By Gary Chappell
RYAN MACKINS says he was more nervous ahead of his arm wrestling debut than stripping half naked for a bodybuilding competition.
In an exclusive video interview with frontdouble.com Mackins, 37, described the technique required to avoid injury and enjoy success at the arm wrestling table.
He also described how septum surgery put an end to 15 years of snoring and why he prefers the flat look to his physique over carbing up.
Mackins said: "Turns out there's an arm wrestling club 20 minutes from my house, so I came down and I was naturally good at it. And you know what, to be naturally good at something for me is rare because bodybuilding I'm not naturally good at – because I'm so tall.
"So all of a sudden I'm beating these guys who were really experienced. Fast forward a year and a half, I have my first proper match and the guy who I beat was a professional – and he's actually won some pretty big titles."
Mackins added: "One side of my nose was blocked up and it affected my recovery during sessions when I was training. After a very taxing set I'd be out of breath and couldn't catch my breath.
"I snored, probably for 15 years, pretty excessively and the reason why this happened, it could partly genetic, but also I had a fight when I was 17. Somebody head-butted me.
"So what they [surgeons] have actually done is they've put a bit of my cartilage from my ear into my nose. They've lifted the tip of my nose and straightened out the septum and guess what, I don't snore at all any more."
Most bodybuilders carb up in the final week to bring their physique back to life. At 6ft 3in, Mackins believes his body looks better without it.
He said: "When I'm a bit flatter. I show more detail. So because I'm 6ft 3in and I've got a very wide clavicle, when I'm on stage this is a problem. It's actually a negative because I've got so much frame to fill out. In almost every single show I've ever done, I'm the largest guy in terms of skeletal structure. But that's not a good thing. I rely on detail because I'm not going to be the thickest guy."
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH RYAN MACKINS BELOW:
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