SUCCESS IS NOT ABOUT BEING BETTER THAN SOMEONE ELSE, OR EVEN BIGGER. IT’S ABOUT YOURSELF…YOUR LIFE, AND HOW YOU LEARN FROM IT AND DEAL WITH IT.
BIG BACK GRIPS USER PROFILE INTERVIEW: KEVIN LISAK (BIG BACK STUDENT REP)
BBG: Hi Kevin. Nice to get a chance to talk. Now, you’re a Big Back Lifting Grips Student Rep, so we know a little about you. But for everyone else, can you fill us on your background a bit: what you do, where you go to school, where you’re from…anything you want us to know, anything that puts you in context for people.
KL: Well, I was born and raised in upstate New York in a small town called Owego, near Binghamton. My whole life I’ve been very competitive and into sports. I started playing football and basketball in 2nd grade and continued playing football for 10 more years. I started to lift weights in the 10th grade when I reached varsity-level football. I knew if I wanted to survive it and successful at it, I had to pack on some size and strength. I spent hours training in the gym and on the field, going over all the steps and movements to better myself and the team. I decided to play in college, too, and luckily I had some teams looking at me to come play at their school, nothing that was a huge deal but enough to work hard and look forward to. I decided to attend Morrisville State College in New York and it was time to start working hard again. Much like in 10th grade, I was moving up to a new level, the college level. If I wanted to be a successful player I had to get bigger and faster AND STRONGER! I started working even harder in the gym and on the field. But then I missed the deadline to make the team! I was so caught up in time I hadn’t realized how soon the season had started. So I decided to take a year off, focus on school, and pushing my body to develop as an even better athlete.
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
BBG: How did the year off go?
KL: It’s when everything changed. I started caring more about my lifts and my body size than how I performed on the field. I was becoming what some may call a “Meat Head”. I didn’t think about how fast my 40 times was anymore; I just wanted to transform myself into a giant. I changed up my whole routine; no more body lifts and running, all weights and power lifts. Over the course of a few months I had gained a few solid pounds but nothing to brag about. And I had no idea what I was doing wrong. I started looking to the books, following the pros and their tips on gaining muscle. And I discovered the power of diet. I learned everything there was to know about diet and gaining muscle. I changed my whole entire life around to benefit the gym. I started working even harder in the gym and before I knew it I was gaining more muscle each time I stepped on the scale. In the course of 1.5 years I went from a skinny 150-lb 18-year-old to a solid 195-lb almost-20-year-old. I kept my body fat between 8-12% the whole time.
BBG: That’s a lot of change to absorb in a year and a half.
KL: Well, bodybuilding changed my whole life. I realized it was what I was intended to do. I went back to the books again and became a Certified Personal Trainer and started my business, Kevin Lisak Fitness. Since becoming a trainer and expanding my knowledge of fitness even more, I learned to develop my body better. In 2011 I was contacted by top fitness photographer Michael Anthony Downs and asked to shoot with his company. Since then I have expanded myself as a bodybuilder and fitness model and hope so see much more come with that in the future. I’m about to turn 20 years old and am three weeks out from my first fitness competition, “The Arnold,” where I will be competing in the Men’s Physique Division. I also have a few photo shoots set up with photographers around the nation that I am very excited to work with. I’m not sure where life is going to take me from here, but one thing that’s for sure is its only going one way and that is up.
BBG: We’d like to ask about your business a little. What can you tell us about Kevin Lisak Fitness?