A man who took up weight training to help him recover from a serious car accident has told how he put his life and body back together.
n what has been a spectacular few weeks on the world bodybuilding stage, James Melville of Lisburn has garnered a number of prestigious titles, including two professional bodybuilder statues.
In September, the 41-year-old picked up the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation (WNBF) Irish Champion title to qualify as a professional.
He then went on to win the PCA British Championship, where he was given second professional status.
Fresh from Munich, where he finished fourth at the European championships at the end of October, he now has his sights set on the world championships in Birmingham later this month.
James, who owns and runs The Compound Room gym with his fiancée, Edel Burns, in his hometown, said his spectacular career had yet to sink in.
“I have been training since January. My goal was to earn my professional status with the WNBF,” she said.
“The untested PCA British Championship was just meant to be fun, I didn’t expect to do well. Winning and getting a second professional status was a pleasant surprise.
“For a lot of people who are working towards something for themselves, it’s nice to see success, especially for the community at my gym.”
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Bodybuilding has been plagued by controversy and allegations of drug abuse, but it is working hard to change its image.
Natural bodybuilding competitions put athletes through rigorous drug and lie detector tests before they are allowed to compete.
James said: “I have never used performance-enhancing drugs of any kind to gain an advantage. Anti-doping tests before competitions are as strict as those carried out at the Olympic level.
“This is not about casting darkness on the other side of the sport, but about shining a light on natural bodybuilding and showing what is possible, especially to young people entering the sport.
“For me, it started out as a rehabilitation need, so I’ve always had a holistic approach.
“I just want to show that through good nutrition and exercise it can be a healthy part of a healthy lifestyle.”
As a professional athlete competing with two of the biggest governing bodies in the sport, James can now secure sponsorship to help pay his way as he competes against the best in the world.
He explained: “As a professional, I get to go to the big competitions all over the world and my travel expenses are covered and there is the chance to win prize money.
“It can be quite stressful to compete at that level at all costs. Especially when running a business and having to leave it for periods of time, there is the added pressure of spending time outside of it.”
James has built a thriving members-only gym. Many of his clients are now also training and competing as bodybuilders.
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It wasn’t a career he had planned, but life took an unexpected turn when he was 20 years old and living and working in London as a bartender in a cocktail bar.
He explained: “I had trained on and off since I was 13 years old, but I never saw myself making a career out of it.
“At 20, I was involved in a car accident that completely derailed me and set me in a different direction.
“From a very difficult moment many positive aspects emerged.
“I suffered a head injury, which left me paralyzed on the left side. Initially, I was at King’s College Hospital in London, where I had brain surgery.
“I was then moved home into the care of my local health trust, which was fantastic.
“It took me about nine months to rebuild my muscle again.
“As part of that, I was encouraged to do some strength training with weights, and what started out as a need turned into a passion.
“I researched it further and decided to become a personal training coach.”
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James opened The Compound Room in Lisburn in 2016 and gradually grew his membership.
From day one he had a unique approach. “Before starting my own business, I would receive referrals from people with mental and physical health (issues) who needed to include exercise in their recovery. For people with mental health problems (difficulties), the environment is very important to them and often anxiety.
It prevented them from going to the gym,” he explained.
“From the beginning, I made my gym members-only to create a better environment for people.
“With members-only gyms, there is more familiarity and you can create a space of comfort.”
James and his partner put everything they had into building the business, which had just started turning a profit before Covid-19 hit.
“It took a few years, but by 2019 we had built it and it was a success and we decided to move to a bigger venue,” he said.
“We invested every penny we had in the move and we had no credit left in the bank. We had just opened 18 days when the first shutdown occurred. We were very scared and did not know how we were going to survive.
“We received a lot of loyal support from the members who got us through it. Fortunately, we reopened last year and now we are back in a good place.”
Now that she’s finishing the year on a high, her plans after competing in the world championships later this month include taking a break next year before building her career in 2024.
James said: “The European championship in Munich last month was my first professional show. I was hoping to finish in the top 10, so I was elated to finish in the top five.
“Now I have the world championships, I hope to go in and defend myself.
“If I get into the top five, that would be amazing.
“That will conclude my season. Mentally and physically, it can take its toll. You need to give your body a rest.
“I hope that when the world championships are over, I can sit back and take in what happened this year and appreciate the efforts of everyone who supported me.”
