During
that time he took three other GCC titles and three Mr. Asia
— both as junior and senior.
“I
thought it was easy to reach the top,” he said as he
was encouraged by his early success. “But it is much
more difficult to maintain the position.” What he discovered
as he continued was that body building was far more than
a sport. “It becomes and it is a lifestyle,” he
said. “When I wake up in the morning, I know what I
have to do, what I am going to eat, when I will train —
it totally changed my life.”
The
careful planning and predictability of his daily routine
together with the increasingly obvious physical results
he craved provided wholesome package that suited him perfectly.
“I look at ordinary guys who wake up in the morning
not knowing what they are going to do that day let alone
with the rest of their lives, and I cannot understand them,”
he confessed.
Winning
contests got him noticed and his financial situation improved
considerably. Prize money and work training others sustained
him comfortably. “It is much better than working 10
hours, punching your cards and leaving,” he said.
“The
job — and I don’t see it as just a job —
absorbs me completely. Contests take up about three months
of the year; the rest you could call vacation, but it is
really time off to wind down and re-train for the next round
of events.” The time off also allows him a good deal
of time with his wife and two young children.
There
is something of the peacock in Sami and he is disarmingly
honest about it. “I don’t want to look ugly when
I go out in public. Over 100 kilos at my height, would not
look good. I do want to win on stage and I do want people
to notice and admire.” That is where the sport crosses
over to lifestyle, but that he only came to realize when
reflecting from the summit of success reached by hard training.
“If
you take this as only a sport or just to get muscle, there
is not much in it. It is a lifestyle — that is the
real attraction.”
He
is also quite realistic about his future. He knows full
well that one day he will not be competitive, and is even
now not competitive against professional body builders who
use steroids.
“I
want to be a pro but a nice pro, but not an abused pro.
One day you will get back to being a ‘normal guy’
— it won’t last for ever. I know body builders
who cannot even rub oil into their own arms — they
cannot reach across their chest.”
Why
do they do that?
“They
are involved in a contract that only continues if they are
in the top three. It means you have to build up, fill yourself
with a lot of stuff — they abuse themselves. I don’t
want to take it to that level.”
The
professionals know the dangers of abuse and the payback
that comes from it — heart attack, strokes — but
they are driven by cash and the glory of winning.
“I
can’t compete in shows where steroid-fueled guys compete.
It is a different league. It is not a level playing field
and I am not willing to go there.”
“You
can be a nice muscular guy with vitamins, diet and protein
and regular training, but you have to be dedicated.”
Many
young hopefuls come to the gym asking “what drugs do
I take?” Totally the wrong question, said Sami. “Start
with the basics and go through all the vitamin and dietary
supplements to give you a foundation of health and solid
muscle. Steroid enhancement is the last option, not the
first.”
“I
try to talk them out of it but they go to the dealers who
have no mercy, they will sell whatever they are asked for.”
Body
building is a science, and success doesn’t come from
simply lifting weights. Diet, discipline and lifestyle contribute
to a lifestyle that has spin-offs even into his family life.
“My family eats largely the same diet I do — including
the odd hamburger!”
In
the longer term, Sami wants to end up with his own gym.
While in Jeddah, he acted as consultant to the new Kai health
gym and health complex soon to open on the Corniche. “I
hope to share some of my ideas and training methods with
Saudi Arabia,” he said. “They have worked for
me; they can work for many more.”
