Harold "Big H" Marillier

December 2011

It has been a while since we updated this site but hopefully we will be more assiduous in future. Many things have happened since The Forest Gym website was last updated. As you will all know, 2006 was a great year for the gym with Troy Brown and Michelle Jones winning the Overall titles at the UKBFF Finals in Nottingham. Troy Brown had another great year in 2007, with a high placing in only his second Pro Show - the Spanish GP in Santa Susanna. Out of a line-up of 28 on stage, he grabbed 6th spot. Troy looked terrific and well deserved the placing. I could still hardly believe the changes he made over those three years. Standing alongside Marcus Ruhl and Armin Scholtz and winner Paco Bautista, Troy looked every inch the pro. Since 2007 Troy has been building a new life in Canada but he remains very committed to Bodybuilding and we can expect to see him in contests again.

At the UKBFF Finals in 2010, we came within a whisper of another double. Alvin Small looked really impressive in winning the SHW and the men's Overall. Rene Campbell cam in 2^nd in the Women's Bodybuilding and she was unlucky not to take top spot. She rectified that in 2011, when she was a convincing winner. In the Men's Classes we had some success — a lot of success with several competitors in the top ten. In the SHW Class, we had Ally Aljaff and Stuart Core in the top five and I predict that one or both of these men will eventually take top spot.

Like everyone, I have found that competing at IFBB Pro level is both arduous and expensive. It is not just the cost of preparation but with almost all contests in recent years being in the USA, travelling to and from events and staying for several days in hotels does run up the bills. I decided to take time off from serious training for a while to let my body and bank balance recuperate. I have had a number of troublesome injuries but I am now really focused and looking forward to competing again next year. With an IFBB British GP with a date already set for 2012, this has to be a serious consideration. At the same time I have had many suggesting that I should devote myself to trying to win a NABBA Universe title. I have to say that I had some excellent results in NABBA contests and really enjoyed my time competing in that organisation. I shall have to give serious consideration to the options. At the moment the priority is getting back my size and shape and avoiding injuries. An encouraging sign is that things have been going great in workouts and I am rediscovering my lost size.

However, even though I have been away from contests, I have not been idle. In addition to the day-to-day running of The Forest Gym, I have been spending ever increasing amounts of time coaching top level bodybuilders. You will see from the results that my time is not being wasted. I have a string of competitors lined up for contests in 2012 and I am still getting requests to help many aspiring competition bodybuilders from all over Britain. I am also involved in other projects and depending on how things go I will have more news soon. The number one problem is that I am running out of free time; there are only 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week and I need to sleep sometimes.

More news soon. Keep Training and Stay Hard.