Despite retiring officially from competition in 2011, British bodybuilding star John Hodgson remains a highly revered and respected athlete within his field. His integrity and genuine nature in competition and away from the stage, earned him a loyal fan base on both sides of the pond.
After leaving England for Spain in 1991, John first began bodybuilding aged 21. Upon returning to the UK a year later he joined a well-known gym named Busy Bodies, and began preparation for his first shows.
Manchester United fan John entered and won his first four contests, all in 1993. He won the “Weiner New Star of the Year” and never looked back from there.
John enjoyed a career which spanned over 20 years, and called time on his days of competition following a 2nd place finish at the BGP competition. He was aged 42 at that time. Hodgson is regularly featured in lists compiling the best 202 IFBB Pros of all time, and after drawing inspiration from stars of his era such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and British boxing legend Frank Bruno, he grew infatuated by his own physique, and committed to sculpting himself in the mould of musclemen like Lee Haney and Gary Strydom.
Consistency
Hodgson threw himself fully into achieving his competitive goals, and achieved the highest level of consistency through training hard and eating the right food. He has often gone out of his way to promote the importance of a healthy and balanced diet comprising of poultry, red meats and vegetables, while also being an advocate of solid supplementary intake, something which he has moved into since his departure from the spotlight.
Hodgson now helps the stars of tomorrow with their preparation work for competition, while also allowing himself more time off to spend with his daughter and his own quest for personal happiness.
The sacrifices that are made by professional bodybuilders can far outweigh those experienced by sportsmen in other professional disciplines, and can often test even the strongest of minds. John decided at 42 that enough was enough on the competition front, but he has never forgotten his debt to the sport, and he encourages the new generations with his expert advice, honesty and integrity.
John Hodgson was and remains an inspiration to all British bodybuilders.