The Natural - Sean Larson

It seemed like an odd request at the time, but it was one that changed the life of Sean Larson forever.

While walking on Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island July 4, 1997, a freelance photographer from West Hartford approached Larson with both a request and an idea.

"He says 'Hey you look pretty good. I photograph a lot of bodybuilders throughout the area that compete,'" Larson said, "'Did you ever think about competing?' And I'm like, 'No, I did the diet to look like these guys.'"

Those guys happened to be the numerous bodybuilders that grace the covers of such publications as Flex and Muscular Development.

Larson never once imagined himself a candidate for such a dedicated and complex lifestyle until that day.

"He was like 'let me get a couple of pictures of you,'" Larson said.

Larson went back to Plainfield, vowing he would compete in a bodybuilding contest in the next year and with that a dream was born. Not your average guy On the surface, Larson is like every blue-collared American in this country. He works eight hours a day (Larson is a dealer at Mohegan Sun), watches football on Sundays and enjoys buffalo wings. But a glance at the size of his arms shows that Larson is not like everyone else. Like most bodybuilders, Larson's interest in weightlifting began on the football field. As a football player at Plainfield High, Larson did what everyone else in the offseason did - lift weights. It was at that time Larson discovered what effect weight training could have on him. "My sophomore year in high school I went from 160 pounds, and through one whole year into the football season, I weighed 195 pounds," the 26-year-old said. Startling isn't it? But not when you consider what Larson did to get so big. Not only did he train every day, but he also did a necessary human function -- he ate, a lot. "My mom's food bill was outrageous," Larson said with a laugh. "We didn't have a lot of money, so it was a lot of chicken breasts, steaks and a whole lot of pasta." Larson's mother, Anne, remembers those days well. She didn't think much of it as she watched her son become a human vacuum cleaner.

"I saw him eating and I just assumed he was eating like every growing teenager," Anne said. "People used to ask me if I was feeding him rocks." Boulders aren't a part of the diet, but large portions of white meat, tuna fish, steamed vegetables and pasta are. Occasionally Larson will mix in some pork or steak tips, and once in a while, he'll go out for a prime rib. "And for a break, I'll go out have myself some adult beverages," Larson said. "I'm still young; I want to go out." But that social life has dwindled since that eye-opening day on the beach nearly seven years ago. "I wanted to obtain the physique I always read about in these magazines," Larson said. "I did a lot of reading, a lot of dieting." Plus it didn't hurt that Larson knew someone that had been through it all before.

Great beginnings

After Larson's experience with the photographer, he went back to Plainfield to seek the advice of Tom Samoka. Owner of the Flex Gym in Plainfield where Larson trains, Samoka at one time was a bodybuilding champion and understood Larson's ambitions. Larson confided in Samoka and in turn received priceless advice. "I don't have the passion I once had for it, but when I was doing it, that was my whole life," Samoka said. "I can relate to where he was coming from." So Larson trained and in 1998 competed in his first amateur contest in Mystic. He placed fourth in the junior class and it was an experience he won't soon forget. "After that I was thinking, this is the best thing ever," Larson said. "I'm up there and people are yelling my name, people I didn't know." As great as an experience the Mystic contest was, a trip to New York City was a lesson in bodybuilding and life. After taking a couple of years off to put on more size, Larson found himself at Tribeca Community College in Manhattan for a pro-qualifying event. The contest just happened to be a non-drug tested show. "I walk in there and everyone else that was a middleweight (Larson competes at 178 pounds with an offseason weight of 215) and shoulder high to me and they were massive," Larson said. And for good reason -- most were on some kind of steroid. As Larson made his rounds backstage to pick the brains of other competitors, what he discovered was a problem that is still rampant in the sport of bodybuilding. "I went up to people asking about their diet," said Larson, who dieted for about 14 weeks prior to the show and came in "shredded to the bone". "I went up to these two guys and they were like, 'yeah, we don't diet.' They said you just let the drugs do the work "I was thinking, first this isn't fair and two, I don't want to be like that. It's not worth it."

Samoka competed during the height of the steroid craze in bodybuilding. He knows the stereotypes that steroids have created for bodybuilders. "It's easy to take drugs and have a body, but the thing with Sean and all the naturals is that he owns this (physique)," Samoka said. "If you see him six months from now and he is still lifting, he's always going to look like this or better." After the New York show, Larson vowed to compete in only drug tested shows and hooked up with Musclemania. Founded in 1991, Musclemania has become a very popular natural bodybuilding contest. The company holds contests all over the country and Larson's goal for 2004 is to compete in Musclemania's last show of the year in California. But before he does that, he must obtain his pro card.

The next step

The hunger was too great to be ignored. After placing third in an event in New Haven April 2003, Larson received an e-mail from his Musclemania promoter about competing in the company's New England Championships in October. Larson took about two weeks off from training and went right back at it to prepare for the Boston show. "I trained for a good part of 10 months," Larson said. "This past year nobody saw me." But the time spent was worth the price. Larson placed first in the middleweight division with family and friends in the audience. The win gave Larson a chance to compete for a pro card at the same event. "Everyone thought I would win best in show because I was dialed in," Larson said. While he did not win the overall contest to get his pro card, it only added more fuel to an already blazing fire.

"My heart was pounding like crazy," said Anne about the competition. "He was so close to getting that card, but I know it will happen eventually." But when it does happen, don't expect Larson to drop his job at the casino. Professional bodybuilders don't make a lot of money. Most work as personal trainers, and the elite of the profession, such as Ronnie Coleman, have contracts with supplement companies who pay the bills. In this sport, it's really not about the money. "I think this is more about personal satisfaction," Larson said. "It's about me, not 10 other guys who are on the field." Which makes his goals just a bit more difficult. Larson's family and close friends don't doubt that he can obtain his pro card. The feeling among them is the same -- Larson is a hard worker that gets things done. "He's one of the few people who can devote, sacrifice and have the discipline it takes to do this," Samoka said. "He's to a point to where he is very close to getting through that threshold." The next double biceps pose could make that happen.

Practicing his sport without the use of drugs, bodybuilder Sean Larson rises through the ranks.

Sean Larson at the 2006 Fitness Atlantic