Hard work pays off for Stourbridge bodybuilder as he 'lives his dream' of becoming Mr Universe
A Stourbridge bodybuilder has said that he's still getting used to being called Mr Universe after achieving his dream.
Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Nick Whitehouse from Stourbridge was named the Class 1 Mr Universe title winner at the NEC in Birmingham on November 3, marking the culmination of 10 years of training and sculpting his body and following in the footsteps of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who won the same title in his bodybuilding days.
The 41-year-old said it had been a long and tough road to get there after 13 years of competing and 20 years of training, but had been worth the effort put in.
He said: "It's still sinking in, to be honest, but it's great to be able to tell people I'm Mr Universe and realise that dream.
"To prepare for this, we took 22 weeks, which was optimal time to lose the body fat and gain as much muscle as possible to look my best for the stage, with six meals a day, training five times a week and six sessions of cardio a week as well.
"It's a lot of sacrifice, with no drinks, no meals out and no real social life, as well as juggling family, full time job as an electrician, juggling my supplement show, but it's nice to see it's all paid off."
The father of four said he had always wanted to be Mr Universe and had been inspired by those who had been part of the sport, with Arnold Schwarzenegger top of the list.
He said the biggest influences had been his children and his girlfriend Rachael Edwards, who he runs supplement shop RENW in Stourbridge alongside.
He said: "My girlfriend has been fantastic as she does all my meal preps and everything else, and my children have said they are so proud of me.
"I've got to give special thanks to my coach Brett Smith as he has really helped me with posing and nutritional plans, setting entire plans and checking on me every week to make sure I'm progressing, so I just want to express my thanks to him.
"For now, I'd not sure what's next, but I keep training and working, although I'm not being as strict on myself for meals and I love a cheat meal of ice cream or a pizza with barbeque chicken and pineapple on it."
