During his preparations, Ethan was very confident in his training methods, diet and supplementation approach. He was absolutely living the mantra "Train Hard!" building up to this contest. His goal was to add size and still come in with great conditioning and shape, and he succeeded. "I had an exceptional showing. My bodyfat was its lowest ever, yet I weighed in 12 lbs heavier than last year," Ethan said.
The first round of the contest, the prejudging, had Ethan confident that he was going be in the running for the win. Ethan told us, "I did what I set out to do, that was keep my known conditioning but put on size and develop more shape and aesthetic." As you can see from the photos below, Ethan has added some real quality muscle mass over the last year. He has built himself into a more complete bodybuilder and has made noticeable improvements.
The second round, the night show, is where Ethan performs his posing routine to music. This time around, Ethan chose "Mother" by Danzig for his routine. Ethan went through various poses to show off his style of physique and looked great. Ethan looked very confident and did a great job of hitting each pose hard to allow the judges to get a good look at his physique. At the end of the night show, Ethan was feeling good about his showing and anxiously awaited the results.
Unfortunately, Ethan took second. He was the clear crowd favorite and the screams during his posing routine would back this claim up. Unfortunately, although he achieved his goals of adding size and keeping condition, he said: "It did not garner me the win. In my heart and also to many people in the crowd that night I felt I won. I was completely dry (lean) and had the best legs in show as told by many people and some judges."
Bodybuilding is a subjective sport. Sometimes, decisions that seem one way may go another. Ethan felt that he was marked down because of "the blemishes on my skin that I've had since I was a lad. It is a condition that I've treated prior and have only seen it re-emerge at the most inopportune times." This is an unfortunate decision by the judges, because comparison photos online show Ethan, in our opinion, looking superior.
There are two ways you can respond to adversity. One way is to get discouraged and give up. The other, the way of the champion, is the way Ethan chooses to respond. Although he and many others disagree with the judging decision, Ethan said, "Would this color my opinion of the NPC organization? No. I love this sport, I revel in challenge and I would never expect to be accepted just because I dieted and worked hard. If my heart is in anything I will press on and I will continue. I feel the personal satisfaction of utilizing my gifts to my best ability and I consider the disappointment all part of my career. I see it as more preparation needed." That attitude of turning a bad outcome into fuel for the next achievement is one of the reasons House Of Muscle supports Ethan. He has the right approach to competition and self improvement.
What this means for Ethan is more hard work and more preparation: "I have started my off season already and I plan to compete again in March-May. I'm being coached by Mr. David Johnston of Team Warrior Within based out of Columbia, Maryland. David has put many competitors on stage to win and win pro cards. I have found my sponsor for quality supplements, House Of Muscle, and my coach that believes in me. I have total faith in his programming and I will follow it all to the letter. If I don't, I just don't have peace of mind and warriors don't win without clarity of objective."
We would like to congratulate Ethan on another job well done and a successful prep. He may not have taken home the trophy for first place, but he achieved his goals and continues to pursue excellence. Here are some final parting words from Ethan: "Thank you for the continued support. I'll be coming in with a focused and confident attitude that I will once again best my best. I will not stop. Ever."
