Kevin Taylor - Ultimate fitness 4u based in Leeds - sponsored athlete for many years
He is a inspiration to many in the world of bodybuilding and far beyond for many reasons like his great enthusiasm for the sport after set backs injury's and obstacles he has always kept a smile on his face with a positive mental attitude letting nothing stop him from achieving his goals.
Kev has on our request written a small breakdown of his bodybuilding life so far
I began training in 1979 during my school years with a daily dinnertime circuit training session, with my metalwork teacher mr flemming, at wombwell high school. By the age of 13 I was hooked to the daily buzz of freshly released endorphins, seeing how hard and fast and long, not giving up I could go and do and achieve. I also had 4 years of judo training at the local Dorothy Hyman stadium in wombwell. It was at this wonderful facility I found the little wooden hut by the entrance that was the weightlifting club. The judo would eventually be replaced by bodybuilding, my real passion.
After a a year or so perfecting the snatch, along with the clean and jerk disciplines, I was introduced by top instructor Allan lomax, to powerlifting moves bench press, deadlift and the squat. These were the 5 lifts along with my circuit training that were to form the basis of my bodybuilding adventure to come.
In 1983 I was told by my early mentor and training partner glynn Burton, that I was competing. So I did at les nields open Yorkshire in Barnsley. I got hammered into 6th in the juniors by a monster line-up that I would one year later, return to conquer. My learning curve was steep and hard as I competed year in year out from 1983 to 1988 taking local area and national titles culminating in an invite to the 1988 world championships which would have then invited me direct to the Olympia stage against my idols makkaway lebrada samir.
The breaking point came 5 months before the Australian world's when I detached my left pectoral pressing some stupid 200kgs on the bench. I only weighed 80kgs and should have know better but this was brutal training and anything could happen and I had no limits..... do or die draconian style. So that put paid to the early part of my bodybuilding career.
I continued to train and train others towards area national and international success. My career was over as far as the top end was concerned. After a couple of years I was heading full time into bodybuilding promotion with magazine bodybuilding monthly, when I became editor. I'd been contributing to several magazines for some time and enjoyed the call from publication maestro Dave Williams offering me the editorial post. This was to form a formidable part of my experience with the sport. Show reporting every week, fitness expos in the early 90s, and interviewing and amazing array of amateur and pro bodybuilders, our heroes and our inspiration. Life was amazing but all good things eventually come to an end. An economic recession put paid to lots of glossies and bodybuilding was one of them.
After far too long I made a long awaited comeback to competetive body building, at paula bircumshaws Mansfield classic, which qualified me for the following weeks efbb British finals. After taking 2nd to nana Manu I would return the following year to win back the British title I came so close to the previous year. This time though the EFBB had been renamed and restructured the ukbff. It was 3 years away again as a recession hit Britain and my time was needed more trying to save the business I had worked so hard to develop. It was 2011 before I would return to the stage again and 2012 would be my last with the efbb/ukbff as they seemed to be looking for something different to what I was trying to achieve.
Onto nabba and some fabulous success in the England UK British isles and a couple of universe qualifications where I stood with Lee priest in class 4.
Wabba was emerging at this time and I did a guest spot at the calcaria with my friend Steve Johnson. I competed at the wabba British Grand prix after guesying at the NABBA England and Hercules Olympia and won the overall earning a wabba universe invite where I came 4th in x short class.
