Biography

Thank you for taking the time to read this personal biography. In this biography I will try to keep it as exciting, entertaining and factual as possible. I sincerely hope you enjoy. My name is Cedric Vincent Anthony Shurraw. I was born and raised in Winnipeg, often called ” Winterpeg” friendly Manitoba, as a proud Ukrainian ! Unlike most of the athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness competitors, I always had an extreme admiration for the sport, and the athletes who stepped on the stage, but for the longest time never took action and went for it, like they did. As a youngster growing up, I was taking the musical route, learning the piano which I thought would make me the next “Billy Joel” or Ray Charles. I wanted to be in the entertainment field. As the years went by, I found out that I wasn’t content as I would be watching a football game or a boxing match or even reading Musclemag International. Sure I made some money playing piano and even had fun, but I always wanted to be in a sport, a sport where I could achieve, compete, and learn. As a teenager I was a thin kid with acne like a pepperoni pizza and arms like tree branches. So, I started doing pushups, chin ups and arm curls with plastic York weights I bought at a garage sale in my parents basement . My physique responded, and I felt confident enough to try out for the St. James Rods football team.

Making the football team, which was more like a boot camp, was a highlight for me at that time as I was finally in an organized sport. I also played soccer but got too many red cards and ejections from games. I learned the hard way that you only use your feet not your hands and elbows ! Well I was alright as a football defensive lineman as I could use upper body strength effectively, but I woke up one morning and thought to myself. “I don’t want this anymore.” I wasn’t motivated to play the following year.

So a few years, and a few beers went by, I joined a gym not knowing what I was doing regarding working out and exercise. I saw a few local bodybuilders at the time. I remember how ripped and muscular these guys and girls were, and I watched them in awe and admiration. They were talking about the “MR MANITOBA PROVINCIAL BODYBUILDING/FITNESS CHAMPIONSHIPS” that were being held in June at the Red River Exhibition. Well I was curious to see what this was about. I went to this event and with eyes wide open I sat in the front row. What I saw on stage that day shocked me, motivated me and inspired me to take action and improve myself mentally and physically !! I also saw a legend in the bodybuilding world Tony Ayre who at the time was the president of MABBA. I started getting a bit more serious about training, but I didn’t know anything about diet, cardio, and basic mechanics of resistance training. So I asked questions--A lot of questions but got mixed responses. I read informative sections in magazines but still did not know which route to take. I tried boxing for a few months, thinking to myself: “why not? It might improve my face, as the acne had gotten worse as I grew older. I didn’t make it too far as a boxer being to bulky as well as always losing my contact lenses..

I started tanning and all of a sudden years later the radiation from the tanning beds had literally destroyed my acne. My confidence and self esteem sky rocketed as girls were approaching me and trying to get to know me instead of asking me if I was burnt in a fire. As time went by I graduated from the University of Manitoba as a Certified Counselor specializing in addictions studies. As years went by, I worked as a Dietary Supervisor of a nursing home, as well as a youth care counselor with troubled kids. I still made time for the gym, as it was my escape from the stress of life.

Although I was 167 pounds at this time, with, in my opinion, an incomplete physique, I decided to enter the MABBA Novice bodybuilding show knowing absolutely nothing about competing except that you had to pose with a bunch of guys on stage and do a routine. I tanned a lot but had no idea at that time that you had to use a skin darkening agent. { Pro tan and/or dream tan. So the day of the show came, and what a reality check I got. The executive director had told me : “ You need to put a tanning darkener on!! ”, and quickly explained to me what it was. “ So with that done, I competed that day and placed third. I wasn’t surprised, because I did this as an experiment to see what happens, and how I would like it. I wanted to start all over again properly and get more knowledge about this as it intrigued me.

2 weeks later I did a NON MABBA regional show, only because it was in Winnipeg, and placed second, but the experience wasn’t a good one. They asked me to go to the Canadian Natural Nationals in Toronto, but I had 3 more months to get ripped because at that time they {organizers} had told me I lacked hardness and cuts, and my quads needed to get bigger . Of course no one in that organization cared to explain or give me any advice on what I should do different. That was all good though because I would find out myself. An organizer had told me that there will be cash prizes given to each winner of each weight class. So, now I had even more incentive. I went to the best source possible, a former North American level bodybuilder who was a Mr. Manitoba, placed 2’nd in the Nationals and basically tells it like it is. Tony Ayre.

