By Gary Chappell
JAY DAVIES has spent years behind the camera filming some of the best bodybuilders in the world. Now he's determined to join them.
Fresh from winning the Pro Bodybuilding show at the PCA British Championships in Telford, the Magic Eye Media man has his sights set firmly on one goal: IFBB Pro status.
"Over the years, filming some of the best bodybuilders through Magic Eye Media, my own passion for bodybuilding has continued to grow," he told FrontDouble. "What started as a passion has now developed into a serious personal ambition of mine: to achieve IFBB Pro status."
After spending some times competing against top-level amateurs, this year Davies raised the bar.
"I deliberately chose shows that would put me up against some of the very best amateur bodybuilders from across Europe," he said. "I wasn't interested in chasing easy wins or choosing smaller shows. I wanted to test myself against the highest calibre of competition and get a genuine understanding of how far away I was from earning that Pro Card."
First call-outs in those line-ups confirmed he was on the right track, while also showing him exactly where he still needs to improve.
The highlight of his season came in Telford on October 18, 2026, where Davies, 42, won the PCA Pro Bodybuilding show against the vastly experienced Alex Lord. At 31, Lord is 11 years younger.
"Winning the PCA Pro Show was definitely a feather in my cap and a massive confidence boost, especially considering I was standing alongside someone as experienced and established as Alex Lord," said Davies.
"Alex has been competing at a high level for considerably longer than I have and he's actually someone I've looked up to as a bodybuilder over the years."
"He carries an immense amount of muscle tissue, so to stand next to an athlete of his calibre and come away with the win was a huge achievement for me personally."
For Davies, the manner of the victory matters as much as the result. He believes his shape, structure, balance and conditioning carried the day against a bigger man.
"If I'm already capable of standing alongside and beating athletes with significantly more muscle tissue, then imagine what I can achieve when I start adding that extra size to my own physique."
Conditioning has never been his problem. "Nine times out of 10, I'm one of – if not the most – conditioned athlete in the line-up," he said. "But the reality is that conditioning alone doesn't win bodybuilding shows. You need the size, fullness and overall muscular development to complement it."
That became clear late in the season, when he moved up to the super heavyweight division.
"My conditioning was still exactly where it needed to be, but presenting a fuller, more muscular look made me significantly more competitive against the athletes I was standing alongside. That was a valuable lesson and something we'll be taking forward into this next phase."
Davies admits the biggest battles of his season were often in his own head.
"The highs and frustrations of competing this year haven't necessarily come from the results themselves, but more from the internal pressure and expectations I've placed upon myself," he said.
"I'm naturally someone who sets very high standards and going into certain shows this year, I probably put more pressure on myself than I needed to. But as the season progressed, something really positive happened: my confidence continued to grow.
"Being competitive in those line-ups gave me reassurance that what we're doing is working and, more importantly, that the goal of achieving IFBB Pro status is a realistic one."
Alongside the physical progress, he believes he has grown as a competitor. "I've gained a better understanding of myself, how I respond to the demands of competing and, most importantly, how to trust the process without constantly questioning whether I'm doing enough.
"That experience is invaluable because it means I can approach this next phase with greater confidence, patience and clarity than ever before."
"So what happens next?" Davies said. "The same thing that bodybuilding has always been about… progression.
"Considering I've only been competing for a relatively short period of time, the improvements I've made to my physique over the last couple of years have been pretty significant. I've been able to develop quite rapidly and now it's about giving myself the time to continue that progression."
Now comes the long game. After a dedicated health phase to recover from a demanding season, Davies will begin an off-season almost three times longer than the improvement phase he had between 2025 and 2026.
The plan is an initial growth phase, a further health phase, then another push to maximise his development, before a planned return to the stage in the middle of 2028.
"We know exactly where my weaknesses are and which areas of my physique need bringing up," he said. "Equally, we know what my strengths are and what makes me competitive. The objective is to improve the weaknesses without compromising the qualities that already set me apart."
And he has no doubt about the athlete who will step back on stage.
"I'm not just going to be a bigger and better bodybuilder when I return in 2028. I'm going to be a more experienced, more mature and far more complete athlete. And I genuinely believe that combination is what will make me more competitive than I've ever been."
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