Inspirational People Over 50 - The Incredible Ray Crumpler

It's my pleasure to introduce you to one of the most inspiring people I know, Ray Crumpler. I first met Ray as a competitor at my first natural bodybuilding competition.  He walked into the pump-up room as all the competitors were getting ready to go on stage and everyone was thinking "I hope he's not in my class!".  Unfortunately for me Ray was in my Masters Class and I had to follow his routine on stage!  After the audience saw Ray, it was as if I didn't exist.  That was over 15 years ago and we've been friends ever since.

Ray hasn't let the fact of being over 50 slow him down in his incredible bodybuilding career and in his personal life.  Here is one of two interviews I did with Ray.

Me: Ray, where were you born and where did you grow-up?

Ray: I was born in a small town in North Carolina called Clinton, but I was raised in a farming community 9 miles from town called Keener.

Me: What is your profession?

Ray: I'm a truck driver by profession and also a Fitness Expert.

Me: What got you into bodybuilding?

Ray: When I was in the Marines we went on a 6 month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea!  We went to countries like Spain, Italy, Turkey, Greece, etc...  I did a lot of calisthenics while on the ship.  My workout partner Adam Monterio, and I would go through 2 decks of cards doing push-ups for every card number that flipped up.  The next night we would do 900 straight sit-ups.  Although I at one point did 1500 sit-ups straight, people on the ship looked up the record and some guy did 10,000!  When we got back to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina from my last deployment a friend told me to try bodybuilding and I haven't looked back since.

Me: How old are you now?

Ray: I'm 55 years old and I will be 56 August 9th of this year.

Me: You are a natural bodybuilder, how is that different from bodybuilding in general?

Ray: I pride myself in being 100 percent Natural.  Having never tried steroids or HGH.  That's the reason I've been around so long because I've stayed true to not only myself, but to the sport of natural bodybuilding.

Me: You are a professional bodybuilder. That's quite an accomplishment.  How does that make you feel?

Ray: I was a WNBF Professional for 5 years but the politics was just too much.  I always placed high enough to win money in the shows, but the sad thing is the money wasn't that good.  Since 2006 I've been competing in shows from New York to California, and as far away as Australia just having fun.

Be on the look-out for my second interview with the Incredible Ray Crumpler as he shares with you what it takes to be a competitive bodybuilder and the biggest inspiration in his life.  Believe me, you don't want to miss it!