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Our search for talented students at VU brings a 20 year-old bodybuilder to the spotlight this week. Homeland Security major Tanner Parkes is no stranger to the spotlight. He was featured in Muscle and Fitness magazine, Flex magazine MuscleMag and has placed first in just about every bodybuilding contest he competed in at the teen level.
Parkes began lifting during his junior year in high school. At that time he was only at 130 lbs. but after months of lifting he was at 150 lbs. by Christmas break. His weight training was put to a halt whenhis principal locked the weight room for the rest of the year. Still determined, Parkes worked all summer and saved up enough money to buy his own weights. He lifted for 3 months until the weights felt too light and began training at a gym thirty minutes away where he lifted for the remainder of his senior year. During his senior year he gave up basketball and fully concentrated on weight-lifting.
During his first year at VU he met Professor John DeCoursey and they began lifting together. DeCoursey gave him some advice and eventually talked him into competing in bodybuilding contests. His first competition was at the end of his freshman year at the Circle City OCB contest. “I was scared to death and wasn’t going to do it. I thought I was going to get beat for sure.” Parkes recalled on his first contest experience. Despite the fact that it was his first contest and was very nervous he won first place in both the Teen Division and the Novice I Division.
After that contest he began making a name for himself. He was chosen to be teen bodybuilder of the week on bodybuilding.com. After his second contest that fall he went to California and did photo shoots for Muscle and Fitness magazine for the Training Notebook article. Parkes described the experience as, “Pretty awesome and pretty overwhelming being a small town guy. It’s something most people never get to experience.”
Parkes is now 20 and can no longer compete as a teen. He is currently taking time off from contests to bulk some more. He hopes to get back to competing in the spring to compete at the national level. Parkes’ advice for any beginning bodybuilders out there is, “It’s all about consistency. Don’t make up excuses for not going to the gym.”
If you would like to learn more about Tanner Parkes you can visit his website at TheTannerParkes.com.
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