• Name: Steven Segers
  • Birthday: 27/06/1972
  • Birth place: Turnhout (Belgium)
  • Length: 180cm
  • Off-season Weight: 126 (275 lbs)
  • Contest Weight:112-115kg (245-255 lbs)
  • Profession: gym owner, personal trainer
  • Status: girlfriend, Carin
  • Favourite car: Hummer
  • Favourite music :R&B, soul, hip-hop
  • Favourite food off-season: ice cream
  • Favourite diet food: I like everything on my diet.
  • Favourite exercise: leg extension
  • Least favourite Exercise: French press
  • Best muscle Group: I think the complete symmetry
  • Worst muscle group: everything must improve, but I think my back thickness.

I was born in Belgium, on June 27 1972
My dad, Eddy is from Belgium and my mom Agnes was born in Canada.

1980 I started with sport, soccer, when I was 8.
We lived close to a soccer field, after school I was there all the time with some friends.

1988 At my 16th, I was more interested in other sports and I wanted to do kick boxing, but my parents didn't like that. After one lesson I had to stop.
Because I was ice skating a lot, they asked me to play ice hockey.
As it was a team sport like soccer, I loved the ice hockey.
After 2 years with the White Caps, unfortunately this club moved away from Turnhout. I was only 17 and without a car, it was too far to go with my bike and my whole equipment. So I had to quit the ice hockey too

1990 At that moment I was working in my fathers business.
Because I was not so interested in learning hard, it was better for me to stop with school and work with my father.
The work was very hard, making roofs en bring al the materials to the roof. That was the foundation for my big legs I think.Of course I had money to buy some things and after saving my money I could buy me a motorbike.

In my neighbourhood there are some motor cross circuits, so at my 18th I had my first car and I could drive with my car to the circuit and there I could drive with my motorcycle.

Because f my new hobby I needed some extra strength and started training on the machines of my dad. He had a bench press, lat pulley, leg machine and some dumbbells and barbells. The improvements came very fast, I started to like the weight training more and more. My dad and uncle trained already for a long time and they teach me some things about training and nutrition.
After a few months I wanted to go to a real gym, 10 months later I did my first bench press competition. I ended up on the 3rd place in the Belgium championships for juniors in the class 18 - 21 years, with 105 kg (231 lbs).
After an accident with my motor I had to stay in the hospital for a week.When I came back home, staying in bed was the message because I had a back problem en a broken shoulder. That day I decided to stop motor cross. And that day was also the day I decided to start with bodybuilding.

The doctor told me that it was impossible for me to do competitions because of my broken shoulder. So I was ready and motivated to prove him that he was wrong.
At that time I also changed from gym, because I was more interested in bodybuilding than in weight training. That new gym owner had a lot of good athletes, so I wanted to train there. My weight at that time was 80 kg (176 lbs).
He was also a good friend of my dad and after a few months of training, the owner asked me to compete in the "new faces classics". When I started with my diet for the first contest I weight 90 kg (202 pounds). It was a local show and again I ended up the 3rd place in the junior class. I was 19 at that time and my body weight after my diet was 76 kg (167 lbs). At that moment I was very happy with my shape and physique. When I see those pictures at this moment, I really have to laugh a lot.
1990 was the year I had to go to the army; it was a very hard time for me because I could not train for about 11 months. But I learned a lot there. After those 11 months without any training, I started training in a new gym near my home. The owner was a "big" guy and he is the one who taught me all the basic stuff to get as big a he was.
With al the good advice about training, nutrition and the best machines it was a very good start for my further development. Sometimes I could train with him and we started to be good friends. In 1991 I wanted to compete again and he prepared a diet for me. I was at a healthy 110 kg (242 lbs) when I started with my diet and already a pretty big boy for my age (21). I stripped of the fat to 89kg (195 lbs) and won al 3 contests where I competed.
That year I also won the IFBB award of "best junior of the year".
It was a big honour for me, especially because of the doctor who tried to pull me down with saying that I could never be a good bodybuilder.

After 1991 I wanted to gain some more size, it was my last year as a junior.
My next goal was to compete again in 1993. It was a small gym where I trained, but very hardcore. The year before, the owner of the gym won a big Belgium contest and wanted to help me.
As from that day we started to train together and he also prepared my diet.
He also arranged the first contact with Freddy Robyn for me. Freddy Robyn, better known as the manager of Performance Nutrition became my supplements sponsor and he still is now.
Freddy lived and worked for several years in the States; he was a trainer in the Gold Gym in Venice and helped a lot of very good professional athletes.

1993 was my debut year at the nationals and there I won my first contest as a new guy.
With the weight of 102 kg (224 lbs) I was in a good shape for a 22-year-old boy. 3 weeks later I went to another contest and I lost from all the guys that I had beaten 3 weeks before. So I knew my muscles where not mature enough for this level.I started to train heavier and changed some things in food and supplements.At the end of that year I competed in the finals and ended up 3rd at the heavyweights.

