| Scott Bookhout |
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Scott Bookhout I've always been interested in the human body and performance. I remember as a youngster 7-8 years old watching my older brothers working out with weights and wanting to start working out myself. I finally did start at 11 years old and have been training ever since (31 years). I first competed as a teenager in a couple of shows, before competing numerous times while in college. The last time I competed was in 1997 in the Minnesota Natural Classic which was my eighth contest. I'm open to competing again in a masters contest, but will wait and see. Training is going great, but the time required of me as a dad makes it difficult to train as consistently as I'd like. I've been married for 10 years to Pam, the love of my life, and have 2 beautiful children Joshua (4 yrs) and Julian (2 yrs). My interest in the human body extended into my career choice of physical edu cation and finally a graduate degree in physical therapy. I'm currently working as physical therapist in an orthopaedic outpatient clinic where manual "hands on" techniques are highly utilized as well as patient exercise and self care. As a Christian, I find that bodybuilding offers many challenges, as the sport can easily lend itself to vanity, pride and an overemphasis on one's self. Bodybuilding is an awesome activity, but it always needs to be kept in its appropriate place in our lives. I thank God for my health and my current ability to train and exercise, but am readily aware of how tenuous life can be and the need to keep God first. I want to encourage everyone to be all they can be in bodybuilding, but I truly believe that the most important thing that far outweighs anything this world has to offer is our relationship with Jesus Christ. Keep pumping, brothers and sisters in Christ, but always stay close to God. |
| 1) What's your favorite Scripture? My favorite Scripture is Colossians 1:15-20. (He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is th ebeginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.) I particularly love the Scriptures regarding Christ and it really speaks so much of Him and His characte. It speaks of Him being the creator of all things and the fullness of God dwelling in Him. The other part I really think about is how it talks about Him holding all things together. I just like to think about how God is active and instrumental in His creation, even now. Some people believe that God created things and now just looks away and doeasn't really deal with it anymore and I believe that God is actively involved in His creation and if He was to look away, even for a second, we'd all fly apart! 2)Who were your childhood heroes? How young? MCBB: Well as an example, I remember speaking with Steve Michalik and his was Captain America from the time he was five years old on. Scott: OK, I would have to say that the person who stands out the most for me would be Paul Beams. He was my Boyscout leader. He was a man who was very giving to the Boyscout troop that hewas serving. I was in Troop 34 at that time and he was just out of the military where he was a captain in the marines who was a single guy, and he put so much of his time and energy into the Boyscouting. He actually became a professional Boyscout. But he would do things, and get us to do things as kids that we really didn't want to do, necessarily, but he was able to motivate us and really push us forward. It wasn't uncommon for him to pick all us kids up and have his car jam-packed full of Boyscouts for Sunday morning to take us to church. So he would do more than beyond just for the Boyscouts. The other thing I really appreciated was that he always maintained his composure and was always very fair and I never saw him lose control and obviously we all have moments when we lose control but I really respected the way he was able to deal with people fairly and put up with all of us at that time. So he was quite a hero. He was very instrumental in my early development. My early development as a Christian and even my early development as a bodybuilder. I remember him challenging me once. As a youngster I wanted to be a professional bodybuilder and he was certainly encouraging me in weightlifting and that kind of thing, but he also said to ne, "Scott, don't you know that most of those guys, but not all of them, are taking steroids?" I didn't want to hear that at that time but at that point it really made a big impression on me and that was probably the first time I had ever really thought about that and really became dedicated to never using anabolic steroids of any kind. 3)If you could meet anyone from the Bible, who would it be and why? You can't say Jesus. (Laughing) Well, of course that was going to be my answer! I think it would be kind of cool to meet either the apostle Paul or John. I really enjoy both of their writings in the New Testament. I particularly like the Godpel of John. So it could be either one - John or Paul. I think that would be a thrill! 4)What is a typical day in your life like? Can I give you two typical days? I work as a physical therapist Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and we have two young kids, one four and a one and a half year old. I am working part time basically so I can be home with the kids on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So a typical day for me say on a Monday is that I would have a ten hour workday, come home and eat dinner and maybe go to the gym and work out Monday night. But then Tuesdays and Thursdays, my typical day is to be with our kids and I do some errands and groceries. You know, do house-type stuff but I try to make it a point to be with the kids, play with them and so there are really two kinds of typical days in my life. 5)What Biblical figure do you most identify with & why? That's a great question, I've never thought about that before! I like to evangelize and I like the argument that Paul presents in the New Testament, so I would have to say the apostle Paul. I like to argue the case for faith much like Paul did. 6)What trait do you like most about yourself? I would say that I'm curious and willing to learn. I like to learn about everything which is good in my preofession because of the conversations I have with people, I really like to talk to them. People with different occupations, different backgrounds, I really like to talk to them, I'm very inquisitive. 7)What trait do you least like about yourself? Pride. I'm sure that that is something many, many people would say but it really lends its way to how selfish I can be at times and of course as a Christian that's something I don't want and that's something I need to give up to God. I don't know if that's really a quality about me, it's something I think we all struggle with as Christians. I think I tend to be really critical at times. Not only of myself but sometimes of others and it often can go full circle and I think that that can be a good thing and I can bring it back to a positive but sometimes I can get mired down in being over-critical. 8)How have you been able to represent God in your sport? Well, I think in many, many ways. I went to Slippery Rock University which had a pretty good sized weigthlifting program and bodybuilding program there. I went right out of high school and competed in several contests there and I kind of won the respect of the bodybuilding community. I was kind of outside of that group because I chose not to take steroids but at the same time I don't think they felt judged by me for taking steroids which I think was important because they knew where I was coming from and they respected me for choosing not to do that. I think that was a pretty strong witness to them. I've also had many conversations with many people throughout the years in the bodybuilding world regarding the body of Christ. One of my weaknesses at this point in my life is with my family at home and shortness of schedule time, when I go to the gym, my workouts are very focused. I don't necessarliy allow myself the time to talk with people. but I do the best that I can do. 9)If you could change one thing in your sport, what would it be? Integrity. I think that the steroids and the chemical abuse just shouldn't be there. 10)If you were to die today and go to heaven, what would you like to hear God say? Well done and welcome home! |
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| Thank you Scott for sharing with us! We pray for your success in all that you do, bringing glory to God! | |
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