At age 15, my best friend whipped into my driveway, said for me to go grab some shorts and shoes, and said lets go to a gym and get big. The rest is history.

When I was 4 years old I started watching WWF wrestling. Back then in the early 80's they had some big monsters. I was always drawn to the superhuman look of some of them.
From there as a little kid I noticed I had a lot more strength than everyone in my Age group that a came across.......fast forward to the age of 7......

My parents divorced and my mother met another guy that took my siblings and i away almost 1,500 miles from my father etc for 3 year..........those 3 years were hell!! I was abused, beaten, starved etc.

I then was able to get away because no one wanted us kids other than my father...from that day I wanted to be big and strong because I was going to retaliate against the guy who abused me.

Always in to athletics, did many sports growing up and always admired good physiques. Ultimately it was looking better for the ladies that kept me training through my late teens and early 20's

My father and uncle died way before their time so I decided to experiment on myself by losing some weight and getting in shape. I failed at losing weight lol

I was into MMA, thai boxing... a self-professed lean fast death inducing machine
Started doing boxing with a mate, his strength was phenomenal even though i could pick him apart in a standup game (with legs)... but in boxing his strength and power were...... very different, like being on the losing end of a matrix fight

I had no problems in the fight-gym and never beaten in proper streetfight... but he could KO me if he connected, any day (not that he did). Then he brought me to the gym... i couldn't (after a couple of hrs of fight/cardio training)... i couldnt even press a barbell with 10kgs either side........

Embarassing. Death inducing maching... my fkn arse. Took a look in the mirror... typical muay thai internally rotated shoulders, too skinny... and weak AF apparently.
Reality check... From that night on I started my journey. Weight classes are bullshit. Strong for your size blah blah... bullshit... Ridiculous 1-fit-all ranges for blood levels.... bullshit...Women looking at the stronger/bigger man and not me....never again!!
And so on....

because i wanted to look like a specific anime character

women.

I wasn't particularly good at sports when I was a young fella. I played Rugby into my teens but was no star athlete. When I was about 20 I got into running after reading Jim Fixx's book The Complete Book of Running. I got into half-marathons and was running about 64 kilometres a week. I did that for many years - even took my running gear with me when I visited the States and Europe in 1979. Running was cool but I eventually fucked up my knees after so many Ks on hard surfaces, and since I wasn't rich, I wore cheap joggers, which certainly didn't help. In an effort to stay fit I joined a local fitness centre which had a gym the size of a large shoe box..but it had some gear and I was a complete novice, so I didn't know any better. There was no trainer, no supervisor and no-one else training, so I just kind of taught myself based on the secondhand BB magazines I bought from the local charity shops. Over the past 36 years of training I have had an extensive home gym, worked out in a tin shed in the outback, been a member of franchise gyms and now train in a gym attached to a hotel. I got into gym because I wanted to stay fit, but then I saw the changes that consistent training can achieve and that motivated me to continue. When I started at age 27, I was 63kg, I'm now 91kg. Gym has brought about dramatic physical changes, as well as giving me an extra degree of confidence. I could always take care of myself in a scrap, but when I started getting bigger and more defined - I never had to worry about scraps anymore. Arseholes tend to leave me alone. It has become something of a self-defence process as well as a self-development process. On a more esoteric note - I have always wanted to be the best that I can - I have achieved every academic goal I set, so developing the physical self became another goal. The beauty of BB is that you never reach that goal - it makes you continually strive to achieve, that's why I love it.

Because my dad took me to the gym all the time when I was a kid. Got my first bench set when I was 12.

My Dad had an old Sears Roebucks weight set and a flimsy bench in our basement when I was growing up. Pretty sure it was his from when he was a kid. He had a copy of this old body building book that I learned all my "stuff" from. I bet it's still kicking around their house. Had a blue cover and I think it was a Charles Atlas book. I'm going to hunt for it next time I'm visiting. Good memories. I still have some of the plates on my dumbbells now.

Hate and anger.
I was always really into martial arts growing up. I’d lift every chance I got in the high school gym. But I was always a skinny guy. I had a girlfriend I planned to marry, and a best friend / roommate that was like a brother to me. Came home on the night of my birthday and caught them in bed. A big fight and some broken walls, and an eviction later, I roomed up with this older guy I grew up around that got me into it. I was constantly pushing with all the anger inside of me. It made a positive change though. I stopped getting high or drinking because it got in the way of my workouts. As I gained size, I gained more humility. And back then, I really didn’t know how to train or eat properly. I’d work out 3 times a day.
Life got in the way over the years. I’d have periods where I couldn’t devote the time to the lifestyle. Getting a business off, kids, divorces, whatever, but I was never happier or mentally as strong as when I felt physically strong.
The women or the attention or the way people respond to you differently when you walk in a room, those things were a bonus, but the driving force has always been that feeling of being somewhat in control, and that need to keep the mental and physical strong and linked. My goals have changed over the years, but discipline and that need to feel good are what keeps me moving. My wife couldn’t care less about my goals or size or whatever. She’s indifferent, but she knows what they mean to me.
So for me, I took anger, and used it as a tool to turn into a kinder and better person. Now it is nothing short of a religious/medicinal thing.

I was skinny and noticed that big guys got all the girls

I started lifting because of sports in high school....then military in my early 20s lifting was an everyday habit...but one main reason has always been there no matter what age ....and that is the look good naked and that reason will always push me to stay active and lift and try to be as healthy as I can

Simple for me, watched Lou Ferrigno in the Incredible Hulk and that was it for me... I was like, Mom Mom Mom, I need to join a gym so I can look like the green man.. She was like, WTF are you talking about.. The rest is history for the MOB.. Peace Out..

I watched Conan the barbarian at 8 years old.

As an alternative to the way I had been living which was very destructive. I worked out in the service but as soon as I got out I stopped and decided to I'd rather be a junkie. Spent many years in that fine career choice.
Now I never miss a day, even just to walk the treadmill. It keeps me sane and is my stress reliever of choice.

Well I started playing football in the 7 grade. It was kinda a requirement to lift. It is probably the only thing that stuck with me over the years.
Let me clear this up Football = American Football.
It isn’t round it is pointy like a rugby ball.
No offense to my cousins across the pond.
Hahahha

WOMEN is why I stared going to the gym, I'm not ashamed to admit it. Nowadays it's for 100's of reasons but mainly because I love to lift.

My dad he had a full gym in my house when I was a kid all his friends were huge and one of them was Mr. (State) not going to say what state. I got really into skateboarding and quit lifting until I was about 23 I'll tell you one thing inwas way better at skating then bb if I was as good at bb as skating is be Colman

I started in my teens, it’s always been a stress reliever for me

I was around 10 I guess. I loved sports and was the manager (err waterboy) for the varsity football team. I saw the guys hitting the steel had more success on the field and more female attention. It was a no brainer. Lift and you score more and....you score more!!! Lol

I was watching The Beverly Hillbilly’s when I was a kid. There was an episode that had Dave Draper. I saw that guy and thought I want to be like that guy. I’m still chasing it. Mr Draper is 75 and he’s still jacked.