He didn’t just compete. The Gisborne bodybuilder won the overall Mr Physique title as a novice.
This year, Johnny, 33, was back at the National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association event at Gisborne’s War Memorial Theatre and he successfully defended his title.
Seemingly not a natural for getting up on stage in his underpants in front of a crowd, he had various reasons for doing so.
One was to show his six children what could be achieved through hard work. After the time he had spent in the gym and away from his family, he had to put himself out there on stage “to make it worth it”.
“It’s definitely a big motivator. I don’t want them to see me fail.
“My partner is right into fitness, too,” he says.
“It’s a family effort.”
Another reason was to acknowledge the contribution of his brother, Tawhiri Walsh, a driving force behind his training.
Johnny also sees bodybuilding as positive for young men and family connections, and he respects the amount of work that other bodybuilders put into their sport. The camaraderie is hard to beat.
“The person who looks the best up there has suffered the most,” he says.
Johnny takes heart from watching young Gisborne talent give the sport a go.
“A highlight was seeing our local teenagers get into it.”
Marking the turnaround in his health, including shedding more than 35 kilograms to get himself in shape for the 2018 East Coast championships, is obviously in the mix as well.
Tawhiri Walsh, himself a bodybuilder and owner of the Gizzy Muscle gym, wasn’t the only person who delivered messages to Johnny about his health last year.
His doctor told him he was “pre-diabetic”.
That means his blood-sugar level was higher than normal but not yet high enough to constitute type-2 diabetes. At that point, lifestyle changes — diet, exercise and maintaining a stable weight — can halt the progression towards the disease.
“My blood pressure wasn’t good. My health wasn’t good,” Johnny says.
He noticed he was sluggish and would take a breath just to tie his shoelaces.
Johnny’s lifestyle changes were radical.
His training regime is intense and he devotes about three-and-a-half hours a day to it. In the weeks leading up to a show, he is out of bed by 5am and getting into cardio and preparing meals.
About midday, he will do weights.
Later, he will probably get in more cardio.
As a show draws near, he eats less food, and so the body runs on less fuel.
Johnny says he has to be mentally strong. On the days where he doesn’t feel like putting in the effort, he tells himself that other people will be.
“You’re not the only one feeling like not turning up.”
Diet, he says, is the hardest part.
Johnny says the best bodybuilders maintain their diet for the full year.
He eats lean meat, vegetables, chicken, fish and the right amount of carbohydrates — everything is weighed.
“Everything to do with diet and training are given to me in a plan. I just have to stick to it.”
He fits all of that around his family and his job at the Top 10 Holiday Park, where he takes care of maintenance.
“It’s the perfect job for our lives at the moment,” Johnny says.
“The boss is helpful with what I’m up to.”
What he’s up to in October is competing in the national bodybuilding championships in Palmerston North.
He will be up against strong competition and that will include his brother. Tawhiri is the New Zealand Physique champion.
Tawhiri says they have not competed against each other before in the sport.
“I’m his coach. I say to him ‘there are no brothers, no friends — everyone’s up there to win’. It’s up to the judges.”
Johnny says the bond between the brothers has been stronger since he took up bodybuilding.
He has also been back to the doctor for check-ups.
“Everything was good, thank God.
“I’ve done a complete 180.”
