No rest for the Wicked!!!

Well where do i begin on this, ive not posted for sometime as ive really had no time to sit and do this, i feel i spent my last few weeks, hmmm.....hold on months in the airport, what time i have had spare, i spent with the wifey and as you guest it ive spent it no where near a computer!
I was banned! ;)

When i say ive been here there and everywhere i really have, ive seen several time zones in as many days as i had seen in months, do i sound like im moaning???

Hell no........ im so blessed to be doing what i do, representing sponsors such as Weider and Gaspari Nutrition and travel the world.
I love what i do...........

TRAVELING-
I must confess traveling has been hard on my body, i have faced many challenges in these last few months, and the term Rookie certainly can be pinned on my back as i made ALL the first year Rookie mistakes.
Traveling on the road is no easy feat, now bare in mind this is coming from a guy who is used to traveling back and forth to his home land of Wales, which might i add is a 24hr round trip to the front door...... No BS!

2008 Shows

Since winning the Europa super show 202 and placing 3rd in the Olympia 202 add in that word again ROOKIE of the year title- my stocks have gone up, and so has my work load/ travel, i have so much respect for the seasoned pros, us as fans only get to see the final product be it a guest posing/ store appearances or a them on stage in a Pro show, but what we don't think about is these guys are on the road in some cases every weekend.

I have had this dose of Traveling, and as i said above this has taught me alot, of what to do and what not to do- a coarse in Pro 101........ flights- delays- packing a head on meals and then throw your training in at what ever time u can fit it in.
That's Life as a Pro.....!

FIBO- Germany

Everyone seen some pics of the FIBO floating around i just wanna show you some photos behind the scenes other than typical booth and on stage shots.

We arrived in Germany on Thursday- (myself and Shina) on landing i was one the first off the plane behind the first class passengers, as i head for the exit BANG i was grabbed by customs officers, again.... Gees!!!!

Now bare in mind this flight was full of Bodybuilders several big name bodybuilders who out weigh me by 60lbs in shape, 80% them were in tanks now here i was tshirt long pants, and still.
Long story short- they tried to tell me that my Vitamin C was banned also my 8 sample packs of Super Pump after a very heated argument with the guys with English skills of three words- No- Banned- go.
I did just that but grabbed all my stuff they tried to take off me and walked away, and no they never came after me maybe it was my welsh accent that scared them off but i illegally smuggled super pump into Germany....... wow!

After throwing our bags in the hotel then meeting up with Rich and Liz (Gaspari) and telling them our storey, which they thought was extremely amusing, i went in search of a gym to train at, not sure what hours Germans work on but this town was a ghost town.

Myself and Shina decided to go for a walk- around the down town of ESSEN still in search of a gym, Shina took some pics of the streets and as you can see from the pics its very European-esk yet Americanised, we wanted to buy some German memorabilia but everything was closed.........

We finally found the gym......................On the door the gym was already open but i guess we must of selected a national lay in bed day as you can see from the photos, im waiting for it to open to get a early session in before heading over to the expo.











Doing what i do best!

Australia

Gaspari Nutrition Australian Tour

I arrived in Australia after a crazy flight a total of 26hrs round trip.


When i landed i was welcomed by a team of Customs officers with Dogs checking all us passengers coming off the plane.
This wasn't my first trip to Australia, i came here in 2001 on a rugby tour which also happened to be the same time as the foot and mouth scare, i remember then having to take of my shoes and scrap any visual mud on our shoes in a bag, sounds crazy and it was....


I grabbed my bags and headed to clear customs those who know me, know im a cheeky lil bugger, i tried to hide and smuggle in my food through, (heck its to dang nice to throw) so i could eat what i hadn't on the plane, that plan failed big time i played the dumb card and said i needed it as i have low blood sugars but as far as they were concerned, i was on my own and good luck if you drop here then welcome to Oz, to top off that i ended up having to wait 30Min's for all my bowls to be cleaned out before i could clear!

With all that said it just goes to show you how good customs are at there job keeping all the bad guys out and also the food smugglers! lol

My hotel was Star City Hotel & Casino i had a fantastic suite with a full kitchen and panoramic view of Sydney Harbor bridge where i could see all the boats and cruise ships coming in and out.




Lee Priest-
My Trip to Aus wouldn't be complete without bumping into there BEST Bodybuilder and one my idols yes still and and someone who really inspired me in getting into this sport as a kid. Myself and Lee had a blast this guys so funny i found myself walking off my booth just to hang out he and his lovely new wife had me in stitches they both as bad each other and were cracking on me himself wife and the fans all in good fun of course!


Myself and Lee Priest messing around.......... He asked me about my calves and i said yes implants!

Fans
The Australian fans didn't disappoint they came out in there droves, although i must say that for as big as this show was there was no advertisements on what Pros or Athletes would be there, even i was discovering that my fellow industry friends had made the long ass flight namely so Christian Boeving(VPX) and Julian Greaux (BSN) to name a few, but what fans found the Gaspari booth was fun to see people expressions and shock when they seen me here.


My off season has not yet began, and boy do i feel it.
As many of you know i have been taking a big break to detox my body ready for the next few months, i feel small and constantly flat, alot can contribute to my life on the road these last few weeks plus my training has been hot and cold and on this trip, finding myself training when my body clock was still telling me it was 3am.

Im still holding decent size and condition and even though my appetite has gone bad again im eating enough to keep me holding a good luck until i go into Phase One which will start in 6 weeks. I was asked to hit a few shots for the fans as you know im all about you guys!

My Trip to Australia was amazing and ive been invited to come back and next time visit New Zealand, and as im a big Rugby fan also i will be back, oh and next time im gonna eat my kangaroo!

As i love eating different meats and food from around the world it was on my list but each time the days day was over it was time to hit the sack. oh well as i said i will be back!

NEXT

I leave from Australia to fly to FIBO Germany YES how mad is that a 26hr flight to only jump on another plane in less than 12 hours of being home for an addition 15hrs.........no rest for the wicked the saying is, Essen here i come.