radio interview

How did this idea begin?

Well, the fact is, Gerry, I've got a series of illnesses that are a complication of how I was raised. I was raised in a very abusive background, and it's affected me at different times in different ways— emotionally, physically, mentally. And I found over the course of my life that— and a little caveat— one of the particular complications has About a reduced life expectancy of about 20 years. So for someone my age, I'm 50, just turned 50. At the stage when I first found out about it, my life expectancy was about 37 years. So I'm ahead of the clock. So I'm feeling pretty good about that. But the thing that's kept me going, even when I didn't really understand the illness, was a sense of there's always a tomorrow. There's always a chance to get up and go one more time. And it doesn't matter how bad it is, doesn't matter how bad you're going through things, There's always that sense that the day is going to dawn somewhere at some time. So for me, this competition was a sense of future thinking. I don't know, we've all got a sense of eternity that hangs over our heads. Mine's just a little more pronounced. I don't know how long I've got. I'm hoping to get through next year physiologically, mentally, everything else, but I really don't know how long I've got. And if I've got a goal that takes me Beyond this year and into next year, it just gives me something to look at, something to aim for.

You have purpose in life.

Yeah, it's exactly what it gives me. It gives me this sense of purpose. And out of this, these things I've had to deal with, you know, Christ is all-encompassing in his salvation, but his sanctification, it takes process and takes time. And I've learned as I've worked with the Lord That the further I cast my goals and the more I put my future out there, that I've always got something to reach for.

Now, how did you begin with this goal? What did it take?

Going to the gym has always helped me. Going to the gym has always relieved stress. Going to the gym has naturally helped with testosterone, which is mood elevation for men. Going to the gym has always done that. I felt bored. I felt, I mean, I've got to give myself a bigger challenge. And there's nothing more extreme in terms of physical fitness in the gymnasium than bodybuilding. It's every meal, every day. It's how you sleep, what you eat, what you do, and it just keeps me so focused. So I just didn't want to be going to the gym for no purpose. I wanted to have a reason for it. I wanted to have something to motivate my workouts. And this has given me that sense of purpose concerning my physical fitness.

And it's really changed your life right now.

At the moment it has. It's, you know, what I've actually found is it's the lives of other people that have heard the story that have been changed. Because the whole concept of taking a one-shot at life, for me it's bodybuilding this year, but I spoke to a lady yesterday who had 3 kids and she wanted to make a jump to go into business because You know, she's got no way to provide where she is. And I met another gentleman who had an accident at 19. It took him 5 years to overcome it, but he'd given it his best. He's given it his one shot. And for me, that's the exciting thing that's come out of this project. We have got people from all over the world sending us stories about how they've been encouraged because some meathead Australian decided he wanted to have a go at bodybuilding. But it's the philosophy behind it that this is the only day we've got. The only day we're given and we have to make the most of it.

You focus on an attitude of gratitude, John.

Yes, I do very much so. Every day is a blessing. My family's a blessing. I get up, I'm thankful I breathe. I woke up this morning and my first breath I thought, thank God, you know, one more, one more to have a go one more time. And I think age does it to you. I think miles on the clock and I think overcoming adversity. Become so grateful for what we've been given.

So where do you go from here?

In terms of my goals or in terms— to be honest, I think One Shot is going to start to change the way people look at life. And there's going to be an opportunity to rally some people, a sense of tribe of people who want to go for whatever that next thing is in their life. You know, I'm sure you've got your One Shot stories about how you put everything on the line, Took a chance and it changed the course of your life. See, to collect those stories, I want to gather those stories. I want to meet people like you. I want to get your story, mate. Because out there is someone sitting where you were, however many years it was ago that you took your chance, wondering if they too can make it. And our world is hopeless. Our world— there's so many people without a sense of tomorrow. And if we can give them hope, I was talking to my trainer Ned Sakapovic. He's a guy from in town here that that's training me for the competition. And Ned says that we deal in hope. We have to give people a sense of hope. Without hope, absolutely there is no future. There is no tomorrow.

You're writing a book?

Yes, sir, we are.

Tell me about it.

