December 2018
The UK’s No 1 fitness industry magazine
No 303 £3
Awards judge triumphs at final bodybuilding event By Oliver Dyson
A NATIONAL Fitness Awards judge has retired from bodybuilding triumphant after taking home a world title. Steve Johnson is a busy man: this year, he helped judge the National Fitness Awards for the fifth time. He also co-owns the three-time NFA winning Tops Fitness and Rehabilitation, in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The business has been running more than 40 years and features Team Tops Coaching, which coaches bodybuilding athletes to competition level. Alongside all this, Steve himself has been professionally bodybuilding since 1990. In 2016, the 53-year-old received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award at the NFAs. And now he has taken home Masters Mr World after representing Team GB at the IBFA 2018 World Finals in Campiano, Rome. He competed in the mixed pairs competition alongside his fitness manager Haley Midgley. “Myself and my competitive partner Haley Midgley were determined to do something special onstage and it meant putting a heck of a lot of rehearsal time in, much of the time late on a night after work,” Steve said. “We had decided to attempt an entertaining partial dance routine to the well known Michael and Janet Jackson’s song Scream. The reception we received was fantastic from the audience and was as thrilling as winning the title.” It took a strict nutritional regime for four months, daily training in both weights and cardio and mastering complex choreography to take home their win. Steve added: “The fact we are both fitness coaches means we know what we are doing, as we can coach ourselves. “We returned home from Italy as world champions which clearly has become a marketing dream for our Team Tops Coaching business. “We have found that the demand for our services has exploded and hope to benefit business wise
from this.” Steve is now in his fifth year judging the NFAs, making him the longest standing judge. “The awards themselves are another marketing dream to anyone who manages to achieve a top spot, which is why I take judging so seriously,” he said. “Judging the Fitness Awards is something I consider to be a massive honour so I flowed straight into the judging process. “As usual competition was fierce in each category which meant a lot of my spare time had to be taken up making my decisions. “Eventually my decisions were made and I stand by them 100 per cent although the standard of entrants didn’t make it easy for me.” Steve’s experiences both as a recipient and a judge mean he is uniquely qualified to speak on how much winning an NFA can mean. Steve added: “In the past my centre has received three awards and I myself was given a Lifetime Achievement award back in 2016 which is by far the highlight and biggest achievement of my life. “I have been lucky enough to win many bodybuilding titles in my time but nothing has come close to the feeling of being given the Lifetime Achievement award. I also think it was the biggest shock of my life has it came totally out of the blue with no indication or expectation. “To finish off my bodybuilding with world title in the mixed pairs with my working partner and best friend Haley was a great way to finish the competitive part of my career and I will be concentrating far more on the coaching services I offer and my bodybuilding judging too. “My first bodybuilding show was back in 1990 and I was lucky enough to win my first five shows which pretty much set me up for my successes in bodybuilding. “I now have more than 40 athletes that can carry on my success through my Team Tops Coaching system. From being a shy boy when leaving school, bodybuilding has made me a more confident person in all aspects of my life, so I have a lot to thank it for.”
The Rock left no stone unturned in his search for a gym – and found the perfect place in Doncaster. Movie star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson spent 90 minutes training at Adwick le Street’s World Fitness Gym, meeting members and having photos and a chat with owners Alicia and Craie Carrera. The 46-year-old movie star was filming for action movie Hobbs and Shaw, a spin-off of the hit Fast and Furious franchise, at nearby Eggborough Power Station.