Shay OToole

I KNEW IT WOULD ONLY BE A SHORT TIME BEFORE I ENDED UP IN A BOX... 

I initially got into fitness about 5 years ago after the loss of my brother and sister 6 months apart, they both passed away of liver kidney failure being heavy drinkers as was I at the time. I looked at myself and really saw that now was the time to change. Being 5ft8 and weighing a massive 385 Ibs and having a 65" waist I knew it would only be a short time before I ended up in a box too. 
 
On YouTube, I came across Rich's videos and I was instantly hooked. I walked into the gym, paid for a year's membership and hit the treadmill. In 1 day before my 12 months membership was up, I had lost 154 Ibs, I was so thrilled that I got off the scales sweating and nearly crying with happiness, I picked up the 5Ib dumbbells and started curling them. This big bodybuilder was looking at me, he then asked me what I was doing. I simply replied I want to do a bit of bodybuilding, he looked me dead in the eyes and said F@ck off your too fat. I was even more determined to succeed. I got home and put rich's videos on and wrote down workouts for chest, back, shoulders, arms, and legs. Each day I'd try a session watching other top pros and watching how they carried out the exercise. I mean, I didn't use a PT. I'm all self-taught and now been sponsored by 5% for over 3 years.

My wife started to watch the videos that I was so engrossed in and started to understand the 5% mentality. She was very underweight, weighing around 101 Ibs and in 5 months of training with me, I got her weight up to 175 Ibs. Together we lift laugh and love. This is what the 5% mentality has done for us. We've grown together and we've become better friends as well as an even stronger couple.

You simply get out of life what you put into it. You can either be a withering flower or a blooming rose. It's all a mindset, not just in the gym but in life, in love, in business. You can truly achieve anything if you put your mind too it. I've found that setting realistic goals and achieving them, bettering them, then setting more goals keeps you so much more motivated. It's like an infant thinking if I can walk to the couch. Then if I can walk to the kitchen, then if I can walk those stairs. Constantly pushing, striving, having that will to succeed. Yes sometimes you'll find yourself on your ass, but that's when you get up dust yourself off and achieve it the next time.