did, breaking the rules as young
guys do,” he jokes.
After a year, James outgrew the
leisure centre and joined Pinks Gym,
where he met his friend Luke- a
competitive bodybuilder.
“I went to my first bodybuilding
show when I was 16,” recalls James.
“I was in astonished and felt totally
in awe of the physiques lined up on
stage.”
Despite being impressed, James
wasn’t interested in bodybuilding at
first. Instead, he enjoyed power and
strength training.
“I spent a few years training and
morphed into this very muscular
physique unintentionally,” he says.
“So, I thought I might as well try my
luck and do a bodybuilding show.”
James was 18 when he first
competed.
“I had no idea about prep, and not
a single clue what I was doing,” he
laughs. “Somehow though, I stepped
on stage and placed 2nd.”
This placing came with an invite to
18
FLEX | MARCH 2018
the British finals, but the rookie
made the decision not to enter.
“At that point, I decided to take
a year off,” he says. “I wanted to
dedicate a full year to growing my
body.”
After enjoying this time to pack
on dense, hard muscle, James was
ready for his next show.
“I felt great that day,” he says.
“I won my class but I also felt like
I had even more to give. This is
where I met JP (Jordan Peters),
who then became my coach.
I believe this is why I went on to
win the Juniors at the British.”
In the following years, James’
progression continued, earning him
many top placings, including a win in
the super heavyweight class at the
British.
“I was thrilled with this result but
didn’t win the overall,” he says. “It
was a good thing looking back that
Nathan De Asha won it though.
I’m the first to admit I wasn’t ready
to go Pro at that stage.”
The New Elevation
The following year, Hollingshead
was on such a high from his
placings that he felt he could do
anything.
“I got asked to climb Kilimanjaro
and I couldn’t say no,” he says. “As
you can imagine, after all the years
of beasting myself in the gym, this
was an exciting new challenge. I had
a fear that life would flash past me
and I wouldn’t have seen anything,
but then the time came to grab
adventure by the horns.
“I was stood at the airport
with 26 other people that would
be joining the trip. I felt as if a
huge weight had been lifted
off shoulders. I wasn’t thinking
about bodybuilding at all. That
was a first.”
This feeling was a real eye opener
for James. So many emotions went
through his mind…
“I was so excited. I hadn’t felt
excitement like that for such a long
time,” he admits. “I actually didn’t feel