Winston Grey

I initially grew interested in competing because I saw my friend Brian Hay do his first show, and watched everything he was doing to get in shape. When he decided to do his second show, I wanted to go through the process with him to see if it was possible for me to get into that type of shape as well. I ended up being ready four weeks in advance, so I jumped into that same show with Brian.

I found out about TEAM Warrior Within because I was training with John Young throughout his offseason (winter 2014/2015), and when he transitioned to precontest, I didn’t want to mess up our routine, since it’s difficult to find a reliable training partner. When John started training with TWW trainer Joe Bender, he invited me to come, and I have been working with Joe ever since.

It’s great working with Joe Bender. He basically takes care of everything for me from my diet, workouts, supplements, and even tanning me before the shows. He’s also great at listening to my feedback and responding accordingly.

I’m a single parent, so the hardest part of getting ready for my shows are on the days when I have my daughter, and figuring out a way to still get in all of my cardio and workout.

When times get tough, I am motivated simply by thinking about how I don’t want to look too soft, or overly skinny, on stage.

For somebody looking to get started with competing, I would advise them to be careful with how they interact with others—just because you’re hungry or feel tired doesn’t give you the right to snap at your significant other, family and friends.

During my prep, I learned that good training partners make a big difference in retaining strength while dieting.

I would like to thank my girlfriend Natasha ones, my family, and the people who work at Gold’s Gym Largo childcare for helping me with my daughter. And of course, my training partners John Young and Tommy Collins.

My plans moving forward are to try to gain five to ten pounds of quality muscle over the next nine to twelve months, and then do either Jr. USAs or NPC Universe again in 2015.

-Winston Grey