No 98-pound weakling any more

Scott had recently caught the weightlifting bug, trying to see just how well he could condition his 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame. Suddenly, every other extracurricular activity just wasn't a priority.

"It's not like you're going to become Mr. USA or anything," Tom tried to reason with his 16-year-old son.

Scott didn't say anything, but his response immediately flashed into his head. "Well, yes I am," was his unspoken answer.

This afternoon at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston the entire Hagan family will see the motivation behind the perceived weight room madness. There, Scott will vie for the honor of being called the best amateur heavyweight bodybuilder in New England at the NPC New England Bodybuilding Championships.

"I had no clue what this would lead to," said Scott's mother, Kathy Hagan. "Scott used to be this little skinny kid. All of a sudden I went to see him compete for the first time and I was just amazed. We're just so proud of him."

Hagan, 31, epitomizes the heart of the sport of bodybuilding. Without any promise of monetary gains, the Lowell native has fended off the temptation of an undisciplined life to join the upper-echelon of amateur competitors in his sport.

Not only does Hagan participate in a daily regimen of weight lifting, but his dietary routine is also a practice few could endure. In the morning there is 3/4 of a cup of oatmeal, followed by six egg whites. Then, every two hours for the rest of the day, he empties individual containers consisting of a combinations of rice, sweet potatoes and chicken breasts.

Perhaps the ultimate sacrifice came in the days leading up to last week's Maine Muscle Classic. While riding a bus during his cousin Tim Hovey's bachelor party, Hagan was surrounded by the bags of Doritos and coolers of beer. Hagen picked at his bag full of rice cakes as discreetly as possible.

"They were like, 'What are you doing?'," Hagan said. "It seems strange, but it's really not. It comes pretty easy because it's something I like to do. I haven't cheated once, because if I lost I would think about it all the time. In bodybuilding, you can only worry about your self because outside of that it's somebody else's opinion."

If Hagan does win in Boston, earning a berth in the NPC Nationals in Miami, it will be the culmination of a journey which started with Greater Lowell biology teacher James Vergados keeping the school's weight room open for a few aspiring football players.

"I started working out and going to the gym because I wanted to play football going into my junior year," said Hagan, who entered high school at 98 pounds and will compete today at 215. "But I ended up falling in love with bodybuilding. I wish I played football because they ended up winning about three Super Bowls."

Quick start

After learning the art of posing from watching the syndicated television show, "American Muscle Magazine," Hagan entered his first competition, a teenage AAU event in Connecitcut in 1990. He not only took first-place in his first show, but went on to win his next five, as well.

But after taking sixth in the very same event he will be entering today, the New Englands, Hagan decided to take some time off. He got married and he and his wife Taeyanna bought a house in Lowell. He concentrated on a career that now includes managing Omni Fitness and conducting personal training sessions.

Even when on hiatus, however, Hagan still stayed in shape. His consistent conditioning made for a smooth transition in his return to the stage last week in Maine, where he took first place in the heavyweight division.

Now comes what would be the pinnacle of Hagan's career a chance to head to Miami and face off with the nation's best.

"This would be the biggest win of my career," said Hagan, who will be judged on symmetry, size, definition and presentation. "I'm pretty confident. I might be a little nervous inside, but you won't see it."

"I'm excited for him," said his father, Tom. "It's something he has set his mind on and now he's doing it all."