| Bobby Barker |
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Born: Queens, NY Age: 44 Grew up in Long Island, New York, Bobby now lives in Indiana with his beautiful wife and son. Height: 6'5" weight: 270 A bachelor's degree in business management and is working for a package delivery company. He is a Christian, a husband, a father and a bodybuilder. In that order. Began toying with weights like almost every kid out there when he was about twelve years old. His father purchased one of those plastic 60 pound beginner sets to get in shape and he, of course, had to join in! A makeshift bench made out of 4 x 4's served as his bench, and he performed every exercise that was on the chart that came with the set. He played with those weights on and off over the next few years, graduating to iron in his friend's basement. He joined his first gym - Mr. America's in Farmingdale, New York, The home of Mr. America Steve Michalik and was mesmarized by all of the equipment and the professional bodybuilders he would see in there! He even spotted Albert Beckles on the bench! Quite the excitement for a novice. He was hooked for life. He gave his life to the Lord on the eve of his surgery for cancer. A certified personal trainer, He enjoys training and sharing what he knows about weight lifting and the Lord with anyone who will listen. |
| Certain circumstances required me to fill
in for the month so I will take the
opportunity
to sit in my own "hot seat"
so
to speak and do so joyfully! 1) What's your favorite Scripture? Mark 10:27 - Jesus looked at them and said, Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." Not only is this my birth date, but it was the message God kept sending me when I had cancer and my question of surviving. He didn’t give up on me, but kept sending me the 10:27 message everywhere I looked. I, however, kept thinking it was a sign to play the lotto! It’s a good thing the Lord has patience and waited! Also Psalm 118:24 - "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." I get up every morning and I am very thankful for the day and the chance to be a better person. It is also the very first Scripture my son has learned! 2) Who were your childhood heroes? Boy, I didn’t think this one would be as tough as it is! I suppose it would be men like John Wayne and the characters he played in war movies, and military men themselves. I can remember watching parades as a little kid and seeing the soldiers march by. How awesome and powerful that was! Standing tall and proud! Warriors for sure! What was a childhood hero back then is still today. I admire those men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms. You can throw in the police and fire departments as well. 3) If you could meet anyone from the Bible, who would it be and why? You can't say Jesus, we all want to and we prayerfully will one day! Yikes, another toughie! I think Moses would be one. What a formidable job he had! I would love to know what it felt like to have been in the presence of God. John too, Jesus’ favorite. To be eye to eye with Jesus, to see the love that emanated from Him. I would like to meet Noah as well. Obeying God amidst all of those people laughing at him or thinking he was insane. Such a man of faith! 4) What is a typical day in your life like? I get up between 6 - 6:30 am and hit the weights. When I am finished I pray, take out the dogs and basically get the day going by getting coffee ready, and preparing breakfast for my family. I love that job! My wife is a slow waker upper and it works perfectly with my having been up and training already. I feed my son breakfast and read to him from the Bible and his favorite books. We do whatever needs to be done as a family for the day from shopping to trips to the zoo. Then it’s off to work, but not before a family prayer for a safe day for all of us. 5) What Biblical figure do you most identify with & why? Sheesh! Another one! I think that would have to be Paul because I was so resistant to learning anything further than what I had learned as a youngster where God was concerned but once I was saved, Oh boy! What I was missing! Lazarus in the sense that before I was saved, I was dead and once saved, I feel so full of life. Even when times are tough, there is still a deep inner peace knowing that God is with me. 6) What trait do you like most about yourself? None really, but I guess that would be my determination to keep plodding forward. Before I was saved, it would have been labeled as a stubborn disposition. Now, it is faith. Stubbornly relying that no matter what the circumstances, God will see me through . I just trust in Him. 7) What trait do you least like about yourself? I can be selfish at times. This can especially be true when I am hungry, like when there is one last piece of steak in the fridge and I’ll eat it before asking if anyone wants any. There are still old bodybuilder habits I am trying to shed! I will admit that I absolutely hate this about myself. I also don’t like that I have little to no patience for lousy drivers. By the way, that is defined as anyone who doesn’t drive like me. Please don’t tell me I am the only one! Do I really need to go on? We might run out of room! 8) How have you been able to represent God in your sport? In creating MCBB, God has enabled us to bring Christian bodybuilders together to uplift one another and most of all, connect. Funny thing is, MCBB was originally created as a venue for me to meet other Christian bodybuilders. God, as He often does, had different plans! 9) If you could change one thing in your sport, what would it be? Get rid of the drugs and return it to the days of Muscle Beach, Les and Pudge Stockton, Jack LaLanne & Steve Reeves. When grace, strength and the beauty of esthetics were the goals. The Golden Era. 10) If you were to die today and go to heaven, what would you like to hear God say? I always knew you’d make it! |
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