Well, I'm chronicling this journey. It's called The One Shot Journal. It's got a whole lot of video in it, blog stuff. Writing. In terms of the bodybuilding stuff, it's got recipes, diets, workout. But in terms of the other stuff, it's a collection of one-shot stories, people's testimonies of how their life has turned around and what they've done because they've taken their one-shot chance. And it's an interactive book. It's about one of 7 to 8 volumes. The first one's just being approved by Apple at the moment. That'll be downloaded for free. People go to our Facebook page and like it, we'll actually send it out to them for free. And we'll get that out to folks. And then as the others come down, they'll be able to track my journey. And it's raw, it's honest, it's candid. I called October Sucktober because it was bad. And it's just talking to people that, well, not all the days are good. It's what you do with the days that make them good.

It's not what happens to you in life, it's how you react to it.

It really is. I think people get up And spend their life looking for good circumstances. I've come to believe that I have to make my circumstances regardless of how bad my day is. As I said, I don't know how many I've got. Say I've only got 400. I don't want to blow one. I don't want to blow today because that's going to limit me to only 399 good ones with my family and my kids and my friends. So if I get up today and it's a difficult day, I have to make it a positive day.

So how do you make it a positive day?

Personally, I've got a regiment of things that I do. I get up, coffee with God because he's the only other person I know who's up at about 3 to 4 AM. So he and I sit and have a cup of coffee and read the Bible. I normally then read a book of some sort of, you know, maybe it's a leadership book or a biography or something else. And then for me, I hit the gym. I do a round of cardio first. And what that does for me, it puts me in the rhythm of the day. I might put some sermon on or a motivational piece, and I just— and then I know this sounds odd, but I'm really particular. If I'm feeling down, I wear bright colors. If I'm feeling down, I make sure I'm listening to positive music. And people say, well, that's all soulish. It is. It is all soulish because we are body, soul, and spirit. And I have to talk to my emotions and say, emotions, You will be conformed to where I'm going mentally. You will not drag me down. I will push you. We will have a positive and a good and fruitful day. No matter— and if that person's sitting out there, I just want to tell you, your daybreak's coming. The darkest part of any day is before the dawn. And whenever it feels darkest, for me personally, I know that what I say is, dawn's coming. The dawn is coming. And it doesn't matter How bad I feel, I've trained myself to look for the dawn. The dawn is coming. The dawn is coming.

You're a person of hope.

I am. I am. I am a person of hope. I have to have hope. I want to see my kids graduate. I want to see my kids married. I have to have hope, Jerry.

I have to.

I don't have any other choice, mate.

When you exercise, work out physically, what does that do to you emotionally, mentally? Is there a correlation?

No, there very much is. There very much is. Working out physically does a couple of things to you. Now, in men, it builds muscle, and muscle releases testosterone. From the age of 25 on, our bodies actually decrease their testosterone and increase their estrogen, which we don't want as guys. And that's why we get all flabby and look like we need man bras or something. So we've got our estrogen going down— estrogen increasing, testosterone decreasing. And a lot of that's because we're losing muscle mass. Now, when I go to the gym and I work out and I put on muscle, I'm actually giving my body an opportunity to produce more testosterone. Now, testosterone for men enhances our mood, our ability to think clearly. It's a mood stabilizer for it. It overcomes depression. That's why a lot of guys in their 40s and 50s suffer from depression and end up in suicide. And a lot of those people are physically unfit. So for me, it focuses me. It gives me an emotional boost because it relieves stress. It releases the endorphins. It deals with the cortisol, the stress in life. It brings mental clarity because of the increase in testosterone and blood flow to the brain. So all these things are interconnected. Now you overlay that with spiritual things and you've got this whole body, soul, and spirit experience happening, which gives you— gives the temple a chance to get up and go again.

So there is hope, but we have to take the first step to make that happen. Regardless of what it might be, what we want to do.

You know, you couldn't have said it any better. So many people are waiting for either someone else to do it for them or someone else to give them permission to it. And it's really important to have people around you who give you permission to be great, who give you permission to do that. And I tell you what, mate, Sioux Falls is an amazing little community. It's very, very positive. You know, my coach, Ned, Up at the Tryon Gym there, the people at the Tryon Gym, we've flown in twice now. I mean, these people have rallied behind us. We don't know these people from a bar of soap. Don on Calaland, yourself. It's like people going, we believe in you guys. Go, you know, if it didn't snow so much and Sioux Falls was by the beach, I'd probably move. You know what I mean?

Right.

But you've got to have people who believe in you. And if you don't, you've got to find those people because they're the people that are going to help you go when you don't want to go.