The mind is everything. If you don’t believe you can do something then you can’t. If you believe that your upbringing was substandard and therefore you have to walk around as a refugee from that crisis situation for the rest of your life, forever bearing the burden of that experience then that will be YOUR life.

It’s a very interesting thing to try to be your absolute best—not a percent better or a percent worse than that.

The greatest gift you can give someone is the space to be his or herself, without the threat of you leaving.

Bodybuilding has been the tool that single-handedly taught a little black boy from the projects to use his mind to achieve success. it taught me to see things for what they can be. I had 17-inch arms; I imagined them to be 24 inches. The power of my mind allowed me to achieve what I imagined.

I don't really believe in cardio. I train with a very high intensity, which in turn gives it an aerobic effect. I like to use anaerobic resistance type movements or exercises. I don't believe in sitting on a Stairmaster or a bike for hours, that's just not me.

If you accuse me of being on drugs because I'm very focused on what I do, because I'm very serious, because I'm very hungry, because I can squat 800 lbs, because I can bench 500 lbs, because I can press 315 behind my neck, and if these things don't fit under what you consider to be natural, then I don't want to be a natural. I don't want to be what you depict as a natural. I want to define myself for me.

I try to think of myself as a struggling competitor or specialist at my craft, much like a singer, dancer, comedian, or actor. So I'm struggling to do my craft and I'm continually trying to learn to do it better. I think that's what's really been my secret.