My Dream: Flexed for fanfare

[Times photo: Kinfay Moroti] John Dougherty, 67, of Ozona, a competitive bodybuilder for the past 18 years, stepped into the spotlight recently for a masters competition at St. Petersburg’s Palladium Theater.

Interview by DAVE SCHEIBER
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 5, 2002

For John Dougherty, 67, who has two hip replacements, body-building isn't just about flexing muscles.

It's what I love to do most. I've been in more than 100 body-building competitions since I started in 1984 in the Mr. Largo contest. The best I've ever done is finish in second place. The truth is, I only competed against one other man. But I don't compete to win. I'm just happy to be up there. It makes me feel proud and like I'm in command.

I always get nervous right before a competition. I'm shaking in my boots. But then they oil me up, and I go out there and start doing the poses, and I get the crowd all stirred up. The other body builders all give me lots of encouragement and are real nice to me. And sometimes, I get standing ovations from the crowd. I can't see out into the audience because of the lights, but the cheering makes you feel great.

My last competition was at the Palladium in St. Petersburg a few weeks ago. Since I'm 67, I was in the Masters Men Over-60 category in the Hurricane Bay/Typhoon Bay Championships. There were five of us in the Over-60 group, and I finished fourth.

I'm a little heavy right now. I weigh about 170 and I want to get down to 163 by spring. It's all about style and physique. The hard part is you have to go on a crazy diet to get ready.

That isn't easy for me because I work part-time at Publix in Dunedin putting groceries in the bags. We're not called baggers. We have a fancy title -- front-end servers. I sit there and bag all that cake and ice cream, and I can smell the rotisserie chicken, and it drives me up a wall. But you have to be disciplined if you want to compete.

I used to be big into wrestling before a friend of mine got me interested in body-building. I wrestled in high school up in Abington, Pa. I never made varsity, but I was on the J.V. for three years, and from 1969-73, I helped out as a volunteer wrestling coach at Clearwater High.

Before I came to Florida, I had two main jobs. I was with an industrial cafeteria chain, doing kitchen work, and then I worked for Penn Fruit as a bagger. But I got laid off at both those jobs. When I was in my 20s, I moved down here to Ozona with my parents. My dad was a retired elementary school principal in Willow Grove, and my mom was a part-time secretary.

I worked for Morrison's Cafeteria for three years as a counter man. And then I got a job working for the Pinellas County school system cleaning classrooms, and I did that for 27 years until I retired in 1993. My parents never did get a chance to see me compete as a body-builder. My mom died in 1981 and my daddy died a few years later. But I stayed in the house we were all in. I have some renters, but I live here by myself with my cats.

I don't get lonely too much -- not with four cats. I love animals. I've never been married, but I have a girlfriend and we see each other once or twice a week. She's a big supporter of mine -- comes to all of my competitions with her step-grandfather. I have one brother who still lives in Pennsylvania, but he hasn't ever been able to see me compete.

I developed a little bit of a limp 10 years ago, after I had two hip transplants. I couldn't work out for four months, and I couldn't wait to get back in training. I have to walk kind of slow, but it doesn't stop me from always being on the move.

Five days a week, I'm at Publix by 7:30 a.m., home by 4:30 p.m., and then I drive to the gym to work out for a few hours. I'm always thinking about the next competition. I may not win. But I'm out there trying.

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