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To begin with, a little history allright ? I started lifting weights in 1978 at the age of 19 because of back problems without knowing that my very first workout would change my life forever. I was pretty skinny back then but nevertheless, I could gain around 20 pounds during my first year of lifting. I'll be 44 this year, in 2003, and believe it or not , the longest training break I have ever took in those past 25 years was no longer than 4 days! So yes, I can say it loud and clear : I love working out and cannot imagine life without the sound and feel of iron. I've always been hardcore and I' ll always stay that way no matter if I compete or not; every workout is a challenge; it' s like beeing at war with the weights and each time I wanna come out as a winner!

During those past 25 years, I've seen the Bodybuilding and the fitness scene go through many changes and to be honest, it hasn't always been for the better. I' ve seen free weights taken out of the workout area and reappear in plastic form in the aerobic section (pump) ; I' ve witnessed overweight clients taking the elevator to get to the first floor, then walk on a 10000 dollar treadmill on a beautiful sunny day and then as soon as they close the gymdoor, lit their next cigarette and I' ve heard of national caliber bodybuilders asked not to renew their gym membership because they were 'disturbing' to other members!

The health factor has always been important to me. When I started training , back in the seventies, I had quit smoking and drinking and did everything I could to change my lifestyle for the better. At age 20, I packed my bags and headed for the mecca of bodybuilding, Santa Monica, near Los Angeles. At Gold's Gym, I discovered what I wanted to be: a champion Bodybuilder. From that minute on, I would do everything possible to take it as far as possible in the iron game.

But very soon, I realized that drugs and steroids in particular played a major role in the sport and that most of the people I had idolized were using them. In November of 1980, under the influence of a self proclaimed 'coach' who kept telling me I could forget about becoming a Bodybuilding Champion if I would not use steroids, I decided to give it a try and took 25 mg of Dianabol for a period of three weeks. At that time, I weighed 80 kgs and looked more like a beginner than like an seasoned bodybuilding competitor.

I gained 5 kgs or should I say 5 liters due the extreme water retention and most of the cuts I was so proud of disappeared! My bench press went up 15 kgs and that off course felt great. But then came the bad news : after that steroid cycle, I had my blood checked and it came out that some blood parameters were out of balance. That was enough to scare the sh... out of me and I decided not to touch that stuff anymore and to pursue my career without it.
I had just won the WABBA Teenage Mr. International in Belgium but I would have given my 5 foot plastic trophy back for a healthy blood test. It was during those days that I attended a seminar given by this well known professional Bodybuilder . He told the audience that steroids were just part of Bodybuilding and that every aspiring competitor had to take them in order to be successful. After he said that, I stood up and asked him very directly if he ever gave the natural way a chance . His answer was: "No, in fact I didn't, why don't you try ? "'. At that point, I decided to train naturally and set my goal of winning a World title within 10 years.

Meeting Bodybuilding legends like Reg Park who I'm proud to say is a personal friend since 1984, the late John Grimek or Paul-Jean Guillaume along the way gave me even more drive to achieve this goal. If they succeeded without drugs, then why wouldn' I be able to do the same ? My friends Radovan Milakovic and Bernard Lambert of France both tought me the discipline that is necessary to make it to the top and made me believe that I didn' t need drugs to become successful. Without these two guys I wouldn 't be where I am today!!

In the eighties, natural Bodybuilders didn't have like today the opportunity to compete in natural shows so I took part a few times in the IFBB amateur World Championships (A contest Bodybuilders like to call Mr. Universe). I remember well my first showing , in 1983, in Singapore, standing next to Berry de Mey and Hollywood star Ralf Moeller. After 10 minutes on stage, I was kindly asked to file off with the competitors that hadn't made the cut. Nevertheless, I was still confident that my time would come. During the following years, I made it my ultimate goal to become drug free Mr. Universe. After my runner-up spot behind Ralf at the 1986 Universe in Tokyo, the first ever tested amateur World Championships, I was real fired up to make it big in 1997 in Madrid, Spain. To my surprise, the participants looked bigger and harder than the previous year and athletes that had been tested positive one year before were now crowned World Champions. A lot of the guys were obviously on the gear but somehow I looked past that and placing ahead than some of them was a big victory to me. My training partner and friend , Georg Zimmermann and I trained like warriors 5 days a week at 7 am and made every rep count !! I started taking it as a compliment when fellow competitors began asking what drugs I was taking and not if I was taking any! I remember being once introduced to a famous athlete as a drug free bodybuilder ; The guy said : " Yeah, me too, I get my drugs for free!" . It sometimes hurt not to be taken seriously but deep inside, I knew where I was coming from and nothing and nobody could ever change my plans for the future. In the late eighties I felt that no real efforts were made to get rid of the drug problem in Bodybuilding or so seemed to me. Something had to be done to save our sport from dying.

I've always been an avid reader of bodybuilder mags. That particular day in Lucerne where I lived between 1983 and 1994, I discovered a publication that I had not seen in the past: 'Natural Physique'; a magazine dedicated to the drug free Bodybuilding and Fitness lifestyle. The athletes pictured in it looked indeed very natural to me. I wrote to the NANBA (North American Natural Bodybuilding Association) president, Mr. Evans, and was invited as a guest competitor at the Natural Mr. Universe in Phoenix Az in the spring of 1991. There, for the first time, I was tested for bodybuilding drugs via polygraph examination (seven year drug free requirement) and urinalysis. I was thrilled about the strict drug testing and could feel the fierce determination to fight drug use in our sport. One year later, in Flint Michigan, I took top honours winning the overall Natural Mr. Universe contest and fulfilled my dream. After that, I turned pro and am now a member of the WNBF (World Natural Bodybuilding Federation), an organization that promotes drug free Bodybuilding worldwide.

In 1997, my friend Michel Frauchiger, a former Swiss Champion and lifetime Natural athlete himself, and I founded the SNBF (Swiss Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation). The SNBF is a non profitable organization that is affiliated to the WNBF. We organize every year in October a national Championship where the winners qualify for the highlight of the WNBF contest calendar: The WNBF Pro World and INBF amateur World Championships in New York city . Today, natural Bodybuilding and Fitness athletes finally have the opportunity to compete on a drug free stage. Yes indeed, Natural Bodybuilding is well alive and getting stronger.
I do feel that natural Bodybuilders are the true heroes and hardcore athletes of our sport. In order to improve naturally, you have to be totally dedicated to the drug free bodybuilding lifestyle. There is no 'off-season' for us; it's total dedication all year around. Each workout and each meal count; every new day is one step toward bodybuilding greatness. To be the best you can be naturally, you've gotta believe in yourself. Drugs don't make a champion, willpower and discipline do. Only then will you come out as a real winner; a winner on stage as well as in real life.

Stay clean

François Gay