Interview with 2011 MUTANT of the YEAR Harlan Wiles

How Did You Get Started With Bodybuilding?

I got started in bodybuilding when I was 15 years old. My father use to work out when he was younger so he had a set of weights at our house. I started lifting at home and reading bodybuilding magazines. The first guy in the magazines that blew me away was Dorian Yates. His whole body screamed intensity and hard work. I continued to train into my twenties while going to College, but never really was bitten by the competition bug at that point. It wasn't until I was about twenty five when I started to think about competing.

One of my biggest influences was seeing local bodybuilders getting ready for their contests at our gym. One guy in particular that really made a big impression on me and was a top National Bodybuilder at the time was Basil Brown. He was and still is one freaky bodybuilder that is modest and humble. From that point I had it in my head that I would compete one day. With hard work, my trainer and a support team made up of friends and family I entered my first show in 2002 narrowly being edged out of first claiming second place! This also happened to be my first bodybuilding show I have ever attended. After that show I was back stage and one of the judges came up to me and said I looked really good and almost won the class. He mentioned that I needed to work on putting on more size, but my condition was really good! This motivated me to continue on and improve my physique.