Constantinos Demetriou, Australia's hottest and newest male bodybuilder to hit the stage, is now less than a week away from hitting the international stage at the Arnold Classic.
Name: Constantinos Demetriou
Date Of Birth: July 7, 1972
Hair Color: Brown
Color Eyes: Blue
Height: 175cm
Contest Weight: 105kg
Off-season Weight: 115kg
Occupation: Trainer
Hobbies/Interests: Traveling, meeting nice people, movies
[ Sandy ] "Con where did you grow up?"
[ Con ] "I grew up on a farm in Orchard Hills, NSW (New South Wales)."
[ Sandy ] "Con just tell us a bit about your background and how you got into bodybuilding."
[ Con ] Started when I was 15 when I got a barbell and dumbbells for Christmas. They were very light and the following year I got a York 2001 gym set and used it every night. Then I joined the Police Boys Club gym for $2 for the whole year.
I started training when I saw an ad in a Women's Weekly magazine advertising beef. They had a muscular fit body and I wanted to look like that.
I loved playing sport but my parents never took me to athletics, football or soccer. So I decided to run laps around our farm and do sprint training and swimming. This built a good base for my weight training.
I was always interested in nutrition and human performance. I would eat different foods to see if they would improve my performance from an early age.
I excelled at biology and human performance class at school. This gave me a really good foundation of information that made me understand how the body is put together and functions. This is what gave me the edge over others as a bodybuilder. I highly recommend that anyone starting out should learn these fundamentals about how the body works.
[ Sandy ] "When was your first competition?"
[ Con ] "My first competition was when I was 17, that was in 1989. I won the Teenage Mr. Western suburbs, then a week later Teenage Mr. East Coast, and then a week after that I won the Teenage Mr. Australia."
[ Sandy ] "How much did you weigh in at those first comps?"
[ Con ] "I weighed in at 70 kilos for all three comps."
[ Sandy ] "When was your next comp?"
[ Con ] "I then took 3 years off to train for the Junior Mr. Australia and walked on stage 23 kilos heavier, at 93kg, and won the 1992 Junior Mr. Australia."
[ Sandy ] "That's a great improvement, what came next?"
[ Con ] "In 1995 I won the heavyweight Mr. Australia and the Overall Mr. Australia."
[ Sandy ] Con then took 10 years off from competing and came back in 2006 to win the County Classic in Bendigo. That's where I first saw Con compete and I must say he blew me and the audience away.
Con has a classical male bodybuilding physique, true lines, symmetry and full muscular development.
Con went on to win the heavyweight Mr. Australia in 2006 and then floored the competition at the new Elite class at the 2007 IFBB Australasian titles. So what are Con's plans for the future?
Maybe Australian's next pro, I should say so! In my opinion he is one of the best potential pros we have seen for years.
Competition History:
- 1989 Teenage Mr. Western Suburbs
- 1989 Teenage Mr. South Coast
- 1989 Teenage Mr. East Coast
- 1989 Teenage Mr. Australia
- 1992 Junior Mr. Australia
- 1995 Heavyweight Mr. Australia
- 1995 Overall Mr. Australia
- 2006 Open Country Classic winner
- 2006 Heavyweight Mr. Australia
- 2007 Elite winner
[ Sandy ] How are you feeling about competing in the Arnold Classic?
[ Con ] I am very excited to compete in the Arnold Classic and even more excited to stand next to some of the worlds best bodybuilders at Tony Doherty's Show in Melbourne. In fact I am really looking forward to spending time in Melbourne. All the people I have met from Melbourne have been really good to me and I seem to click with Melbournians.
I love traveling and training at different gyms and now I am at a stage of my bodybuilding where I am just beginning to do so. I hope it continues because that is what I really enjoy doing. I went to LA for a photo shoot last year and really enjoyed it. I trained at the Gold's Venice Gym - the Mecca of bodybuilding where it all began.
[ Sandy ] Con how has your preparation been going and especially over the past 12 months or so?
[ Con ] I have put on so much muscle over the past 18 months and I put it down to the right environment and also a burning desire to achieve what I set out to achieve when I was younger but did not follow through with.
Another thing that has helped with my progress is my approach to things now. I no longer waste time testing things out, nor do I follow the conventional way. I do what works and discard what doesn't.
I do not waste time with things that don't work because I no longer have that time to waste that I did have when I was younger. Time is running out now. I am 35 and if I want to achieve my goals in bodybuilding. There is no room for error. This is what has made me progress so quickly over the past year and a half as well. The pressure is on. It is crunch time!
[ Sandy ] What would you say is your weakest area?
