Muscle & Fitness Cover, December 2004

This shoot was a dream come true for me...

I can remember the feeling when the plane took off for the US to do the Muscle & Fitness shoot. I actually had tears in my eyes and goose bumps all over; it was just so overwhelming (I had to check to make sure no-one could see me LOL). I had spent the last 16 years of my life dreaming of this moment and it had finally come. I trained and prepared with everything I had for this shoot, it was the biggest shoot of my life, the one I had been preparing for since I was 14 years old. It's still like a dream to me; it's a feeling I just can't explain. I would imagine it's something like the feeling of climbing to the top of Mt Everest or winning an Olympic gold medal.

The day of the shoot was the coolest. I was ready and confident and the whole atmosphere was awesome. Everyone was there for me and I was there to shoot the cover for Muscle & Fitness magazine, HOW COOL!!! I worked hard that day. The final shot was in a pool high up in Malibu, California, overlooking the ocean. It was extremely cold, between shots my whole body was quivering and my teeth were chattering. They kept asking if I wanted a break and if I was ok, I was hurting but... wanted to work hard for this. I'm an Aussie and we are known to be tough hard workers who don't complain, I couldn't let my country or me down. I knew this was 'the shot' by the look on everyone's faces. So I just gritted my teeth and kept going, but it wasn't so hard because the adrenalin was pumping and I was pretty excited.

Once it was all over I could barely move, I had rugs wrapped around me and I had to be helped inside to somewhere warm. My whole body was quivering and my teeth were still chattering. I could barely move!!! It took about 10-15 minutes before I could get up and move around freely again. BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!!! The harder you work for something the more rewarding it is, and the more special it is.

I can't imagine anything being any more rewarding to me than this experience. It was a culmination of 16 years of dreaming and I worked damn hard for it, I gave it everything I had and more. I'm a happy man...

P.S. Believe in yourself. If you have a dream go for it and give it everything you have. You'd be surprised what you can do if you do. It might take many years but never forget your dream, don't die wondering 'what if'.