Like a fine wine, Leumeah bodybuilder Scotty Quinn has improved with age, reports SEAN CUNNINGHAM.
Scotty Quinn is a 52-year-old Scotsman who has literally came a long way to excel in his chosen sport.
Arriving in Australia as a teenager, Quinn has progressed to achieve some great triumphs in bodybuilding.
His most highly-prized result took place during the recent Arnold (Schwarzenneger) Classic Australia in Melbourne.
Months of a strict training regime and diet paid dividends when the muscle-bound Quinn placed third in the over 50s category at the prestigious international bodybuilding competition.
Quinn has won many regional bodybuilding titles since he took up the sport in 1992 and has performed with much success at state and national levels.
In 2012, he won the NSW and Australia championships in the Masters category.
But the long-time veteran in the sport said his most recent result had been the best in his bodybuilding career which has spanned more than 20 years.
”To enter such a prestigious competition as the Arnold Classic was the highest pinnacle to date, but to place third made it even sweeter,” Quinn said.
”Just when you think that you’ve competed at your highest possible level, it was brilliant to get informed by the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) that my placing in the Arnold Classic automatically qualifies me to compete in the amateur Olympia competition on the Gold Coast, in November this year.
”In my opinion the Olympia is the highest possible level you can compete in before the professional ranks.
”I’m not going to pass up the opportunity at the highest level in the Olympia … it’ll be a great achievement to be able to compete against the best bodybuilders from throughout the world.”
While in Melbourne, Quinn attended the professional bodybuilding show in which the former pin-up boy of pumping iron, Schwarzenneger, delivered a presentation to the audience about “lifetime fitness and health”.
Quinn said the Hollywood movie star’s interaction with the audience was informative, as well as light-hearted.
”Arnold, still having the great sense of humour he’s always had, entertained the crowd with his one-liners,” he said.
”He was quite comical.”
Requiring dedication and commitment to compete at a high level, it’s no surprise Quinn, with his enthusiasm for the sport which has become a way of life for him, has been dubbed as the ”Mighty Quinn” among some of the bodybuilding fraternity.
Building a wealth of knowledge in nutrition, Quinn also keeps on track with advice from his close friend, Fitness Palace owner, Harrington Park man Tony Dagosto, who has also helped former world champion boxer Daniel Geale get in shape.
Although the lead-up to competing was a long, hard slog for Quinn, he knuckled down and upped the ante by being involved in more intense training sessions.
Power walks at 4.30am, before he started work, were par for the course in Quinn’s bid to give himself the best possible chance to win a medal.
He is keen to pass on his knowledge and be a mentor to younger, up-and-coming bodybuilders.
”I’ll always support the younger bodybuilders in their quest and I wish them all the best because it’s a hard, disciplined sport when competing,” he said.
”It’s always difficult dieting for competition and I’ve got the utmost respect for people who have chosen to compete in the past, or decide to compete in the future.”
Quinn’s focus is now on competing in the Olympia competition.
He has already started his diet and training sessions which he believes could lead to him to further success against the best bodybuilders from around the globe.
