Jan2015

“A SECOND CHANCE” TYRUS HUGHES” “STRIVING TO BE BETTER THAN YESTERDAY” DEREK DAVIS ALSO INSIDE: POSE DOWN WHEELS SERIES MEET EMMANUEL AGWAIFE WNBF PRO “IRONLADY” YOLANDA SMITH Athlete of the Year Cover Model Andrea Austria

Januray 2015

Cover Picture: Andrea Austria M O Cover Photo by Brian Oliver of

Hello Readers:

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The Central Texas Showdown was a complete success. Bob and I are planning next years ventures with a few surprise annoucements. Stay tuned to Pose Down once we finalize our plans.

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I have the distinct pleasure of revisting with a friend of mine in this issue Nancy Di Nino. Please read her updated news and ventures.

HALL OF FAME TEXAS METRO FLEX FT WORTH TX

COPYRIGHT

All content included in this publication, including but not limited to, text, graphics and images, is, unless otherwise noted, copyrighted under United States law and protected by worldwide copyright laws and treaty provisions. The compilation (meaning the collection, arrangement and assembly) of all content in this publication is the exclusive property of Pose Down Muscle and Figure Magazine LLC and protected by United States and international copyright laws. No use, including the reproduction, modification, distribution, transmission, republication, display or performance, of the content in this publication is permitted without Pose Down’s written permission.

LIMITS OF LIABILITY This Publication is provided by Pose Down Muscle and Figure LLC on an “as is” basis. Pose Down makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the content written in articles and columns of the publication or the information, content or materials included in this publication. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Pose Down disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to, interviews, photos, written content of articles and perspective views of its columnist.

Stephen Frazier

Brian R Photography Ray Rojas Editor In Chief : Bob Johnson Editorial /Director/Designer: Laura Johnson

Contributing Column Writers Tyler Picard Mike Bell Noah Williams Jack Duncan Ryan Ellison

Pose Down Magazine accepts photos from individual athletes with the understanding that each athlete own the rights to photos submitted…….

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Striving To Be Better Than Yesterday Derek Davis

My name is Derek Davis I am currently competed in my first physique show on December 6, 2014. It was the North Texas Fit Expo.

I have always enjoyed the sport of bodybuilding but never had the drive to even attempt to get my body in that sort of shape. I was always that guy that said every year I would do it that year. Well that all changed rather quickly. Here is my story and reason behind what I now do. On June 5, 2012 my wife and I welcomed our baby girl into the world. I had been working on a huge refinery project for 3 years working long hours sitting behind a desk and getting very little to no physical activity. When I started on this project I was a measly 145 pounds. By the time the project was over I was sitting at 195 pounds and a lot of it was fat from the past 3 years of unhealthy eating habits and no daily exercise. Just as my daughter was born I was offered a new position back at our Houston based office for another huge project that would have me home every night. Perfect for me and my family so I gladly accepted the position. In late June 2012 I started feeling really bad. I was very tired all of the time, I felt like I had a constant upper respiratory infection. I went to the doctor several times and he continuously treated me for several different things. On July 18, 2012 I finally had him run some blood tests. What happened next was totally unexpected. The following morning I received a frantic phone call from his head nurse who happened to be my wife’s best friend’s mom. All she could say is that we needed to get to a hospital as soon as possible. After a quick phone call to my wife and a short drive home to pick her up we were on our way to see another doctor who recommended we come see her first before the hospital. So we arrive at the doctor’s office and when we get up there they immediately put us in a room and we can hear her on the phone with another doctor saying we will send him right there. The doctor comes in and explains to us that we need to go to MD Anderson as soon as possible to see this doctor. So we start freaking out but head that way. When we show up at the E.R. we are immediately taken back. They immediately run tests and a few minutes later we are hit with the worst news ever. Mr. Davis you have Leukemia. What follows is a crazy rollercoaster ride for the next 6 months. They immediately started administering chemo to me and trying to get it under control. Later on that day I was told the only way to survive was a bone marrow transplant. Chemo could get me in remission but there was no guarantee that it would stay in remission. They had diagnosed me with Acute Myleoid Leukemia deletion 11q23 chromosome. An Acute Leukemia with a life expectancy of around 14 months and only 1 out of every 16 patients survived. The only chance of survival would be to have a bone marrow transplant as this is the only known “cure” for this. After 9 days of intense chemo therapy we had managed to get the leukemia under control and into remission. And I would do an outpatient chemo once a month for 3 days until we could go through with the bone marrow transplant. We now started the process of the bone marrow transplant. Sounds easy enough? I wish. First off I do not have any full siblings so there is no way possible to have a perfect match in my family. The best I would have is a half match which would be my mother being as my father has never been a part of my life. So we then have to go to the national bone marrow registry to see if we can find a match for my transplant. Chances of me finding a match were about 40% through the registry. We start looking through the registry and what do you know we find 4 potential perfect matches.

