Sick of being picked on because of his small size at school, Ali took action and began to weight train to get big so he could seek respect from his peers.  Although initially it was about gaining size, Ali soon discovered the art of changing his body with food and weights....and a bodybuilder was born.

 23 year old Ali Alkahdi has come a long way from that skinny kid holding the basketball.  Since swapping hoops for the barbell in 2005 Ali's transformed his 49kg body to a National u70kg winning physique in 2009. 

After taking 2010 off to grow, Ali's back with a vengeance by starting his contest preparation last year a staggering 30 weeks before the show!  Now that's dedication and shows a young man on a mission. 

In this update we catch up with Ali and find out how he manages to afford the food bill on a student budget and what long term goal he has in bodybuilding:  

Study:  I am studying sport at the university of Waikato! Last year then I am off to the real world... Don't know if I should be happy or depressed, hahaha.

Where do you live and train? I train in a small gym called ‘physiques fitness', just a few minutes walk from where I live. It definitely isn't Gold's gym but it does the trick..