Daniel Burke, 23, has only been training for 18 months and is now the junior world champion
A Liverpool man has been crowned a world bodybuilding champion.
Daniel Burke, 23, from Old Swan, was named the winner in the junior category at the Drug Free Athletes Coalition (DFAC) finals held in Miami.
The strapping Scouser beat tough opposition from across the globe to bring the title back home to Liverpool.
He said: “It’s mindboggling, this is pretty much everything I’ve been trying to work for so it’s a great feeling.”
Daniel, who went to St Oswalds infants and junior schools, and later Cardinal Heenan School in West Derby, only started competing 14 months ago when a man in his gym on Derby Lane suggested he should enter a regional bodybuilding competition – an offer the new champion initially turned down.
He said: “I told him no because all I knew was the non-drug tested competitions, and I didn’t want to be associated with steroids. Then he said that he was a natural bodybuilder and I didn’t even know what one of them was at the time!”
Daniel, a gym instructor, decided to enter the competition despite only having three weeks to prepare and he hasn’t looked back since.
Daniel began an intense training regime involving hours of exercise every day that resulted in him finishing runner-up in the regional and British competitions to qualify for the World Championships.
His parents, Barbara and Bernard, spoken of their immense pride at their son’s accomplishment.
His mum said: “What he’s achieved in just over 12 months is absolutely amazing and it’s only through all the time and effort that he’s put into it.
“When we found out he won, we were just screaming all over the place. I just couldn’t believe we had a world champion in the family.”
Dad Bernard added: “I’m so proud. I went into the bank the other day and I showed the woman behind the counter the photos on my phone how my son was a world champion.”
Daniel is now at an age where he qualifies for the men’s weight classes and he has set his sights on conquering that division at the finals next year.
