#Strapup Cardillo Bodybuilding History

We all remember that momentous day we first set foot in the gym... that overwhelming feeling of being small prey walking into the jungle and squaring up to hungry predators.

- Darren Nicholhurst

Many years ago, gyms were very different. A beginner wouldn’t go out and buy all the training gear he needed BEFORE he went to the gym- it was unheard of. Many months would pass before he felt brave enough to buy a vest and belt and wear it in the gym. If he did, others would ridicule him for not being experienced enough to warrant wearing those types of accessories.

Things have come a long way since then. Social media has spread the gym culture like a fitness pandemic, everyone is now kicking ass in the gym, and not only that, they are also wearing what they deem to be the correct style for the genre of fitness they follow. Long gone are the days of the saying, “all the gear, no idea”.

There aren’t many people in the sport and fitness industries who have been styling and supporting the market from the very beginning, when bodybuilding first became mainstream globally. Talking from my own experience and having watched many come and go, it appears that only the genuine, loyal and fan caring few are the ones who’ve survived.

Am I Good Enough?

Am I good enough? That was the first question I asked myself when I saw the legend Dorian Yates wearing a Cardillo weight belt. I remember rifling though the pages of FLEX magazine over and over again, seeing every top mass monster wearing a personalised belt.

Surely these were only for the pros? So, I made it my mission to get myself my own special Cardillo belt, at any cost.