When my friend first showed me the list of categories for Pure Elite back in June 2015 and then suggested I should give it a try, I laughed. I couldn’t imagine myself stepping onto a stage and walking round in my pants! That would need huge confidence, determination and a lot of hard work.

The more I kept thinking about it, the more I would say to myself ‘man up and do it, do it for yourself’. So I did, and the September qualifiers in Hayes came round so fast. I only had five weeks to prep due to an ongoing back injury. In those five weeks I worked out twice a day and prepared every meal to perfection, I had no option, I had very little time to make sure I was the best I could be!

For anyone looking to step on stage I’d just like to say it’s not as easy as it looks! Remember all of this…. Right, tense your legs, hold your abs tight, keep your head up, keep all your transactions between poses smooth and smile! Doing all of this whilst trying to make it look flawless and effortless. You actually get off that stage and feel like you’ve just worked out, its that tiring.

When the results of the beach body category started to get announced I thought to myself you’ve done it! Stepped on stage and proved you can do it, if you place now that would be a dream and a massive bonus!

4th place, number 107, Dan Rayner! Overwhelming is a understatement! My first show and I get a place and a nice bit of silverware to go with it! What was even more overwhelming was a week later when I received an invitation to compete at the Pure Elite World Championship Finals in November.

This time I had eight weeks to prep, that meant more time to perfect my diet, more time to knuckle down with my training and more importantly more time to practice my posing and stage presence! I knew I had to up my game as I would be competing against the best of the best.

When I stepped on stage for the finals I can’t really describe what was going through my head. mean I had only been competing for two months and I was already on a world stage, unbelievable! The main thing I kept saying to myself backstage was you’ve got nothing to lose, you’ve got one shot at this, go out there and smash it! I felt my posing and stage presence had greatly improved and this time I remembered to tense my legs!

When the places start to get announced, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd, you think I’ve done myself proud maybe next year. 1st place, number 147, Dan Rayner. So many emotions! I was so happy and so glad all my friends and family were there to see it, I couldn’t thank them enough for their ongoing support.

Two shows in my life and I was a Beach Body World Champion, speechless. I can’t thank Pure Elite enough for the opportunity they have given me, my confidence has grown massively, I now feel like I can take on any challenge that is put in front of me. To now class myself as a Pure Elite pro Athlete has topped off a fantastic year. Bring on 2016!