Building a body of faith

June 1, 2006

It can often be hard to relate to young people, to earn their respect and to influence their choices in life, but a group of ex-East End hardmen aim to do just that. NEETA DUTTA speaks to Tough Talk founder Ian McDowall ahead of his visit to a church.

Ian McDowall began body-building at 15 years old, moved on to competitions at 17 and by 19, he was addicted to anabolic steroids.

He is startlingly honest about his experiences and is keen to use them to help young people understand the dangers of drugs and the violence that plagued much of his life.

He founded the registered charity Tough Talk with seven other men from similar backgrounds and they travel to prisons and youth clubs to talk about their faith but also to perform body-building demonstrations.

North West Church, based at St James School, Great Strand, Colindale, has invited the men to visit with the aim of inspiring young people in Barnet.

"It's about respect and about the kids believing what you say because you have real understanding of what they might be going through," Ian explains.

"Over the years, I made real mistakes. I started on steroids when I was 19. A lot of people who I was hanging around with were in that world. I had all sorts of problems like high blood pressure and I was urinating blood. I was getting bigger and bigger because body-building was my life."

He trained for two hours a day, seven days a week, and it was an all-consuming passion.

"I always had to watch what I was eating and it meant everything to me.," he says. "It steroid use does make you aggressive; during that time I was really violent, I was on a downward spiral. I lost friends, I lost their respect and the ability to love. My heart was hard and selfish. I had nothing in life, my life was an absolute mess."

After more than a decade of addiction and while facing a possible three years in prison for violent and disorderly behaviour, Ian says that he found God and it changed his entire outlook.

"I was in my car after a big fight, blood all over me, gun in the back, and I started to think about my life," he remembers.

"I started to call out to God. I wasn't a Christian, I thought it was for wimps, not my sort of thing at all. But that night, I just said Jesus: if you are there, can you help me?' I felt a love in my heart and I started to pray."

He joined a church and with its support, gave up the steroids that had blighted much of his life and his relationships. He is now married and runs a successful security firm, Ian is confident that the evening with the youngsters in Colindale will be a success. "I can relate to them," he says. "You can't be as graphic about your experiences with kids as you can be when you visit men in prison, but we don't patronise the kids.

"You would be surprised how aware some of these kids are, how much they have experienced."

While Christianity is a major influence on Ian and the way he lives his life, he does not intend to force his belief on teenagers. "I don't agree with all that bible bashing and we're not out to convert anyone," he says. " I just say make up your own mind. We give them something to think about and then it's up to them."

Tough Talk will be at St James School, Great Strand, Colindale, from 7.30pm where they will be demonstrating powerlifting, challenging the audience to have a go, and talking about their faith.