Joshua D. Ledbetter was born in the town of Colorado Springs, south of Denver in Colorado, in 1986. When he was born, he was diagnosed by doctors with 100% hearing loss in both ears. He was taught to communicate with sign language with his family and peers, and started to take speech therapy classes in his elementary school. He began riding motorcycles when he was seven years old, and faced a lot of questions from other people with the idea of a deaf child riding a motorcycle. They thought someone should be able to hear to shift the gears (up or down) to go slow or fast. Joshua rode like a champ and proves everybody wrong. Joshua explained to them it was all about the engine that he was able to send its' vibrations whenever the rev comes on high to let him know when he needs to shift the gear to go faster. He, later, after his first race at 9 years old, turned professional a few years later at age of 15 and won two Colorado State Championships. He had an injury to his left knee from motocross racing, which forced him to take a break from motocross racing and focus on his academics.
He went through a lot of discrimination in his path, not only because of his deafness but it was because of him being chubby, too. He had low self-esteem and lack of confidence. It all changed when he was asked to train with Tim, which was a friend of his mother, who had a passion with fitness. Tim taught Joshua methods about training from strength to endurance, he was struggling with light weight, and was confused with why he needs to "train" in order to do well in motocross racing and improve his active lifestyle. After a few months of serious weight training, Joshua was able to attempt and complete 405 LBS bench press for 1-rep max with Tim as a spotter. That is when his confidence and passion for training began to skyrocket. He was taught to stay away from drugs such as: steroids, pro-hormones, illegal diuretics, and growth hormones. Tim gave Joshua a simple supplement guide included the need to have multi-vitamins and protein whey.
He lost a lot of weight and was down to 181 pounds on a 6'1 frame when he graduated from his high school (William J. Palmer) in May 2005 with 4.0 GPA and earned a medal from The National Society of High School Scholars, which helped him get a full-ride to a college of his choice (later chose Univ. of Northern Colorado). Throughout his experiences with school, he cannot thank his parents enough (Kelly and Bruce) for backing him up 110% and for pushing Joshua along that roller coaster ride. He finished his Bachelor's degree in Sport & Exercise Science and Nutrition, and has developed his passion for nutrition and fitness. He worked at the Conditioning Spa for an internship as a personal trainer and helped many people achieve their goals, including a project he had to do. It was similar to the Biggest Loser, but instead, it was called the Fat Assassins. Joshua trained and communicated with his clients well without any problems or needing an interpreter. He was later recognized by the Greeley Tribune Newspapers (Greeley, Colorado) and they decided to put Joshua on the front page of that newspaper a week later. During the internship, he was focused with strength training (power-lifting) which earned him a college strong-man heavy weight champion by placing first in April 2010.
After he graduated, he made a decision to move back to Peyton to live with his family, and to take some time off from education. He trained hard and he grew bigger (during his bulking phase), and many people have accused him of using steroids. He ignored them and kept his mind to himself, and knows that he is all-natural because he chose to be set apart from others. He grew bigger because of his hard work, determination and level of maturity. He has an internal drive, a mental discipline, and a passion that carries him through all of his physical and mental achievements. His motivation and determination are felt by everyone around him. He strives to spread motivation and inspiration which helps everyone who follows his path. His theory is "Nothing is impossible." and he is capable of doing anything he wants in his life. It does not stop him from living his life like everyone else because he chose not to let deafness define him or who he is, but as the reality of his make-up.
After a few months of giving a modeling career (side-job) a shot, he was in contact with John Mitchell and was given a four weeks’ notice before heading out to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He lost 22 pounds in a combo of fat and water from 232 to 211 pounds. After the photo-shoot with John Mitchell, Joshua has learned new knowledge and ideas. Joshua quickly gave his trust to John Mitchell because of John's amazing knowledge when it comes to: bodybuilding and fitness modeling. Joshua truly appreciated John's efforts in evaluating Joshua's physique and made some excellent recommendations for Joshua, based on lagging parts Joshua needs to bring up. When Joshua fine-tunes his physique for a show, you better grab your edge of the seats, because Joshua will bring the whole package with 110% commitment. Joshua's first natural bodybuilding show is set on June 4th, 2011 in Denver, Colorado known as the Mile High Natural Show.
Joshua's thoughts on John Mitchell: I instantly had a great relationship with John when his first text messaged me he was wondering how it worked for me based on my communication with John due to my deafness. He quickly accepted and did not seem to be bothered by my deafness, which is unique because of my previous experiences with other photographers. I loved working with John Mitchell, he is an excellent motivator. He said, if I want to try fitness modeling, I must be a doer. This is why I dropped twenty-two pounds because I knew within my instinct; John Mitchell will help me become successful with whatever goals I set for in fitness and health. I really like the fact how John is caring, but at the same time, he is strict based on the when I ask him for his advice on what body parts I need to bring up in order to do well in my first up-coming natural bodybuilding show. He is such a blast to work with, and he taught me how to do fitness poses. There was a funny moment because I assumed that fitness poses are similar to bodybuilding poses, but that certainly was not the case! He is funny, very smart, but the most important of all, he is very easy to work with (regardless of my deafness, it didn't bother him either). He gives excellent directions with your body, movements, posing, etc. If you want to have a successful fitness shoot, I highly recommend John Mitchell if you are looking for big potential in fitness or health industry for years to come! He is the only photographer I trust when it comes to fitness shoots. Take my advice and book him!
Joshua's current supplement:
Optimum Nutrition: Opti-Men and Optimum 100% Whey.
Gaspari: SuperPump 250.
Wal-Mart: Vitamin C, E, D3, Fish Oil and Omega 3's (DHA), L-Carnitine.
Scivation: BCAA (amino acids).
Joshua's current training schedule:
Monday - Friday: Morning - cardiovascular exercises (Stair-master, cycling or treadmill) for 45 to 90 minutes, along with 15 minutes of Abdominals Training).
Joshua is changing his routine to train his legs (emphasizing on quadriceps' outer sweeps and calves) 2x a week with 48 hours break period, based on John Mitchell's physique evaluation.
Joshua enjoys training when he pairs the chest/back and shoulders, biceps and triceps for split days.
