Matt Ogus

WPM's Bodybuilder of the Month - September 2011





Interviewed by: Mike Hall
Photos and nominated by: BBPics.com


WP: Let's begin with you telling us a little about yourself.

I like to look at myself as an intensely driven person. I don't know too many other kids my age with as much desire for what they want as me. Funny thing is, I wasn't always this way. I used to be unfocused. I used to just go with the flow and let life take me wherever I might end up. I had things I was good at, but had I taken more action I could have been great at many more things. I also used to give friends too much power to influence who I was and not decide for myself. Not to mention I wasn't as choosy about whom I associated with back then as I am now.

Little by little, I began to take control of my life. I learned that I had the right and the duty to claim who I was in this world. I found that the only way to get what I wanted was to take action. So I did. I found ways to make myself financially independent. I read self-help literature to change my way of thinking. Most of all I made decisions, and I began to make them more and more frequently. Ask anyone who knows me and they could agree that I am a very busy person.

I am very passionate about reaching my goals. I am NEVER satisfied. If and when I reach one goal, I don't take a vacation and say "that's it!" I instantly start moving toward my next goal which was pre-planned even long before I hit the just completed goal. That's one thing that's awesome about the sport of natural bodybuilding. You can always get better. There's always room for improvement. Whether it's posing, next year's conditioning, gaining size, or switching up how you train. There's always something to improve on and that's how I look at life. When we get satisfied with where we are we tend to not go anywhere, or worse, we sometimes fall backwards.

I believe that anyone can reach their goals and enjoy the process at the same time. Bodybuilding, for example, is commonly looked at as a drudgingly long and painful type of sport, of man vs. weight, man vs. food, and man vs. man. Honestly, why make it sound so daunting? I'm having the time of my life, making friends, traveling, building a business, going to college, all while being a natural competitive bodybuilder. See for yourself because what I say is not a lie; go ahead and check my youtube channel. I'm crushing weights, weighing my food, counting macronutrients, and having a hardcore training mentality but at the same time loving every second of it. If you think I'm the only one, trust me, I'm not. Go look up my coaches because they're having a blast too.

Speaking of coaches, that leads me to my next subject. I believe that my thirst for learning has also benefitted me greatly in my life and bodybuilding career. Learning from the experts, the pros, accelerated my bodybuilding career more than any other discovery I'd ever made. I've read books, done hundreds of hours of research, self-experimented, everything. I can't believe it took me nearly 5 years before I learned that hiring a coach was the fastest way to learn about competitive bodybuilding.

I'm far from the bookworm scholar. I am no dummy, neither. It's funny, because while I may just breeze by some of my college classes without giving much a care, other subjects and concepts I go well out of my way to study and research. This year I bought around 20 books about business entrepreneurship, self help, and personal finance. I'm crazy, right? But, that stuff really interests me. I have a thirst for learning. "The great aim of education is not knowledge but action." This quote from Herbert Spencer rings true for me. I hold this mentality when it comes to what I filter as far as bodybuilding advice. I kind of laugh to myself when I hear youngsters preach bodybuilding science beyond the point of annoying but come to look at their physique and they show no proof of success for what they "believe". Proof first, and then preach my friends.

Aside from what I've said, I'm really not too hard to get to know. You can meet me by watching my youtube videos or by meeting with me in real life! Neither is too hard.

WP: What was it that made you know without a doubt that you wanted to go into bodybuilding?

Growing up, I had always been athletic and fit, but when it came to sports, I wasn't passionate about any in particular, nor did I have exceptional talent in any. For most sports it seemed like you had to have been exposed to them for quite a while in order to be any good at them. Most of the kids in the high school football team played football in recreational teams earlier in their lives. Most of the basketball players played on basketball teams in their middle schools. Many of today's sports, to be "great" at them, you have to have been practicing them at quite a young age or be truly gifted.

I remember I always had a fascination with big and strong people. Nobody wants to be frail and weak, right? If there was the Superbowl, the NBA Finals, or the World's Strongest Man competition all playing at the same time on the television, take a guess which one I'd watch. I remember when I was in the 8th grade, a friend of mine who graduated from the 8th grade the year before came back to visit for a day. You could tell that he had started to work out. Even though in reality he probably hadn't grown that much, even the slightest bit of added muscle (and of course the added fat) looked so different and great on him. Seeing for myself that someone who I had known changed the way they looked so much in just a short period of time really excited me.

