W
E HAVE ALL HEARD
stories of being unfortu-
nate with deprivation, but this
story really does show that we
are all able to achieve anything
“strength of mind gives strength
of life”.
Also, there is a huge misconcep-
tion that if you’re a bodybuilder that
your unable to be or do anything
else because of the so called selfish
lifestyle that we are led to believe
you have to follow.
Nathan was brought up in Toxteth
by his mum, all living in a small
council house with his two brothers
26
FLEX | FEBRUARY 2018
NATHAN DE ASHA
IFBB PRO LEAGUE
ONE PERSON WHO NEVER THOUGH THAT
HE WOULD BE ANYTHING MORE THAN A BAD
STATISTIC WAS NATHAN.
and one sister, in a typical Liverpool
suburb where community and moral
values are the strongest commodity
you have.
Looking at how much Nathan
has achieved in such a short time,
I would have expected him to have
a typical idol such as Arnold
Schwarzenegger for his drive and
inspiration, but he didn’t, in fact it
was the footballer John Barnes.
How do you get a love of body-
building from football? It all started
because Nathan had an obsession
with doing sport, the reason for this
is because it was the only escapism
that young people in his community
actually had that wasn’t going to get
them into trouble with the police.
Obviously, every young guy
playing football in Liverpool knows
of the world-famous Wayne Rooney
and how he built a phenomenal
career doing something he loved,
coming from a very normal area and
family.
Nathan played football at a high
level but decided to leave and
eventually found rowing.
After joining the local rowing
camp, Nathan showed massive
potential and was told that if he had