Out of those 4 we find an absolute perfect match for me. It is a young female, So on November 20, 2012 I have my life saving bone marrow transplant. I not only made it through the transplant but had a recovery that was nearly unheard of. I only spent 16 days in the hospital after the transplant when a “normal patient” spends 30-45 days. From that day forward I told myself I would always take care of myself and I finally pursued my passion that I was never willing to commit to. Now here I am today 2 weeks out from my first show in the best condition of my life. I just celebrated my 2 year mark after my transplant. I never want to be that overweight guy again as I believe that had a huge impact on my sickness. I want to be able to inspire others to see that you can overcome anything with faith and the pure will and drive to not let cancer get the best of you. I was able to meet my donor a year later and she has become a close part of my family. Cancer is not a death sentence but an opportunity to really see what you are made of. I strive everyday to be better than the last because you never know when yesterday could be your last.

BILLY YORK I’m 44 years old, 5’11”, 270 lbs., and have been training for about a year. Recovering from 4 knee surgeries starting in 2009 and then a heart attack on May 1, 2013. I also included a before and after photo showing progress from the last year. I’m hoping to get in good enough shape to start competing and get my NPC card.

ONE YEAR TRANSFORMATION

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WNBF-PRO (YOLANDA D. SMITH) a.k.a. IRONLADY 46 years old, Native Houstonian Houston, Texas I have two adult children Stephanique Smith (daughter 24 yrs. old) and Stephan Smith (son 20 yrs. old). I am a former track runner and a lifelong fitness enthusiast. I was encouraged to start competing in Body building by my friend, mentor, and trainer Todd Rogers. Todd Rogers is the CEO/Owner of the ODF-Competition Team of Houston, Texas. While I have always been in and around a gym as a; Certified Personal Trainer, Kickboxing Instructor, Body-Pump Instructor, Group Fitness Instructor, and a Licensed 2nd responder in Aquatics I have never trained on this level of body building.

What motivates me every day to get up and train is the fact that when I blog about my daily experiences as a competitor as well as my “Real Life” experiences, I know that I am motivating and inspiring someone to be healthier. I suffered from anorexia throughout my childhood into my early adult hood because I was fearful of being overweight. Most of my family members suffer from diseases directly related to bad eating habits and lack of exercising. Through much prayer, consistency, and determination I turned my life around and decided to do it the right way of proper dieting and exercising.

My very first body building competition was in 2011 – REAL Natural Show (federation no longer exist) where I placed 4th in Masters Bikini 35+, this is when my passion and determination to win began.

Yolanda Smith

Below is my body building competition history: 2014 INBF Texas Naturals* - 1st place in Fit Body Open (*Awarded WNBF ProCard) 2014 NPC Masters Nationals – 18th place in Masters Physique 45+ D 2014 NPC Phil Heath Classic – 7th place in Masters Physique 2012 NPC Branch Warren Classic – 9th place in Figure Open & 7th Place in Masters Figure 35+ 2012 Musclemania Texas – 5th place in Figure Classic Masters 35+ 2011 REAL Natural – 4th place in Masters Bikini 35+ I train year around to stay in optimal conditioning, however my peak training for any competition begins 16 weeks out from any respective show I am competing in. I train twice per day, typically fasted cardio in the mornings and weight training with my competition team in the evenings. I spend at least 3 hours in the gym with one to two days off to rest. Training with one of the best coaches around, Todd Rogers, has aided me into turning into my stage name “IRONLADY.” Team-ODF (Operation Doctor Frankenstein) is the name of my competition team and most of us have adopted an animated name to describe our respective experience and temperament when training. Training with an awesome team has helped me to PUSH beyond many levels of expectation. 2015 is the year I plan to make my debut as a WNBF-PRO!

Emmanuel Agwaife Bio Emmanuel Agwaife is an alumnus of Texas Tech and a resident of Texas. Emmanuel has been exposed to the bodybuilding lifestyle for many years, but it wasn’t until the year 2010 that Emmanuel decided to begin training as a bodybuilder.

