Hello, my name is Dani Younan and I was born a small village in southern Iraq called Telkaif. I later moved to Jordan when I was 11 years old and lived there for three years, that’s when my passion for body building began. My father was my motivation, When he was younger he wanted to become a body builder but his situation and resources did not allow him to. Body building became a dream my father and I shared. I later moved to the United States when I was about 15 years old, this is when I really got into body building. When first living in the United States I did not have the finances to support my body building goals, I would train long hours at home, and worked extra hours until I would finally be able to afford a gym membership. I was at the gym many late nights because my job restricted me from training in the day, but I did not let it limit me from training. The gym was open 24 hours a day which worked for me.
I entered my first competition at age 17 it was the NPC Border State competition, although I didn’t win it gave me experience in the competitive field. I would return the next year and compete again to receive fifth place in open men lightweight and fifth place in novice men lightweight. That same year I competed in Musclemania California and placed first in both junior and middleweight division, and placed second overall. My next competition was 2011 Musclemania worlds Las Vegas, where I competed amongst six hundred body builders and placed fourth in the middleweight division.
Besides my goals as a body builder I also aspire to become an actor. Arnold Schwarzenegger is my role model, against all odds he reached his goals as a body builder and an actor; he made his mark and I too hope to leave my mark. Many told me that I can not achieve my goal and was wasting my time. Little did they know this would only motivate me only more. Blood, sweat and tears brought me to where I am today. I am happy at where I stand and hope with the support of my family and friends to succeed in all my future endeavors. I have the heart of a lion, and nothing can break me down.
I recently did my very first fitness shoot and it was so thrilling, I truly gained a whole lot of experience. Although this was my first shoot, I was not shy at all in front of the camera. I put a lot of effort into my body and showing where all my hard work goes is such a feeling of joy. The photographer, John of BBpics.com, had such a positive energy and was real professional, and the model I shot with, Cindy Angelsberg, made me feel real comfortable during the shoot. As a whole I loved the whole experience. I never imagined that I would be where I am today, but, I always believed I could do it. I am truly humbled to everything around me and I just keep pushing to my dreams and to my goals. This photoshoot with John truly came as a blessing and will open so many more doors for me as I keep striding towards them. I work hard to support my family and maintain my body and I am so grateful that I can finally show all my hard work. Again thanks to John of BBpics.com - really legit!
