| Inspector sculpts more than buildings |  |
Oct. 30, 2008
by Ruth Roberts
The Brentwood Press
Posing under the hot lights, skin glistening, muscles tensed, wearing nothing more than an abbreviated Speedo and a 100 megawatt smile, bodybuilder Brent Smith will be the first to tell you the experience is completely surreal.
“That’s for sure,” laughed Smith, 35, of his first competition. “It was like a dream to finally be up there on stage. It far surpassed my expectations.”
Mild-mannered Oakley building official by day, amateur bodybuilder by night, Smith has recently entered the world of competition – an elite and specialized sport whose most famous spokesman is the current state governor.
“Yes, he (Gov. Schwarzenegger) definitely did a lot for the sport,” said Smith, who is making his own mark on the bodybuilding world. Debuting in the GNC NPC San Francisco Bodybuilding Championship last month in Hayward, Smith walked away with the first-place trophy – not bad for a young man with an aversion to vegetables (“I never ate them until I started training”) and a penchant for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
Raised in Pleasanton, Smith said he always worked out in order to stay in shape for baseball. So when he decided late last year to pursue his longtime interest in bodybuilding, he figured it would just be a matter of cranking up the workouts another notch.
Turns out it was a little more involved. “It is grueling,” said Smith of the training process. “I don’t think I really had any idea what it would be like, but it does give you a huge sense of accomplishment. There is a lot that goes into competing.”
As well as a lot of genetics. “Much of it is what you’re born with,” said Smith, who at 5 feet 9 inches and a 185 pounds is perfectly proportioned for the sport. “Some guys. no matter how hard they work to sculpt and shape their bodies, just don’t have the right build. So I’m lucky that some of that is just in genes.”
But blue jeans are definitely not allowed on stage, and Smith concedes that the hard work of preparing for a 90-second routine is sometimes daunting.
“I’m hungry all the time,” said Smith, who when training, consumes less than 2,000 calories per day. “And I take so many supplements that the Vitamin Shoppe knows me by name. But I keep my eyes on the prize and try to remember that this is what I wanted and it’s definitely worth it.”
Competitors are judged on 10 mandatory postures, including front and back poses and relaxed and semi-relaxed poses. The purpose is to highlight specific muscles of the body and to showcase each competitor’s strengths.
However, most of the judging, said Smith, is done during the prejudging phase, so by the time audience sees the bodybuilder on stage, a winner has most likely already been chosen.
Steroid use is a logical concern, he added, but as with any other sport, competitors are warned and safeguards are in place. But one thing that does tempt Smith is the sugar-laden, artery-clogging foods that turn chiseled bodies like Smith’s into lumpy couch potatoes. Pizza, burgers and sugary treats are his vices of choice. And once a week, he caves into the cravings.
“I do indulge, and in fact my trainer recommends it,” said Smith. “It helps to balance out the lack of carbs and sugars in your body from training and it also keeps you on track if you can have what you want occasionally.”
When training, however, the doughnuts take a backseat to the StairMaster, and right now Smith is forced to forgo the goodies. With two more competitions schedule by the end of the year (one this weekend), he says the challenge right now is to stay focused. It’s a challenge in which his family plays a vital role.
“My family is the most important thing to me, so I always keep them in the forefront,” said Smith of his wife Denise and two young sons. “My wife is my biggest supporter and my boys really get into what I do. We try to go to the gym together and keep it a family thing. So far, it’s working well.”
Something else working well for Smith is the parallel between building inspector and bodybuilder, and Smith says the parallel doesn’t escape him.
“Sure I can see the similarities,” he said. “In my job you have to have a plan and you have to oversee and control a lot of things at the same time.
The same is true with bodybuilding. There are a lot of elements involved and both end up with having accomplished and built something. There’s a lot to balance on both sides.”