Success comes naturally for bodybuilder

Chris Darby has always been a bulky, muscular athlete. Even as a little boy, he was called a mini Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“I had no clue who he was until around 12,” the Texas City resident said. “I saw some videos of him, but it never occurred to me he was a bodybuilder.”

Darby seemed destined to be a bodybuilder, and three years ago, at age 19, he finally gave the sport a try and fell in love with it.

The 2003 Texas City High School grad was attending Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kan., on a soccer scholarship, when met some natural bodybuilders at a local gym. He always wanted to give bodybuilding a try, but was always turned off by what it took to be a great bodybuilder. Darby had never heard of natural bodybuilding. It sounded good to him.

In only his second competition, Darby won both the junior (19-22) men’s and open classes at Musclemania Texas earlier this month in Fort Worth.

He was thrilled with the win, but even more ecstatic with an added bonus — Musclemania will sponsor and send him to the Musclemania World Championships Nov. 17-19 in Hollywood, Calif.

“I was more overwhelmed that they are sponsoring and sending me to California,” he said. “That’s the biggest part.”

He’s also landed some additional gigs. He’s done a photo shoot with muscular.com, and he’s scheduled to do more, plus shoot a workout video. He’ll get money for both.

Darby, 22, also will compete at the NPC John Sherman Classic this weekend in Houston.

But he’s fired up about the trip to California, where he’ll compete against the best juniors in the world. Darby admits he’s just happy for the trip. He doesn’t expect to do well — not against the world’s best in what’s considered the toughest class in bodybuilding.

“I’ll possibly get my rear handed to me by all these juniors,” he said. “I believe there’s a ton of juniors who are way ahead of me. But it’ll be a good experience. It’ll be televised by ESPN, and there’s a ton of sponsors.

“However, nobody’s been able to touch me in my posing routine. You set it to music. I’ve been told I’m very good at that, and some pros don’t do the things I do. My goal is to make the top 15 to 20. I hope I’ll no doubt have the best individual posing routine out there.”

Despite all the muscles as a youngster, Darby — who even played football from eighth-grade through his junior year — never gave powerlifting a try when he was in high school. Former Texas City assistant football coach Lance Carter tried to recruit him for the powerlifting team, but Darby had to decline. It was too noisy for him.

“People who lift go crazy and scream,” said Darby, who prefers to lift in silence.

Now he lifts five days out of the week. But he’s made bigger changes, too.

“Bodybuilding is a complete lifestyle change,” Darby said. “From the moment you wake up, you are involved with your body all day long.”

He must be careful about what he eats and what supplements he takes. He also must do the proper cardiovascular and resistance training.

Darby is currently going to college full time at the University of Houston and College of the Mainland. He’s also a lifeguard at COM and a personal trainer for a local gym.

His goal is to eventually turn pro and make a living bodybuilding.

“I love being healthy,” he said. “I’ve always had high aspirations to perfect my body and my myself, no matter what it is — school or sports. A lot of people would be happy to be where I am, but I want more. I know I can do better. I’m always driving myself to be better.”

Joey D. Richards is a staff writer for The Daily News. If you have any recreational sports news, call him at (409) 683-5212 or (800) 561-3611, Ext. 5212 or send e-mail to joey.richards(at)galvnews.com.