A former Mr. Ball State bodybuilding champion was named Mr. Indiana after winning the Indiana State Bodybuilding Championship Saturday in Fort Wayne.
Brad Warner graduated from Ball State in 1999 and now owns Studio 22 Private Fitness.
"It's been a long-time coming," Warner, a two-time Mr. Ball State champion, said. "It was something I had dreamed about and envisioned. When it finally came to be, it was pretty exciting."
Warner said the best part of winning was having his family and friends there to see him achieve his goal.
"After the show, I was walking through the crowd and all my friends and family were screaming and hollering and hugging me," he said. "That was probably the best part."
Austin Dossey, a 2008 graduate, also competed in the statewide competition Saturday, where he won the Open Middleweight division.
During his time at Ball State, Dossey held the 2006 title of Mr. Ball State.
"[Bodybuilding] came on by accident," Dossey said. "I was always just really into lifting weights. I played some sports in college. My body kind of grew and I really enjoyed how I was starting to look."
Warner started bodybuilding in high school.
"I lifted weights to bulk up," he said. "I started lifting weights and I got hooked on it."
Warner's first competition was the Mr. Ball State Competition in 1995. Since then, he has earned more than a dozen other first-place titles.
For Warner, bodybuilding is a test of the body's natural limits.
"I like to see how far I can get my body naturally and I don't want the health risks associated with [steroids]," he said.
Dossey plans to compete in the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation competition August 1 in Evansville to achieve professional status as a drug-free bodybuilder. Last weekend's competition was practice, he said.
"It's a hobby and a passion," he said. "It pretty much consumes my life."
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