I was a couple years off from when I knew it would be safe for me to start lifting weights. So I patiently waited. In the meantime, I kept going at my hobby at the time, which was break dancing. Good thing for me, break dancing helped me grow a ton of strength and flexibility, much like that of a gymnast. It also was a great confidence and social skills booster as I started to grow and become comfortable with myself, and dance and battle in front of larger and increasingly larger groups of people.

Each year in high school I grew stronger and added precious muscle to my body. I knew weightlifting but nothing about competitive bodybuilding. I didn't have the guts to get down and dirty and compete just yet. I wasn't that decisive back in high school. I did enter into my schools competitions, though. Looking back at them, there were probably more spectators at these competitions than at my real ones! The whole high school was there! Still though, there was a smell of "unofficial", so none of us competing felt all that pressured the way you feel in a real competition.

Later on in college, I finally decided to compete. At my first official competition back in October 201 I did horrible. I ended up coming to the show with a package that I wasn't proud of conditioning-wise. Funny thing though, I actually thought that I was going to go into the show and win it. What a blow to my ego, because not only did I not win, I also looked in the mirror and came to the reality that I looked nothing like how I should have, conditioning-wise. After that, I told myself that I would make serious changes and bring something to the table in 2011 that I could be proud of.

I had met up and teamed up with 3dmusclejourney of www.3dmusclejourney.com and begun bodybuilding competition preparation coaching in April 2011. The rest is history.

WP: How long have you been lifting?

I have been lifting for what's approaching 5 years.

WP: What competitions have you appeared in and what place did you win?

2008 Mr. Bella Vista - 2nd place

2009 Mr. Bella Vista - 1st place

2010 ABA/INBA Western USA Bodybuilding Championship / Bay Area Natural - 2nd place teens 18-19, 2nd place juniors

2011 NANBF California Natural Muscle Mayhem - 2nd place men's open short

2011 NANBF Washington State Natural - 1st place men's open short

WP: Do you have any advice to people that wish to build more mass and/or more cut?

I will twist the question a bit, all in favor of truly benefitting the reader. My best piece of advice is to hire a coach (or a team of coaches) or associate yourself with experts and great people. Whether it be paying some money, or taking your bodybuilding hero out to lunch and making friends with him or her. Take the shortest point from A to B. That means cut the crap, find out what works, and do it. Inversely, find out what doesn't work, and eliminate it from your life.

Don't believe everything you hear or read about bodybuilding. Let EVERYTHING go through the fine filter of, "Who's telling me this? Is that person credible (education, trophies, experience)? Does that person look how I want to look, or perform how I want to perform? Does that person train people who look the way I want to look, or perform how I want to perform? Is this person believable and respectable? Is there scientific proof or firsthand statements regarding this? How many years of experience does this person have in relation to others?" I find that most kids believe all too quickly what their closest friends tell them, or what they might find online or in magazines.

Once again, hire a truly credible coach and find out what works. That's what I did this year. Look what happened.

WP: What do you eat in a normal day?

As of now my macronutrient counts are as follows: 50-60 grams of fat, 400 grams of carbs, and 225-250 grams of protein per day. My coach and I are simply testing this out for a week. This may change next week, or it may change next month. It all depends on what my goal for the week, month, half year, or year is.

Food-wise, I generally eat 1-2 vegetables per day, as well as 1-2 fruits per day. Other than that, I pretty much eat whatever I want that fits my macronutrient targets for the given day. This doesn't mean I eat "crap" all day. I actually enjoy eating wholesome foods, and in fact I prefer them over calorie dense foods, like candy. You feel fuller. I like feeling full even if the food is slightly less tasty.

When I say "fit my macronutrient targets" I mean that the true, nitty gritty, down to the tiniest denominator of foods, the macronutrients fits what I'm aiming for. The amount of proteins fits how much protein I want to intake and same for fats and carbohydrates. I and many other competitive bodybuilders use this simple method on and off season to be better scientists and engineers of our bodies. This means we weigh our foods, use online databases and applications or mobile phone applications, and tally up exactly what we consume.

