Hey, I’m Austin Stock and fitness is my life. When I say it is my life, I mean it’s what I revolve my day around, it’s what I give up social activities for and it is the only thing that is constantly on my mind. There is never a time when I am not thinking about how to improve something about a specific exercise I had worked on the day earlier, or how I can fine-tune my diet, etc. Fitness have been a safety net, a best friend and my most cherished relationship over the years. It has pulled me from the darkest pits and made the brightest days shine even more gloriously.

I first got into working out when I was in middle school, I was an overweight child weighing about 195 pounds at 5’4”. As you could imagine, I wasn’t too popular with the ladies. This wasn’t my only concern however, I was an athlete, but admittedly not a very good one because of my weight. I was always a thicker guy holding most of my weight in my midsection while my arms, legs and shoulders would be muscular. However, my large belly overpowered my muscular parts. I was an outcast, my lack of athletic skills and my appearance made me unappealing to my classmates. My story is going to sound like a sob story, that is because it starts off as one. All of my friends were online, and I had gotten it in my head that it was because of my appearance that I was lonely. When I woke up in the morning and looked in the mirror it would bring tears to my eyes seeing the body attached to the face staring back at me. Along with being overweight there was a group of kids that I went to school with who were not very fond of the fact that I was Hispanic, they took every chance they could to try and beat that fact into me. I was able to defend myself because of the strength that my weight lent me, but I knew that if I were to hold out I would have to lose weight and put on muscle, and that’s what I did. In the next 4-5 years I lost 60 pounds of unhealthy weight and gained 50 pounds of muscle. When my journey started I was 5’4” 195lbs, when I left high school I was 5’10” 188lbs of pure muscle. Putting on all of that muscle and becoming stronger in the process helped me turn my life around, I had joined the basketball team and my school’s football team. During my time on my football team I was a middle linebacker and a running back, I led my team in touchdowns and rushing yards. I was also on the track and field team where I used my new strength to become section champ in shotput and later go on to the state qualifiers.

Fitness had changed my life. I became more attractive, gained more strength, I gained more confidence and thusly improved my social life and was able to do great things in the athletic department. The last part of this story was not meant to boast. The point of me sharing this is to show others what they could gain and what fitness can do for one’s life. I aim to inspire others to become the best that they can be and show them that there is never a point where you can’t keep improving. Never settle and shoot for exactly what you want.

          I live my life by a motto, “betterment is a constant process.” When John said to me “better not bigger,” it was like there was someone who shared the same mindset that I do, that is something that drew me to BBpics. Having someone who understands how you think is a huge plus when that person is also motivating you and marketing you.