Content provided in partnership with

Skinny no more: how Dave Braun finally lived up to his name

Men's Fitness, April, 2005 by Ethan Boldt

YOU REMEMBER HOW IT WAS: Showing up to your high school gym class short or skinny was just asking for trouble. But if you were both, abuse was guaranteed. No one knows better than Dave Braun of Grand Rapids, Mich., who, after a childhood of lean years, decided that if he couldn't grow taller, he'd have to grow bigger.

"Every day, I had to listen to short-and-skinny jokes," remembers Braun. Taunts like "little squirt" "shrimp," and "skin n' bones" persisted even into his freshman year of high school in fall 1993. But at 5'5" and a dainty 112 pounds, getting shoved into lockers by bullies was far more painful.

Most Popular Articles in Health: Fuel your workout: exercisers who eat before they work out have more energy ...; Soothe a dry, itchy scalp: 5 easy expert solutions; Cocktails and calories: Beer, wine and liquor calories can really add up. ...; The sour truth about apple cider vinegar - evaluation of therapeutic use; The, six best supplements you've never heard of: these secret weapons can ...; More »

It wasn't until the summer before his junior year, when Braun's parents allowed him to switch high schools, that he immersed himself in iron. Seeing the chance to reinvent his image and his body, Braun started talking to the school's football team for lifting tips.

While he was learning about exercise, Braun still didn't know the first thing about muscle food. "My mom asked me why I was eating cheeseburgers and fries if I wanted to look better. Suddenly, the way I ate didn't make sense to me anymore." Braun purged his plate of junk food, filling it with fresh fruit and vegetables and lots of protein (chicken, fish, and lean steak) instead.

"I didn't get huge overnight, but I did make progress." By the end of that fall, he had bulked up five pounds, and his bench press had increased by 70 pounds. "Suddenly, I had friends and a standing in the school. It was all due to lifting."

But after graduation, Braun realized that weight training had become much more than a means to an end for self-defense and self-esteem. He loved the routine of going to the gym, and the way his results made him look and feel. In college, he met Bill Bonney, a bodybuilder turned trainer, at a local Grand Rapids gym. Bonney saw a hungry protege in Braun, and promised to make him a bodybuilding champ if the kid made the effort.

Still an awfully lean 125 pounds, Braun committed himself to a six-days-a-week training split. As a hard-gainer, Braun also had to eat obscene amounts to gain a pound. "I organized my eating with an alarm on my cell phone--every time it beeped, I had to eat something." Under Bonney's guidance, Braun gained 30 pounds over the next three years without going over 10% body fat.

In 2004, Braun (now nicknamed "Brauny" by friends), age 24, entered three amateur bodybuilding contests in the Grand Rapids area. "I knew I wouldn't be the biggest guy onstage, but I believed that I could be in the best overall shape." Braun made an amazing debut, taking second place in his height class at the Mr. Natural Classic. Keeping his diet extra "clean," Braun maintained his condition for three weeks on the way to winning his division at the Grand Rapids Natural Bodybuilding Championships. Six months later, he walked away with the Western Michigan Natural Bodybuilding Championships' overall title.

Today Braun's dream is to get even bigger and become a fitness model or maybe a professional bodybuilder. "You always see huge guys like Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman on fitness magazine covers, but I don't see why I can't be on there, too, one day." Score one for the little guy.

Skinny no more: how Dave Braun finally lived up to his name

Men's Fitness, April, 2005 by Ethan Boldt

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Sports

Most Popular Articles in Health

Most Popular Publications in Health