People will always think that the idea of weighing foods and macronutrient counting is overdoing it, but really it's not. I can tell you myself, that I've found a HUGE difference between the both competitive and uncompetitive bodybuilders who do and do not utilize the idea of macronutrient precision. It's super effective, plus it's also really fun and easy. Let's pose common magazine and "broscience" knowledge versus what my coaches have helped me realize. Who seem more crazy and whose life is more negatively impacted by bodybuilding? The kid who has to leave the party or social event to go home and eat his unweighed chicken breast and broccoli (the kid who doesn't weigh his foods but, thinks he must eat every 2-3 hours), or the kid who has a knowledge of macronutrient counting and decides to eat what he wants (that fits his macronutrient goals, easy to do), when he wants, AND gets far more superior results than the fanatical old-school broscience kid? I'll take the ladder any day.

WP: Do you allow yourself a cheat day?

I guess this question depends on what you consider is a cheat day. During my first true contest preparation season from April up through July 2011, I did not allow myself a single "cheat day". All that is required for a day to go from "regular" to a "cheat" day is letting myself go over my designated macronutrient targets (fats, proteins, carbs).

Don't let cheat day scare you though, all is not lost if I or anyone goes slightly above goals on a day though, because if I do accidentally or knowingly go over limit of a specific macronutrient during a day, a simple "fix" that can be applied to maximize precision is to lower the following days specific macronutrient goal for the specific amount which I went over. It's not a major deal if I go over but, I'll stick to my goals as much as possible. On season when I'm cutting, it's a bigger deal than off-season, of course.

Even during the off-season, I exercise as much discipline as possible despite the fact that I'm offseason. I don't binge and I set macronutrient guidelines. I control as much as I can. I measure everything so that I can truly analyze myself and am as much the sculptor of my body as possible. Those who don't understand and utilize macronutrients as a tool for bodybuilding are missing out in my opinion. I've yet to meet a champion natural bodybuilder who hasn't utilized macros, but maybe time will change that.

WP: What supplements do you take?

I take 5 grams of creatine daily, normally post-workout. I will eat protein powder when I'm in the mood for a protein cake, or if the circumstances warrant that I must have a protein shake (driving to school or in a hurry). I'll take wholesome protein over liquid protein any day of the week. Food is my friend.

I normally take organic multi-vitamins when I can afford it otherwise, I'll take the cheap stuff. I take 3-4 grams of fish oil per day. If I have a pre-workout supplement, I'll take it. If I don't have any, it's no big deal. I don't prefer any brand of supplements.

WP: Could you tell me a story of how you have gotten where you are today?

This is a nice question, but it is too much to answer. I think my story is pretty clear from the videos that I post on http://www.youtube.com/flexforall2 which is my primary youtube channel.

WP: Do you have anyone you can thank for helping you get where you are?

I'd like to thank every man and woman whose service to my country has allowed me to be born into and grow up with freedom. I want to literally thank everyone who's ever reached out to me. Thank you! Most notably, my friends, family, girlfriend, and fraternity-brotherhood, all of my youtube friends and associates, my coaches/crew 3dmusclejourney from www.3dmusclejourney.com , John Mitchell of www.bbpics.com, Allan Finkelstein, those who I've met on my bodybuilding adventures up and down the west coast, and thank you to all those involved in helping support the sport of natural bodybuilding, so that people like me have a hobby and sport to participate in. We truly are a weird, but awesome group of people. I know there are many people who I am forgetting to include. I thank you as well. Thank you to all of the natural bodybuilders I met this year, like Paul Albert's, Paul Stone, Moji, Carlo, Adam, Kenny, Jordan, etc... Once again I'm missing out on many individuals, you know who you are. Meeting all of you has been a blessing. Your words and more so your actions, keep me motivated and inspired to keep pursuing this sport and lifestyle. You inspire me to do better in my own personal life as well.

WP: Where do you want to be in 5 years?

In 5 years I want to have surpassed every expectation that I have ever set for myself. Looking at myself now and jumping back to compare it to 5 years ago, I could have never expected myself to do what I've already done so far. I know I will be successful.

WP: You look great! How do you keep the physique you have? What is the hardest thing for you to face when it comes to keeping your physique ?

The number one reason I was able to bring the physique I brought to my competitions in July 2011 was because of raw desire. It wasn't just any desire. It was a desire that I allowed and encouraged to grow exponentially. Desire for my goals - brought me to my goals. Desire drove me to seek out and hire coaches. Desire kept me hitting my macronutrient targets day in and day out. Desire to look my best come competition day gave me strength when I felt dead tired but still had to fit in cardio before midnight. Desire kept me focused on my end goal. It was this same principle of sheer desire, in this case to compete, to enter into two of the biggest, best, and most competitive natural bodybuilding shows that the west coast has to offer. Don't forget, it was this desire that kept me awake during the 13+ hour drive to Seattle, Washington where I had placed first in the Men's Open Class at the NANBF Washington State Naturals. Excitement to tell everyone my experience (more than the win itself) was what kept me awake on the ride home. Nonetheless, everything I go for all begins with desire.