[ Con ] My weakest link is eating. Sometimes I go through stages where I just cannot get the food down. I went through one of those periods here in Thailand recently until I met my opposite. He is from Melbourne and also a good bodybuilder. His name is John Distefano. He absolutely loves his food and cannot stop eating.
I told him my problem and he took me to the supermarket and gave me a few ideas of what to eat and how to cook it. He loves cooking and eating. My girlfriend cooks for me every day the meals that John suggested and my eating problem is gone. If I ever run out of eating ideas or recipes I just ring John and he fixes the problem.
[ Sandy ] I know you have some great people helping and supporting you along the way, anyone you want to thank or mention.
[ Con ] The person that I seek advice from when I need help is John Terilli. He is a master of the body and the mind. He has got me out of trouble on many occasions. It is great having such a champion on my side for support when the going gets tough.
I have so many people that support me. I am very lucky and grateful. I will not list them all but must mention Paul and Carole Graham. They have been so good to me. They have been around for years and mixed with the greatest bodybuilders in history. If you ever need motivation I suggest that you take a trip down to Coogee Beach Fitness and have a workout with Paul. He really knows how to motivate people. He has been there and seen it all.
[ Sandy ] Can you tell me a bit about your training ideas and direction?
[ Con ] I believe that bodybuilding is like a puzzle. We all know the fundamentals or at least we have access to them but we get to a stage where we have to work things out ourselves. We all have different bodies and different lifestyles. I identified my weakest link and found someone who could help me with my problem. Now my weak link is strengthened I will find another weak link and take steps to fix it.
Every day I ask myself how I can get leaner and bigger. What can I do to improve my weak body parts? Sometimes when I least expect it an idea will pop in my head and I will contemplate it and then apply it. If it works I will continue doing it.
Last year I dropped too much weight the last 2 weeks before the comp. I have learnt from my mistakes and will not do them again.
I have been eating a lot more fats and less carbs in my diet. The carbs that I get are mainly from fruits. Maybe because it is so hot over here and you tend to sweat so much it is only natural that you crave more fruits and salty foods. I do not fight these cravings but accept them because I understand how the body works and I must work with it and listen to the signals that it is constantly giving me.
Because I am not working at the moment and do not go out much I train twice per day, otherwise it gets a bit boring. I do a large body part in the morning and a smaller one at night. Here is the current split that I do:
DAY 1:
DAY 2:
- Shoulders, am
- Hamstrings, pm
DAY 3:
DAY 4:
I do not have any rest days as I get plenty of rest during the day. Every now and then I feel a little run down or do not have much energy but still work out but take it easy or only do a few exercises. I feel better when I train and like getting the blood pumping around my body at least once per day.
I know this split is not for everybody but it suits me at this stage of my bodybuilding and fits in well with the lifestyle I am currently living.
[ Sandy ] So when do you head off to the Arnold?
[ Con ] I head off to LA on the 22nd of Feb. for a few photo shoots and then compete in Columbus on the 29th and 30th. Then I fly to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix on the 8th of March. If I have enough energy I will do the New Zealand Show as well.
[ Sandy ] How have you found living over in Thailand and costs for competing overseas etc?
[ Con ] The cost of living over here in Thailand is very cheap which makes it easy for me to take some time off from work and get ready for a show.
I do not have any sponsors at the moment but would love to have one that could help me continue to live this lifestyle over here as it is working and I want to stick to what works.
Since I have been living in Thailand my view on a lot of things has changed. This is why I love traveling. It opens your eyes to a lot of things and you are not stuck in the same mindset and way of thinking.
I don't really have a home or a family so I look at the bright side and see it as having a lot of freedom. All I have is my suitcase so I am free to travel. I know that where ever I go in the world there is going to be a gym and that makes me feel at home.
Whether it is a gym in Bali in a tin shed with concrete weights or a fancy high tech gym where all the posers go to train, I can find somewhere that makes me feel comfortable and meet people that have a common interest.
Normal prep seems so boring compared to the preparation that I have been doing for these recent comps. I just can't do the 12 weeks of chicken breast, rice and broccoli. It drives me nuts. I feed my body what it wants and modify it a bit when it comes to losing fat for the last 3 weeks or so.
I stay pretty lean in the off-season so it does not take me long to cut up. I can't see the point of bulking up and putting on all that excess fat by consuming all those extra calories that the body doesn't need and stores as fat. It is uncomfortable and does not make you grow. You gotta get the right intake so you don't end up storing all that unnecessary fat.
[ Sandy ] We all wish you the best Con, again you are a great representative of not only an awesome Aussie bodybuilder, but a true Aussie competitor and gentleman.
Sandy Jose - Writer for Hardcore Aussie Muscle
2008 Arnold Classic Highlights:
Get a quick look at the enormous event that was the 2008 Arnold Classic!