05/12/2026
For the month of May , we have picked Brandon as member of the month. These before and after photos are taken almost exactly one year apart so no words are needed from me for why I chose Brandon for May, the photos speak for themselves !! He is an inspiration to say the least , so I’ll now share a few words from the man himself.
“Hey everybody! My name’s Brandon, and I couldn’t be more honoured to find myself awarded as member of the month for May! I’m an aspiring bodybuilder, and am currently working towards my ultimate goal of stepping on stage as a competitor in Men’s Physique next year.
No word of a lie, I could genuinely write an entire novel going over the whole of what I’ve gained by making health and fitness a central pillar of my life, but when you get right down to it, far and away the largest gift I’ve received can be summarized in a single, monumentally important word. Community. Nothing is more precious, and more in need these days, than having a welcoming, friendly place to call your own.
Before I started coming into the gym, I struggled viciously with isolation and a deep, unabating sense of estrangement from the wider world. It’s as if a large, impassable chasm had carved its way across the centre of reality itself, forever setting me apart from the entirety of the world, and everyone else who lived within it. Despair, anxiety and self-loathing stood like a trio of sentinels barring the way out from the emptiness that so engulfed me, and the hope for connection that rested on the other side of it. The years of solitude that followed hung heavier than all of the weight one could find in all of the gyms dotted across every corner of this Earth.
Looking back at all the ground I’ve managed to cover, it’s staggering to reconcile with myself just how much I’ve been able to achieve. There’s still hard days to get through of course, as there always will be, but there’s less of them now. A lot less. The fight continues, but little by little, I’m able to slay that much more of that which keeps me from living life to the fullest.
All that said, a big, warm and amazing thank you to everyone I’ve met and befriended over the course of my journey!! You know who you are, and I couldn’t have done this without you! Here’s to crushing new PR’s, getting ripped, and feeling stronger than ever in the best gym Belleville has to offer!”
Keep killing it Brandon, happy to have you as part of the Xscape community !