Aside from desire I attribute much of my success in my conditioning to my coaches; Eric Helms, Jeff Albert's, Alberto Nunez, and Brad Loomis. Their website is www.3dmusclejourney.com . Lucky for me, my coaches taught me many things that make prepping for a competition very enjoyable yet pinpoint accurate. I learned the things about bodybuilding competition that magazines and websites unfortunately neglect to tell people. I can't blame the media, what I did isn't exactly for the undisciplined, which makes up the majority of people, but to be honest it wasn't all too hard.

So here I am, looking great AND feeling great; happy and healthy at the same time. Crazy, ain't it? The hardest thing when it comes to keeping up my physique is remembering to keep everything else in my life in balance. My physique and competitive bodybuilding is important to me, but that shouldn't mean that I neglect my girlfriend, my family, my friends, and my other responsibilities. School is also extremely important.

WP: Tell me about your future projects. Have any in sight?

I'm working on an exciting new venture right now that will expand my growing network and impact many, many people.

WP: Are you married, dating, or do you have kids?

I am currently dating a wonderful young lady. I don't think there's a single girl in the world that could put up with my craziness more than her! Props!

WP: Who had the most impact on you growing up?

My two parents and my grandmother had the most impact on me while growing up. Although my grandmother is long past, I still learn something from the three of them each and every day. They really helped make me who I am and I owe everything that I am to each of them.

WP: What is your work-out regimen?

My current workout regimen is actually a program available online and for purchase. It's called "Jim Wendler's 5/3/1". You can find it on amazon.com Orwith a simple Google search; you can find all you could ever want to know about the program.

I know people would love for me to lay out a template that they could follow, but you're much better benefitting from me telling you about the Jim Wendler 5/3/1. It works. Period.

In the future I will change my workout regimen as I see fit, but generally I like to follow programs that, through doing research, I know work or are based off of what I know gives results. This describes programs that I've used in the past.

WP: Have you played in sports before?

Before competitive natural bodybuilding, I had only participated recreationally in other sports such as basketball, baseball, and football. I have always been quite athletic and strong but for whatever reason, I never joined the sports teams in middle or high school. I guess bodybuilding was waiting for me!

WP: Anything you would like to see change in the bodybuilding world?

There are a few things I'd like to see change in the bodybuilding world. Some of these things I will keep to myself. I would definitely like to see more publicity and exposure for natural competitive bodybuilding. It's an amazing hobby and sport for us competitors and I think that in the future it has the possibility to become a great sport. Unfortunately, there's some uneasy tension between the topic of natural vs. "untested" competitive bodybuilding. Being natural for life is a personal preference for me and it would be a lie to say that I'm not at least slightly biased towards natural bodybuilding. "Bigboy" bodybuilding gets so much more publicity and attention than natural bodybuilding, that's a fact. I won't argue and debate which side is better, more righteous, or healthier. Nobody cares. All I'd like to see is more attention towards the natural side of the sport. It's not much to ask, for anyone. It's a goal of mine to do something about it though.

WP: Any shout outs?

I have so many personal shout outs. If I started writing them, I would never finish! First and foremost, shout outs to my parents, girlfriend, and closest family and friends. I'd like to shout out to John Mitchell for helping me learn a lot about fitness photography and gaining exposure as a natural bodybuilder and if I went the route, as a model. The experience in Socal was unforgettable. Shoot out to the Misc (bodybuilding.com forums). Shout out to youtube and everyone on it. Shout out to the Philippines and Australia and, heck, every continent on this wonderful world. I'd like to make a shout out to every brother of my fraternity. You guys are the future. Shout outs to my personal sponsors who have actively helped me out, I wouldn't be where I am without them. Shout out to each coach of 3dmusclejourney, especially Eric and Jeff. You guys are big role models and heroes of mine. Sincerely. Shout out to all my fellow competitive natural bodybuilders! Let's build this sport together! We are the future! Shout out to the entire world. I'm Matt Ogus. I love you.

WP: What is your greatest achievement in bodybuilding?

