Masters Bodybuilder Prep Diary – Episode 7: British champion and PCA Pro on the darkest of days

Four from four, a British title and a PCA Pro card, on a day nobody in Telford will forget

Saturday, October 17, 2026 - one day out, PCA British Championships

I start my online check-ins. I need to get pretty much all of these finished before we head to Telford. I want to leave just after noon. Of course, that's never going to happen. I'm still using the toilet like we're an inseparable new love. I start packing the car about 1.30pm. I notice the tyre pump in the boot and remember my tyres are below recommended pressure. So I fish it out and start pumping them up. Two down, two to go. But the passenger side fails to connect properly and suddenly, instead of filling the tyre with air, it starts deflating. Soon, one is sitting completely flat on the driveway. And the other is seriously below the safe pressure to drive. I start to rant. Laura finds another pump in my son, Jack's, car. Fixed. Who's panicking? We set off, late as usual. But it's a smooth drive into Telford International Hotel. Some check-ins were late, so instead of relaxing, I need to go through these to ensure clients are set up for the week. Day 1 of the PCA British Championships has also taken place, so I have to go through instagram with a fine tooth comb and collate all results for FrontDouble. That is in between heading to the venue and getting my base coat of tan.

Sunday, October 18, 2026 - PCA British Championships show day

I use the toilet seven times before leaving the hotel. How am I even supposed to compete today when my stomach is like this? I check-in with Nathan; usual drill, short, sharp espresso and 10-minute walk to "get things moving". I pull a wry smile. Trust me, I don't need to get things moving. Still. I dress and walk round the car park for 10 minutes in the freezing cold. I get my things together and head to registration and top coat, leaving Laura to enjoy her complimentary breakfast. In tanning, I'm stood with a guy in tattoos. We stand there and dry in front of the fan in silence. I don't recognise him from previous shows. I later discover it is Mateusz Chmura. Had I known then who he was, maybe I would have spoken. It seems eerie now, but little did either of us know what was about to transpire. That within a couple of hours, he would collapse on that stage. Those thoughts persist all week.
When he collapses during Classic Bodybuilding Medium, no one knew if he had merely fainted, or was in real trouble. But the shrieks from PCA tanning made it clear soon enough. They scream for paramedics. Laura rushes to the stage. She is an Emergency Care Assistant - a paramedic in all senses. My abiding memory is seeing her start CPR. Pumping away on his chest. I will her on before being asked to leave as the auditorium is evacuated. Screens are hurriedly thrown around the chaos to ensure some degree of dignity. The repeated calls for a defibrillator echo around the silent auditorium. I wait in the foyer for news. Several people say the show cannot continue. There is lots of speculation. If he is alive, they may decide to carry on. This is not like football, where cardiac arrests in the crowd see fans ferried out while the game continues. Hundreds have planned and timed their body for this moment. It seems harsh. Cruel. Cold. Laura finally returns. I hug her. The details are harrowing. But at this moment Mateusz is alive. The PCA calls everyone back in after about two hours. A cheer goes up when news is relayed that Mateusz's heart is beating. They give competitors the choice of continuing. The overwhelming majority decide to carry on. Perhaps as a tribute to him. Who knows. About four classes are ahead of me. I'm on stage with another 11 or 12 people. It is a big class. Two large digital screens flank the stage. As I perform my posing routine, I turn to the side and see myself on it - I don't look too bad, I think. Still, in comparisons I'm not in the centre, but from the corner of my eye I can see the centre spot changes places several times, which is not normal. I'm uncertain of my placing right until the end, despite reassurances from Laura and Nathan. I'm British champion and a PCA Pro.
Before I do the overall and Pro show, I find out that, in fact, Mateusz has died. My mood changes. On the way home, as I'm cruising and chatting over the horrific events with Laura, I'm flashed on the motorway. I'm not even home and the good feeling is well and truly gone. It was brief anyway after what happened today.

Monday, October 19, 2026

Mateusz is the first thing on my mind as I wake. I check-in and Nathan asks, 'How you doing Mr New PCA Pro?' But I'm not feeling it. When I got home last night, I wrote the story of his tragic death. I got to bed at 2am. I feel rough this morning and have to reschedule a PT client. I'm still feeling ill. I don't train today either. Mind just not on it. Food is up though as we reset a little ahead of my final competition of the season, the NPC European Masters in Milan on November 14. 125g rice becomes 200g and Hydrorice or cream of rice moves from 50g to 120g at Meal 1 and 100g at Meal 5. Dark chocolate moves to 15g from 10g. This is the big win. You have no idea how much difference that 5g makes.

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Again, I wake with Mateusz on my mind. Usually I am not affected by these things. But I think I am starting to be. I keep thinking of Laura working on him furiously and wonder how she does such a job. I tell the kids how proud they should be of their mum, that she is a real life hero, not me, a show-pony with a few muscles. Lots of people, including my old industry in the mainstream media, are jumping on the story. But true to form, they do it a disservice. I write a tribute piece. I still don't train today.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

I start the day in severe pain again. What is going on with my stomach? At 8.45am I am lying on the kitchen floor in agony. I'm helped to the sofa, given painkillers and sleep until my shift. Later, I sign my contract. I got offered the job from last week's interview. New Assistant General Manager of my gym. First salaried job since my redundancy from my 20-plus-year newspaper career in December 2024. No more relying on my redundo package, which is now more than 50 per cent smaller due to using it to live. I train today as pain has gone and I need to do something.

Thursday, October 22, 2026

I feel better today. No pain. A little less exhausted. Fatigue is still there but manageable. I PT a client, then train before my shift. I continue to make plans for my new AGM role. I have a raft of ideas. I still keep thinking of Mateusz. It is hard not to.

Friday, October 23, 2026

Legs today. I train, chat with the gym manager about Monday's start, then get home, change and take my daughter to Lakeside for the opening of new yoghurt shop Frurt. We wait in the queue for two hours just so she can be one of the first 150 people to get a free pot. I get one too. Not for me, of course, but for my son, Oliver. As I buy banners and wrapping paper for his 12th birthday on Tuesday, the yoghurt starts running everywhere. I'm now exhausted, fatigued and hungry. And stuck in a shopping centre. Later, I start to realise I need to get my head in the game. Milan is in just three weeks. And I've barely given it a second thought.

Want a coach who's living the prep alongside you? I'm taking on clients. DM me on instagram @gary_chappell76 or email info@dietplanman.com to apply to work with me.

MORE FROM FRONTDOUBLE:

“I’m in real trouble”: the worst week of my prep, two days out from the PCA British Finals

Three from three, an overall near-miss and a stomach bug nine days out

Masters Bodybuilder Prep Diary – Episode 4: A second win, a school disagreement and Phil Vickery in the tanning queue

Prep diary of a Masters bodybuilder Ep.3: Teeth falling out, a prep kitten and my opening win

Prep Diary of a Masters Bodybuilder: Episode 2 – Learning to let go

Prep Diary of a Masters Bodybuilder: Episode 1 – The Road to Milan begins

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EXCLUSIVE: "Imagine what I can achieve" – Jay Davies on beating Alex Lord and his road to an IFBB Pro card

The PCA Pro British Bodybuilding champion reveals why he chose the toughest line-ups in Europe, the lesson that changed his season and his plan to return a more complete athlete in 2028

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."

No easy wins

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.

Beating a hero

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."

The lesson that changed his season

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."

Pressure, confidence and maturity

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."

The road to 2028

"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."