The most logical descision would be to seek knowledge from one who has been there and done that. Well I found out exactly what I was doing wrong, Which was pretty much 60% of what I was doing ! The best piece of advice I had received, was to compete in an organization that is AFFILIATED WITH THE CBBF. I was still intent on doing the show in Toronto though. 3 months of training properly, dieting half decent, my physique changed slightly, but it was enough for me to WIN THE OPEN CLASS as well as place a respectable 3’ RD IN MY HEIGHT CLASS .At the time I was a middleweight. Was there a cash award ? NO. I was a bit upset with the false advertising, but was so happy I won, that I decided to let that little bit of misinformation slide at the time. I also want to mention I had made many friends from across this great country at this particular show, and I guess there was positives besides the negatives. I now had 1 year to prepare for the 2000 Novice, and Provincials which I felt I should do again, because I want to do it properly. For a vacation/ and some fun, I decided to do the Minot/ North Dakota show.

I placed a controversial 3rd, but almost ½ of the judges had me second. So the 2000 Manitoba Novice and provincials came and went. I had placed 3rd in each of these shows. For the 2001 MABBA provincials, I decided to incorporate cardio into my training, and increase my protein consumption. The judges must have noticed the change because I placed 2nd in the 2001 provincials which was a difficult descision for the judges to make because there was a 1 point difference between myself and the first place competitor. A few months later, I did the 2001 National World Qualifier, which was in Winnipeg, and placed third. In 2002 with a lot of stress in my life, I decided to do the Provincials once again. I had recently found out that I had “Renal Ectopia”. One enlarged kidney and an abnormally small kidney meshed together on one side of my body. Although Urologists had told me that I can lead a normal life, it lingered on my mind at the time. I wasn’t in the best shape of my life, but still managed to place 2nd. I was approached by many people that evening that told me not to give up. I had no intention of doing so.

I would say between 2002 and 2003, I spent at least 2-3 hours/ day researching and documenting information on everything to do with the sport. I made a promise to myself:

I will win the overall title. I will be Mr. Manitoba. On June 18 2003 as a light heavyweight, in the best shape of my life, my goal was fulfilled !!! 8 ripped competitors in my weight class. 5 other competitors in the overall. This was probably one of the happiest/exciting moments of my life. A childhood dream had come true in my life: I WON THE MR. MANITOBA OVERALL PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS !! Later that night I partied with my friend Jack Daniels, and the Russian prince, but they turned into my worst enemies the next day. Yet another lesson learned: Never drink when you are depleted of virtually everything. So what was next for me ? I took the next step. The next 2 years I had competed in the 2003 and 2004 CBBF Nationals. Although I had not placed as high as I had hoped to, I was honored to be on stage against the best in Canada ! In 2005 I had did some pre contest experimentation with dieting that ultimately made me hold water and appear not as sharp as I am used to looking. I placed 2nd in The 2005 Canadian World Qualifier, and learned from my mistakes. I copied and pasted an article from www.bodybuildinglive.com, that had verified to me that I wasn’t in diamond hard condition. I must have read that article dozens of dozens of times. How’s that for motivation ? I vowed and prayed to God above to come back in 2006 in Toronto and win. Another goal that I set became a reality on August 5th 2006. I WON THE CANADIAN WORLD QUALIFIER LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CLASS and now I have this website.

In conclusion, my goals are to place better, {Top 3} in the Nationals in the future, to consistently improve myself as an athlete/competitor and as a person, as well as share the knowledge that I have gained over the years as knowledge in any form should be shared with others. In my business life, I hope to expand my client base. I have met and competed with many cool people, and one of the many benefits of going to competitions locally and across Canada is to meet other athletes. I also want to type something I had said to the Winnipeg Sun reporter that interviewed me the night I won the MABBA Provincials, and it is something I strongly believe in: To be a complete person, one has to work on their mind as well as their body, and learn to be there for others as well as him/herself, but not to be taken advantage of… Never forgetting to thank God for the ability and potential to stand on that stage to compete. Thanks again for reading this lengthy biography and feel free to add any comments positive or negative. Train hard program your mind and enjoy life !!

Cedric