Already having an athlete’s mentality as a

By Tye Sheets Pierpont Sprinter for the Texas Tech Track and Field team, Emmanuel knew that his training would require complete focus and endurance.

Emmanuel’s first completion was the Ronnie Coleman Competition in Mesquite, TX in 2010 in which he placed 5th. Emmanuel’s 1st place win came in 2011 at the NPC Branch Warren Classic, however it wasn’t until 2013 that not only did Emmanuel take 1st place at the Branch Warren Classic competition in the Open Heavyweight division, but turned around to take overall. This win has set Emmanuel up to compete in Miami, FL at the 2014 NPC National Championships.

Not only does Emmanuel focus on his physical excellence when it comes to bodybuilding, but he also owns and manages a successful healthcare facility, while attending school to get his graduate degree so that he can work with patients who have cardiovascular health related issues.

STRONG

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“A Second Chance” Tyrus Hughes

By Ryan Ellison

Life is filled with mistakes and regrets. They mold us into the individuals we are today, as long as we are willing to learn from them and turn them into something positive.

In Tyrus Hughes’ case, he was able use his mistake to transform his body and mind and become something that he never thought possible. He turned his life around and is continuing to growing not only in size, but in majority.

Tyrus was born in Camden, Arkansas in 1979. He has been lifting on and off since the age of 12, doing the same as all of us when we were young - training random muscle groups with no real training method. He was always wanting larger arms and a bigger chest, but was mainly trying to show off to all of his friends.

At the age of 17, Tyrus was incarcerated and given a 10 years sentence. He had no idea what to expect when he entered the prison system. His biggest shock didn’t come until he entered the recreational yard, and saw some of the largest guys he had ever seen. That’s when he knew that he had some serious work to do.

Prison life is different than normal civilized life. You have to earn respect and fight for everything. With little to do but read in your cell and after being locked in a cell for hours on end, the recreational yard was a place to let out some pent up aggression and lifting weights was a great physical and mental break.

When Tyrus first went out to lift none of the guys would let him work in with them. So with his desire to be the best, Tyrus began lifting light weights by himself in the corner of the yard. He would lift 6-7 days a week and he slowly progressed to heavier and heavier weights, dedicating himself to becoming the biggest guy in the prison.

His mom got him a year subscription to Flex and Muscle magazine. He would sit in his cell and read and reread each copy cover to cover, learning more advanced training methods. Bodybuilding became an therapeutic outlet for him allowing him to find the true potential of his body and mind. His thought process began to mature along with his muscles.

Photography By: Brian Oliver

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A major problem with getting big in prison is that the nutrition there just isn’t enough. It’s hard to get the right amount of macros to support optimal muscle growth through the amounts food provided in prison. He did whatever it took, asking fellow inmates for food that they weren’t going to eat as well as getting food from the commissary. One of his post workout favorites was a honey bun that he would smother in peanut butter and heat in the microwave.

He also had to improvise with weights since the prison had cut down on the weight to keep the inmates from getting too large. They had the plates welded to the bars so no one could use them as a weapon. When Tyrus wanted to increase the weight, he would use his shoe strings and tie dumbbells on the end. He would also fill up trash bags with water and tie them to the end of rollup magazines and make dumbbells with them. He soon became the largest inmate in the prison.

After his release from prison in 2008, Tyrus moved to Dallas. He meet Brett Stine, owner of Optimum Nutrition, who help Tyrus get into bodybuilding and in 2009 was introduced to Greg McCoy owner Destination Dallas, formally Metroflex Plano. Greg has been an intricate part of Tyrus’ bodybuilding career, doing his prep for all of his competitions.

Competition history • 2011 (novice) 4th place Branch Warren Classic • 2011 (novice) 4th place Texas State • 2011 (novice) 2nd place Europa SuperShow • 2012 (open) 1st and Overall Heart of Texas • 2012(open) 1st and Overall Texas State • 2014(open) 1st Adela Classic • 2014 (open) 16th place NPC USA Championship Even though he place 16th in the USA Championship, he knows exactly what he did wrong, and is diligently working to make improvements. Since being released from prison, his life goal is now to help others reach their personal fitness as well as his own. Tyrus is a personal trainer at Destination Dallas.

Be sure to follow Tyrus on instagram @planosuperfreak and watch his journey as he makes another attempt at his pro card.

Very few of us are given second chances, but the ones that do have the possibility to do something remarkable - not only in their own lives but in the lives of others.

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WHEELS SERIES

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