‘The diet is very strict so I have to have eight meals a day’

A Sunderland man had one of the city’s most amazing diets when he bid to become a world champion.

British bodybuilding finalist Steven Brown who was hoping for world glory in 2016. | se

placeholder image — British bodybuilding finalist Steven Brown who was hoping for world glory in 2016. | se

Ten years ago this month, Steven Brown was preparing to take on the best on the planet in the world IBFA finals in Rome.

But the 38-year-old married dad-of-three had to stick to a strict diet that was quite incredible.

He told the Sunderland Echo in 2016: “I’m now starting another 16-week diet and training harder than ever. There’s a lot of preparation goes into it and the diet is very strict so I have to have eight meals a day.

“It’s oats and water on a morning and then turkey, broccoli and sweet potato. It’s very clean, so I can’t have a cup of tea and a biscuit or anything.”

Steven Brown from Sunderland who was going for bodybuilding gold in 2016 - but it meant a super strict training regime and diet. | se

It was not just food which got the strictest of attention from the Sunderland-based hod carrier.

He went into a period of intense training which lasted few months.

Steven, of Tunstall Road, told the Echo in 2016: ““I’m an 80s kid so I’d always watched actors like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger and want to be like them.”

Steven's idol was Arnold Schwarzenegger, pictured in 1977, when he was filmed in Pumping Iron, a documentary which spread his fame beyond bodybuilding circles. Photo: AFP via Getty Images | AFP via Getty Images

Steven, who trained at Fitness 2000 in Roker, said he was determined to make the most of it. Steven’s rapid rise in the bodybuilding world came alongside him working as a hod carrier on building sites.

We would love to know how he got on in the world finals in 2016.

To remind you of what else was happening on Wearside at the time, these stories were also making the headlines.

Sunniside Live 2016 was a huge success with 4,000 people watching a succession of entertainers such as the Brand New Heavies, Smoove & Turrell and Dennis, special guests Alison Limerick and Shola Ama, and a host of up-and-coming local bands.

There was a 400 per cent reported increase in sales at bars in the city after a Fanzone was set up. Its giant 20 metre-high screen erected in Park Lane, showed everything from the Euro 2016 games and Wimbledon to Glastonbury and the F1.

Get in touch with your memories of 2016 by emailing [email protected]