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Paul
O’Brien, pictured left, with Jim Room, owner of the Atlas
Gym in Wolverhampton |
Young
Midlands Irishman Paul O’Brien achieved high recog-nition
in a recent amateur bodybuilding contest.
Paul, a student at the University of Wolverhampton, received a com-mendation
on the night and has been invited back to the British finals this
November. He narrowly missed out on a trophy.
The competition, held at Brierley Hill Civic Hall, saw male and female
bodybuilders compete in classes ranging from teens all the way up
to over 50s.
Entrants were divided into twelve different categories. Each muscle-man
or woman took to the stage individually and performed a routine of
poses to music on a podium.
The final stage was to standout in a selection from a group.
Paul finished fourth out of the eight competitors in his first-timers
category and this secured him a place in the British finals.
A fulltime student of Architectural Technology, Paul spends whatever
free time he can at Wolver-hampton’s Atlas Gym. He has always
had an interest in fitness and has played Gaelic games and other
sports from a young age.
Jim Room, owner of Atlas Gym, is married to an Irish woman and has
made Paul feel very welcome.
I asked Paul, ‘is bodybuilding particularly popular in the
Midlands?’
“Bodybuilding as a whole in England seems to be quite popular.
When you consider the Midlands anyway, one of the best professionals
in the world (Dorian Yates) came from Birmingham and has a gym set
up there now so maybe the popularity springs from there. Maybe I
can elicit the same response back home someday!” he said.
How does the bodybuilding scene compare in Dublin?
“There seems to be a bigger interest in it over here. The majority
of folks back home that are into it are all Polish and Lithuanian.
From all of the gyms I’ve been in there seems to be few Irish
people interested in it.”
In preparation for the event Paul trained very hard and kept a strict
protein rich diet similar to Atkins in the weeks before the final.
How did he feel, after months of training, finally representing his
gym?
“Worn out! I was a bit nervous at first, but it was all gravy
when I got on stage. There was a good bit of pride involved also
as the guys from Atlas Gym, Jim, Luke, Ian, Daz and Steve to name
just a few have helped me along every step of the way and I wanted
to do them and the gym proud. Another reason I guess is that from
day one the guys made me feel at home in the gym, really friendly
and helpful and good craic to talk to. If anyone in the area was
thinking about getting into the sport of bodybuilding, or is just
looking for a good gym to go to Atlas is a safe bet.”
Have you any advice for people, or places of reference for people
who may be interested in bodybuilding?
“God there’s so many! www.t-nation.com, www.bodybuilding.com
would be the two that I’d recommend the most. Both have interesting
articles on diet and nutrition, training and supplementation. If
you don’t like looking up things on the Internet or would just
prefer to talk to someone face to face, pop into Atlas Gym anytime
and the lads will help you out. You can check them out at www.atlasgym.co.uk”
What are your memories from the night?
“To be honest, from the moment I left the backstage area to
the minute I was finished I don’t really remember that much,
it’s all kind of a blur. Guess it was being ‘tuned in’ maybe
but I can’t remember being handed the envelope with my invitation
to the finals. All I can recall is looking at it backstage and thinking ‘Why
am I holding a piece of paper?’ I do remember when my music
wouldn’t play for my routine at the start. Don’t think
I’ll ever forget that! The experience as a whole was a thoroughly
enjoyable one and has sparked my interest into the sport even more.
I think it is something that I’ll stick at for quite a while!”
How has this success affected you?
“I’m quite pleased to be honest. All I said to everyone
before the show was that I didn’t want to come last, and I
didn’t! I was just one place off the trophies so my goal for
the finals is a place in the top three. The final is on the 18th
November in Brierley Hill Civic Hall again. I’ll be there -
with bells on!”.
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