IF at first you don't succeed, try, try again - it was Greg Chapman's drive to do just that, to keep trying, to persist, that saw him finally crowned a national body building champion.
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When Chapman won his masters class at the National Amateur Body-Builders' Association Lee Priest Classic last month, it was a result 26 years in the making.
It took countless hours working out in his home gym, it took sticking to a high protein diet, it took dedication and perseverance.
"It was 26 years in the making yeah, I started training in '94 and I first competed in '97. I won the state title for the first time in '97 and again in '98 after the winner got disqualified for steroid use," Chapman said.
"I've had a couple of wins at the state titles, but never at the national titles. I've had five cracks at the Australian titles and all I've managed is a couple of thirds and a fourth.
"So it was really exciting, especially because it was such a prestigious event.
"It was called the Lee Priest Classic and Lee Priest has gone into the body building hall of fame this year over in the States ... he's probably the best body builder Australia has ever produced, he's been a idol of mine since I started training."
Before Chapman's moment of triumph at Penrith Panthers, he had considered giving away competing.
He won his height and weight class and placed second in his masters division at the 2018 Newcastle Night of Champions and thought that would be a good point to retire on.
But then he learned the Australian Body Building Federation was going to stage the 2020 Country Classic at Bathurst Panthers.
The lure of competing in front of a home crowd was too much to resist and Chapman kept training.
"I was going to call it quits I did the Night of Champions in Newcastle," he said.
"But then they announced body building was going to come to Bathurst this year, at Bathurst Panthers.
"I kept training and started my prep at the beginning of the year for that, then it got cancelled because of COVID. I thought 'Geeze I've spent a lot of money on this and done a lot of hard work, spent a lot of time in the gym.'
"I didn't want that to be for nothing."
The more you put into it, the better you perform on the day obviously and I think that's what got me there, I put a lot more into my posing than I ever had before.
- Greg Chapman
So Chapman turned his focus to trying to win that elusive Australian title. He devoted more effort to preparing for the Lee Priest Classic than ever before, focussing on elements which had let him down at previous shows.
"My motto was to get something I've never achieved before, I was going to have to do something I'd never done before. So I worked harder than I ever have before as far as my posing and stage presence goes," he said.
"That really sells. You might be a smaller guy but have better symmetry and be more confident and pose better, and the judges are looking for that."
Whereas Chapman had previously competed in height-weight divisions at nationals, this time he entered as a masters competitor. It was still a quality field, but he said it felt "a bit more fair I guess, you know you're a bit more resilient in your 30s."
He faced three rounds at the Lee Priest Classic. The first saw competitors judged on their symmetry - how their upper body compared to their lower body - as they performed a number of quarter-turns.
Round two saw Chapman complete seven compulsory poses while the final round was a 90 seconds solo effort, doing his choice of poses to music he had selected.
The "hours and hours" of preparation he did paid off.
"The more you put into it, the better you perform on the day obviously and I think that's what got me there, I put a lot more into my posing than I ever had before," he said.
"It was very rewarding, it's still sinking in and I'm still on a bit of a high from it all.
"I've competed with all the federations now and I've actually won a show with every federation in Australia. So that's a big achievement too ... and NABBA, they're the biggest and oldest body building association."
Chapman now plans to give up competing and spend more time with his wife Wendy.
"My wife has been so supportive over the years too, which you need, you need someone there pushing you," he said.