My interest in starting an own gym was growing and I told this to my dad, he was a little surprised of my decision, but he said that he understood me. So in April 1995 I opened my first gym. For me, a dream came true. The name of my gym is DO IT.
The only thing I didn't know, was when you have your own gym, you can not train when you want. Always when I was training, people came to me and asked me to explain some machines or an exercise. That's why I always make an appointment with new people. I can plan my own training better. New people that come for the first time I guide to the program that I made for them. I think that this is a good and very imported thing to do, so they learn to do the exercises correct right from the start.
When I opened my gym, I was the only guy who did bodybuilding contests. But after a while, more people got interested in the sport, and wanted to try a diet, and changing their training. There were some guys with potential, so I tried to motivate them. In 1997 in wanted to compete again, and I had 2 other guys, who wanted to diet with me. It was working very well, and they placed both in the finals from there first contest.
One won his class, and the other was second in his own class. I placed third on my contest, and that was one for me, because I still had a lot to learn before I could move to a higher level.
In 1997 we organized a DO IT show.
This was only a show for people that are training in my gym, and the audience was also only for people from my gym. I had 21 people that participated, and it was a big success. This was just a show, and not a contest. 5 guys from this group where ready for contests, so they competed in a grand prix, 2 weeks later. This was the body art classic and the do it cup. It was an organization from Ferdy, the boss from Performance, Michel Heirman, a gym owner from Antwerp and me. We had a lot of prices for the top 3. The first one got a video, the second a hot air food cooking machine, and the third a blender. The overall winner got a TV. So we did this for the athletes. Every competitor got a can of protein powder and a T-shirt. So everybody went home with something, even the last one.
From then on, I knew more from diet and training, and helped other athletes, to reach their goal.
In 1998, I wanted to compete again, but I had a lot of work in the gym. So my shape was not as hard as I wanted. I was bigger than ever, but not hard enough.
I placed 5th in Holland, 3th in Belgium, and a few days later I was in Holland with Michel, because he was a judge in a contest. I wanted to look there, and the promoter came to me, if I wanted to compete.
So why not, I said. And they arranged music, posingtrunk, tan and a towel. So after the prejudging, I was 3th by the heavyweights. I was there to look, and I competed, great day man, I didn't even know the song I was posing on. The same year, I wanted to compete again, because I started to like it, and Michel helped me with my nutrition. I was hard like hell, and competed at 195 pounds. I won the light heavywheigts and got second in the overall with one single point from the winner. From then on, I knew how to diet.
The year after 1999, I went on a diet with my athletes. If I am on a diet, I know how they feel, so that was the reason. I was in great shape, so I decided to compete in the b level in Holland.
I was 7th, in a line up from 20 athletes. I was glad with my place and I called Mr. Blommaert that I wanted to compete semi finals from the Belgium championships. I came a lot harder, because I wanted to compete here. I won the heavyweights and the overall, at a bodyweight from 212 pounds. The same day, I won my ticket to the European championships, so for me a dream came true.
At the European champs, I stood next to Francisco Bautista. Men, he was big and hard. I never saw legs like that before.
I placed 9th, and was very glad with my place.
At the end of that year, I was the favorite for the Belgium title, so that was a little stress for me.
But I had a good support from my dad, girlfriend, Ruud and Fery, my sponsor. I came fuller and sharper than in the beginning of the year, at 242 pounds, and won my class and the overall with only ones at my scorecard. I was crying, when they said my name. All the hard work and stress was falling from my shoulders. At the international contest, after the Belgium championships the same day, I placed second. I was glad, because there where a lot of guys in the line up, who where idols for me, and I won from them. Some of them are competing now as IFBB professionals.
In 2000, I was trying to gain some weight, and I couldn't compete at the spring shows, because I was an international athlete from now on, because I won the overall in 1999. I competed at the October shows.

My first show was in Luxembourg, and I won my class and the overall. The fed cup was the second contest, a week after, and placed 3, after world champion Thomas Schue, and a big black guy from Sweden, Gabriel Onydium. I was 230 pounds, and was very glad to place that high. It was a line up from 21 athletes and all of them where from other country's.
For me it was important to place as best Belgium guy.
6 weeks later, there was another grand prix in Charleroi. I placed third again, but now behind Tommi Thorvildsen and Marc Gijs, who won the world championships a week before. I was 8 pounds heavier then on the fed cup and sharper. Both are IFBB professionals now.

In 2001 I brought Tommi Thorvildsen to Belgium, and he stayed here for almost 2 years. He got a contract from Performance, and we started to train together.
I changed my diet and training. More protein, lower carbs and really heavy training.
Tommi is the strongest guy I ever trained with, and very focused. So he taught me how to train the way Mike Mentzer did. I taught him some things from diet and food combination, togheter with Ferdy.

In April I competed again and my contest weight was again heavier, and my muscle got more mature.
So I placed second, behind Thomas Schue, with 3 points difference. My weight was 245 pounds, and I gave Thomas a hard time for his money. After that contest, I went with Tommi to Toronto and New York.
We got e great time there, and Tommy placed 4e at Toronto, and 6e at New York. He was in the best shape of his life.
The day after the Night of the Champions, we had a photo shoot at central park, with Raymond Ceasar, and an article with Rosemary Hallumn from Musclemag.
It was a great weekend.