文章基本信息

标题：Becoming Shawn Ray: you can't be me, but you can learn important lessons from my teenage years - Articulashawn
作者：Shawn Ray
期刊名称：Flex
印刷版ISSN：8750-8915
出版年度：2002
卷号：August 2002
出版社：A M I - Weider Publications

Becoming Shawn Ray: you can't be me, but you can learn important lessons from my teenage years - Articulashawn

Shawn Ray

Nowadays, some teenagers get into bodybuilding thinking they're going to make a lot of money. That's pretty much the wrong reason to get involved.

By the time I turned 19, I had already gotten my feet wet by winning several teenage and junior contests. I didn't even know there was money to be made as a professional bodybuilder. I just wanted to be bigger, better and stronger. I was one of those guys who just fell in love with the sport.

I was in school at the time, and luckily my parents didn't make me get a job, but helped me live the life of a full-time student. Being a student, though, I didn't have much time to lounge around the house. I trained before I went to school, I trained after I came home from school, and I did my homework late at night. I wasn't a great student, but I got passing grades, and that's all my parents cared about.

I had to learn how to cook. I couldn't just rely on girlfriends, so I took an active role in preparing and carrying my food with me. I learned early to take whatever leftover time and money I had and to invest it in my body. I didn't go out partying, drinking and smoking. I invested in food. If did go to a party, I'd be in the kitchen cooking while my friends were drinking. Guys would be getting drunk, and I'd be in the kitchen cooking. Pretty soon, I was the life of the party.

When I got my pro card about a month after my 21st birthday in 1987, people kept telling me I had great genetics. But you can't measure genetics easily as a teenager or young adult. You don't know what you have until you're half naked and standing onstage next to other competitors.

I stayed in college until I competed in the 1988 Night Of Champions, when I was 22 years old (I finished fourth). The only reason I'm making money today is that I focused on being a better bodybuilder, not measuring myself against Lee Haney and Rich Gaspari, who were the top guys then. I didn't get distracted. I just wanted to be the best Shawn Ray 1 could be.

You can't be me, but you can take my advice: Stay in school, use your time wisely and be consistent. Work on being the best bodybuilder you can be. Everything else will take care of itself.

To contact Shawn Ray, visit www.shawnray.net.