Beast Athlete Brandan Fokken Inspires

[caption id="attachment_4165" align="alignleft" width="224"] Team Beast Elite: Brandan Fokken[/caption] Team Beast Elite Athlete Brandan Fokken, has recently wrapped up a very personal interview for FitOverFat.com. Want to know what inspires this Men's Physique fitness competitor and Team Beast Elite athlete? Read on.

When did you get started with fitness?

I have loved sports my entire life and always had aspirations of being big and strong. I was a naturally gifted athlete and participated in baseball, basketball, and football. I was that guy that even went all out in gym class. When it came to weight lifting, I just wasn’t good at it, so starting my freshman year of high school I really put in the time and effort to make myself better. I loved the sport of bodybuilding, and followed the sport through high school. All through my 20’s I did the same and always talked about doing a show, but didn’t really know where to begin. My friend Trevor Larsen decided to do his first show and tried talking me into doing one with him. I talked to my friend Ned Sacipovic and asked for his help. Ned has more experience in the sport than anyone I know, so if anyone could help me it was him. He said he could get me ready, so I got started. I did my first bodybuilding show at the age of 30. I competed in light heavy and eventually made it up to the heavy weight class. After my first and last heavy weight competition under the advice of my trainer Ned I made the switch to Men’s Physique and have done that ever since. I felt the class fit me better and I was ready for something new. Although at my core, I will always appreciate bodybuilding and love the sport, I am now putting all my energy into this new class. I love the camaraderie probably the most about the sport. Getting to know other like-minded people, learning from others, and being motivated by but also motivating others. As a whole I love the fitness lifestyle. What I don’t like are haters. People that try to bring others down for trying to better themselves. Passing judgment on people assuming they know who they are and what they are about without knowing anything about them. People assume too much based on limited information, how someone looks, what someone else says about them, etc. When in reality the people they are trying to bring down are probably very different than how they are being portrayed.

How do you stay so motivated? What drives you?

I look at and read a lot of positive quotes and literature, study people with drive and ambition, and try and better myself through their example. I admire anyone that has self-confidence, someone that goes against what others tell them they have to do to do what they feel is right. You can be inspired by athletes that are total beginners to the most advanced. You just have to open your eyes and be open to it. When I’m training for a contest and I feel like I can’t go anymore I will recite quotes in my head from Arnold Schwarzenegger. His words have pushed me through so many stalemates in my training. I have always looked up to Arnold and have tried to implement his training principals and mindset into my own training. Read the rest of his interview here: http://www.fitoverfat.com/brandan-fokken-interview/