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Like a Phoenix from the Ashes…
…the New Mr WPF Universe Brandon Marjoram!
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Interview by Giles Thomas
In late 2008 I received a text from my good friend Brandon: “That’s it for me mate, I’ve retired from competition, too many injuries to compete successfully now, going to concentrate on my personal training clients instead”.
‘That’s a shame,’ I thought to myself… He was just about to crack the top 3 and possibly the winners spot in the Under 70kg at the UKBFF British finals, a class that had seen Brandon as a regular top 6 placer year after year.
Training injuries can fell the mightiest of athletes, I’ve always realised. ‘He’ll be missed from the UK contest scene, and just as he was ready to take it to the next level, just as his body was maturing and that condition was going from good to really good too!’ I thought.
Then came 2009 and another text from Brandon: “I’m coming back mate, I’ve got to give it another go, really want to come back with a bang this year”.
And boy did he ever! Last year saw by far the most impressive return ever by any athlete, I believe, and by jiminy did he achieve what he set out to do… WIN!
Read on to hear exclusively about how and why he did it, and in such bloody convincing style too!
Giles: Welcome to BodyFitness magazine Brandon. I’m pleased you agreed to this interview, and I hope you’re ready to tell all!
Brandon: Thanks for having me Giles, I’ll be as honest and as forthcoming as I can without dropping myself in it! (laughs)
Giles: Can you tell us the basic stuff about yourself Brandon? Occupation, where you live, etc. Oh, and *Cough, cough* your age? No fibbing either! (laughs)
Brandon: I’ve just recently moved to Kettering, in Northamptonshire, around a year ago. The house I live in is only a ten minute walk from Bodyshapers Gym, where I work as a personal trainer. I was born and bred in Market Harborough in Leicestershire; born in 1963, so I’ll let you do the maths on that one!
Giles: Let’s talk about why you decided to retire mate?
Brandon: Well, the main reason was a growing list of injuries. The worst of which was – or is – arthritis in my elbows and wrists. Training was becoming very painful and I felt I couldn’t train as heavy or intense as I needed to carry on competing and/or improving. Also, I had done a few basic calculations and realized that in 20 years of competing I had been on a contest diet for around eight of those years! And, as Lee Priest once said, “I’d sooner die eating a cheeseburger than a dry chicken breast!” However, I made that decision right at the end of a 25-week diet, and I was mentally burnt out. Of course, after a few weeks eating crap I wondered what all the fuss was about, as I have done almost every year since 1987! (laughs)
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We’re all having a Critical Mass Attack with…
Jason Corrick!
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By Giles Thomas
Beef rules supreme in this exclusive post NABBA Mr Universe photo-shoot with comeback creature, the original Mass Monster, the Beast from Devon itself… Jason Corrick!
The Beast returns…
It was surely only a matter of time before the Mass Monster returned from its extended hibernation. Surely nothing could ever really hope to get in the way of re-uniting Prehistoric Corrick with the stage, for like Pinky and the Brain – and perhaps me and my bathroom mirror – the two cannot ever be separated or torn apart. After the cobwebs were dusted away and the wheels started to turn once again Jason vowed, after three years away from his first love, to come back and show us that he still has so much more fuel left in the tank.
First stop, Southport…
It was off to Merseyside’s sunny seaside resort last May, and a visit to the Floral Hall, where Corrick was no stranger to taking titles. It was here that he had his last big victory: his fourth class 4 (height class) win at the NABBA Britain.
This time, of course, Jason was back as a veteran competitor, a seasoned Masters over 40’s contestant. It is a class that many would argue is a an even harder challenge to face than trying to come back for a fifth height class win.
After so long away Jason was, for the first time, apprehensive and maybe even a little bit nervous too. For him this was uncharted territory, a new beginning, a fresh new start with new challenges and obstacles to overcome. Would the time away prove a help or a hindrance to one of Britain’s most popular ever physiques?
Well, no matter… Jason smashed the competition to become the new NABBA Masters Mr Britain. The Beast was back.
Next stop, err… Southport again!
From the challenge of going up against the best in the country to the best in the world is certainly a huge leap for anyone, even for past Mr Universe Jason (1996).
Winning the Britain is one thing, but many hopeful Britain winners have come to the NABBA Universe – again held in Southport at the plush Floral Hall – wanting to continue their winning streak only to get steamrollered by the phenomenal standard that the world-renowned NABBA Universe contest has attracted each and every year since it’s beginnings 60 years ago.
Jason was again in unfamiliar waters, despite having being in this contest many, many times over the past 15 years. Time away after being such a frequent competitor does funny things to a competitor’s mind; it brings doubt and makes you question your own self-belief at times.
This time Jason, maybe for the first time ever, really was going into a contest not knowing at all what to expect. Regardless of the personal satisfaction of knowing that he had made significant improvements, it was tough to tell how the day would pan out. After all, this was the NABBA Universe, and anything can happen in a show as big as this…
Revenge of the Corrick!
When it was announced he had finished in second place, Jason said he experienced feelings of both elation as well as that of determination. He felt determined to come back the following year and not only win the Masters Britain title again, but the big one too, the Masters of the Universe!
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