. Do you do anything special for back training?

Brad: My back is mostly genetic. I know people want to hear some great training secret, but it’s pretty much genetics. I love to do heavy deadlifts and bent rows and I love wide grip pullups, but everyone at my gym does those exercises.

Shelby: You’ve been a Troponin Nutrition Athlete for at least a couple years now, right? Tell us about that experience.

Brad: Yes I’ve been with Justin now for going on three years, and I gotta brag and say he is one of the most knowledgeable guys in this sport. Not only is he a great nutritionist, he is also a great motivator that makes you believe in yourself. I am very lucky to be part of such a great team with a lot of top notch great competitors. Justin over the last few years has built up quite a team around him and more and more people are becoming part of one of the best nutritionist teams around.

Shelby: Any future competitive plans, Brad? What do you ultimately want to accomplish with bodybuilding?

Brad: My current plans are to compete at the IFBB North Americans on August 31st and September 1st. I don't really know how far I can go in the sport, but I have began to change my thinking and just treat it as a fun hobby instead of just chasing a pro card. I may only have a few more shows left in me as I have vitiligo and its spreading more and more each year. Vitiligo is a skin disease in which your body sees your pigment as a disease and fights against it, so I have several spots on my body that have zero pigment, and the spots are becoming more and more each year. Judges don't like competitors to use dream tan but thats the only thing that i have found that will cover my white spots on my skin.

Shelby: What do you consider to be your weakpoints, and how did / are you addressing them for the 2007 North Americans?

Brad: My weakest point so far on stage has been my conditioning. I’m trying a few different things with the diet this year, my upper body tends to come in fast but my lower take a long time to come in and my hamstrings and glutes are the last to come around. I’m going to go into more of a calorie deficit this year but diet for a shorter time period. My legs could also stand to be a little bigger and fuller but right now I have a lot of knee problems that need addressed in the offseason with maybe some surgery. I can still go heavy on squats and whatnot but I’m pretty much crippled for a few days after. I’m basically just going to bust my butt and let the cards fall where they may. As long as I bring my best package to date then I have already won the war within myself.

Shelby: Great outlook, Brad. A lot of people seem to forget that the true opponent in bodybuilding is always yourself.
Tell us a bit about how you balance work, family and bodybuilding:

Brad: I work 12 hour swing shift which makes it really difficult to
prepare for shows. I owe every ounce of muscle on my body to my
supportive wife Brigette. She cooks all my food and does just about
every little chore for me so I can go to work, go to the gym, and then
have a little time left to spend with my kids and my pets a 1yr old
male pitbull named Duke, a 1yr old female boxer named Gi-gi and a lazy
old cat named Dutches (she’s the boss of the other two). I honestly
could not do half of what I do bodybuilding-wise without all the help
of my wife, she supports me through thick and thin, and is my biggest
fan also.

Shelby: What would you say is your best quality?

Brad: I guess my best quality would be discipline. When I get into
contest prep mode then everything else is pretty much put on hold
until the day after the show. In the offseason I’m not nearly as
serious and will put my family first always, so when it’s time to get
ready for a show they tell me to get in the zone and put 100% into the
task at hand.

Shelby: Have you ever sustained any lifting injuries? If so, how did you train around them?

Brad: Yes, I have torn my rotator cuff several times in the past. When injured, I try and not overdo anything in the gym. I’m not the type to take a lot of time off from the gym so I just take it very easy while I’m in there and injured.

Shelby: What other interests / hobbies do you have, outside of bodybuilding?

Brad: Lifting weights is really my only hobby, it’s all I’ve ever done and it’s all I have ever known. Even when I’m done bodybuilding I will
always hit the gym for a brutal workout, cause it’s just fun to me, and
my body knows nothing else.

Shelby: What advice would you give to newcomers to the sport?

Brad: Not to waste your whole life chasing a pro card. If you have the
genetics to be a pro then it will come but if not then don't waste
your whole life away chasing that card. There are hundreds and
hundreds of guys on the NPC circuit but only a few turn pro every
year. Spend time with your family and friends doing the things you
love cause you only have one life so live it to the fullest.

Shelby: Good advice. What would you like to be remembered for?

Brad: I would like to be remembered as that guy that always had fun at shows. I hate how everyone gets their game face on and thinks they have to be assholes to everyone backstage. Shoot, the torture is over with and stepping on stage is the fun part, everyone lets their egos ruin a good time. I am always laid back and very approachable back stage, and even laughing and joking sometimes. I love meeting new people at shows.

Shelby: What are your favorite cheat foods?

Brad: Probably pizza or Quizno's subs

Shelby: Last question – what did you eat today?

Brad: Today was a carb up day for me so I had 12 egg whites and 1 cup of oatmeal and a protein shake for breakfast at 8am then at 10am I had a chicken breast and some brown rice and a protein shake. At 12pm I had 2 cans of tuna 1 cup of brown rice and a protein shake, then at 2Pm I had a protein shake and some maltodextrin. At 4pm I had chicken breast and 1 cup of brown rice, then at 6pm I had a protein shake. Finally, at 8pm I had 3 cans of tuna and a salad. I probably had some rice cakes here and there throughout the day also.

Thanks for the interview Brad.

Clearly, Brad is yet another Troponin Nutrition Athlete who sets the standard for excellence both on the stage and off. It’s often said that if you want to excel at something, you should pick a mentor and copy their actions “to a T”. Well if you want to excel at bodybuilding, Brad is the guy to model!

I look forward to watching him take Cleveland by storm later this summer. Best of luck, Brad!