Oddly, my greatest bodybuilding achievement wasn't my recent 1st place in the Men's Open Short class at the NANBF Washington State Naturals. My greatest bodybuilding achievement was everything that I did on the side of bodybuilding. It was deciding to make the most out of my life all while being a diehard natural competitive bodybuilder.

Truly, the experience is worth more than the end goal, whether it be trophies, titles, or money. For me, part of my greatest achievement was opening myself to others and changing the way that I lived. It was getting out of my comfort zone and doing crazy things, such as flying photographers out from the east coast to the west coast for photo shooting, meeting people in real life who I'd only known in the online world, driving from Sacramento, California to Seattle, Washington (to and fro, over 26 hours of driving for just one trip) to compete. My greatest achievement was coming to the reality that I was a complete beginner and that I could use help. My greatest achievement was acknowledging that I needed coaches, and hiring them. It was quitting my old line of work which brought me tons of money but couldn't bring me genuine happiness. It was taking many of the giant leaps of faith that I've made, all of which have shaped me into who I am today. My greatest achievement in bodybuilding was more than just bodybuilding. It was finding myself.

WP: What are your interests outside of bodybuilding?

Outside of bodybuilding, I'm very interested in education. I'm currently a 3rd year at Sacramento State University and studying to attain a degree in business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship. More so than the degree itself, I'm looking to attain knowledge that I can put into action in creating a company of my own.

I'm a proud brother of my fraternity, Chi Rho Omicron Inc. We are dedicated to promoting the understanding, enrichment, and appreciation of the Filipino culture, history, and heritage, all through a brotherhood-family environment. We also do our best to instill in ourselves and others the desire for self improvement, scholastic excellence, and the cultivation of civic responsibility. That means spreading awareness of Filipino issues occurring both presently and in the past. I love learning about my heritage and sharing it with others.

Nobody's heritage is necessarily better than anyone else's. The good thing is that we can all be proud of what and who we are. I think that makes the world a better place. Community service is also a big part of what we do. We've helped in events in support of domestic violence awareness such as, "My Sister's House". We support fundraising for cancer research in events like the "Battle Against Cancer" which was a freestyle rap battle we held to raise money. We volunteer annually in a San Francisco event called "Kamayan", officially hosted by the sorority Kappa Psi Epsilon, to personally help out and give back to Filipino Veteranos of World War 2 who continue to this day to not receive full benefits which were promised to them by the US government. Little things like this are what we do to give back and enhance the experience of life for students and our elders alike.

WP: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I simply would like to be more organized. I have passion. I have ideas. I have the ability to make decisions. I need organization.

WP: What was it like shooting with John Mitchell?

Shooting with John Mitchell of bbpics.com was an amazing experience that I could never forget. Once again check my youtube channels to see what I mean. I'm glad that my first experience of photo-shooting was with John because he introduced me to the possibilities of fitness modeling better than anyone else could have. Modeling is a still a very new thing for me. It's not a necessary life goal for me to become a model but after meeting John I've learned the how-to's of photography and modeling. I'd like to give a big thanks to John for that. "Thank you, captain!" I'm sure there will be opportunities in the future for me with modeling, and I will take them on as they come. For now though, modeling isn't in my game plan. I love looking great and being on magazines or advertisements sounds appealing but I think I want a bigger effect on the world than just that. It's not how I want to pursue a living. Publicity is great if it helps me accomplish my end goals, but it's not my end goal itself.

I'm not downplaying the topic of modeling at all! Heck, I plan on photo-shooting with John Mitchell again in the summer of 2012 and I plan on getting featured in magazines to spread natural bodybuilding awareness and recognition. I think my physique my physique between now and then will make great improvements. Even pictures we took this year, I believe can be a good representation of natural bodybuilding and what can be achieved for every man or woman. Not that I see myself superior in any way shape or form to anybody else, but I think my photos would be great to represent my values inside magazines and online articles. I believe my lifestyle and values attached to the amazing photos John and I shot and will be shooting can motivate and change the lives of many.

WP: Is there anything else you would like to add? Now is the time!

I'd like to say thank you for this interview and the opportunity! I have a lot to offer to the world. Make sure to check me out on facebook because I am very personal and consistent when it comes to staying connected with everyone who's a part of my life, in one way or another.

WP: You have been a pleasure to interview! Thank you for your time and good luck in your future bodybuilding endeavors!