In 2010, St Michael Moodie was at the lowest point in his life. He was 31 and behind bars, locked up at the St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre for attempting to smuggle ganja into a foreign country.

“I come from the garrison and I was working at an accounting firm in 2010 but things were rough for me; I had financial strains and I decided to do something that was against the law,” Moodie recounted to OBSERVER ONLINE.

“So I was exporting some marijuana to an overseas destination and I was stopped at the Norman Manley International Airport and I was searched twice. They found eight pounds of marijuana.”

Moodie shared that he admitted that the ganja was his and was subsequently locked up.

He recalled being at the reception area at the prison and an officer, looking at his five feet 10 inches, 140 pound frame, asked ‘how you going to manage prison?’ to which he replied nervously, ‘I will try’.

But it was the pain of having those he loved turn their backs on him, rather than the need to protect himself in prison, that was the foundation for Moodie discovering his passion.

He would do push-ups and sit-ups daily, and when he could, he would go to the gym.

“Bodybuilding found me,” Moodie said. “Friends and family members turned their backs on me, so I would usually do like 1,000 sit ups per day, and do like 500 push-ups because I was trying to get over my anger but I was also trying not to hurt myself because I know people who pass their time in different ways and [exercise] was what I did,” Moodie said.

He said he served only six months of a nine-month prison sentence, having been released early due to good behaviour.  During his short stay in the penal system, according to Moodie, he was transferred from the adult correctional facility to the Tamarind Farm Correctional Centre where he was an orderly who taught remedial mathematics to other inmates.

“When I came out in August 2010, I started bodybuilding. It became a passion for me,” Moodie said.

He went on to add that competing in the sport began three years later in 2013.

“I remember I was walking one day and I heard about some Supligen thing (the Supligen-sponsored national bodybuilding competition) and I reached out to a particular person who I knew sold Supligen and he had sent me to another person named Boxer, a former Mr Jamaica.”

“They told me that the show was in a few months and they started to coach me and teach me how to pose and I entered the show. It was hosted by the Jamaica Body Builders Association and I came fifth but that fifth place felt like first. I felt like I actually did something positive and from there I grew,” Moodie shared, smiling.

He added that he went back to the competition in 2014 and placed third, before entering another year and placing second. Then in 2016 he went to Antigua where he represented Jamaica and placed third in a bodybuilding competition.

This, Moodie explained, was the start of his bodybuilding career.  While working at the Spartan Health Club as a licenced personal trainer, he shared that he met the person who would turn out to be his coach who helped him to transition from the elite league to a professional league bodybuilder in men’s physique. Though without a sponsor, Moodie answered yes to the proposal.

“We grew from there and my first pro league show was in Nassau, Bahamas on December 1, 2018 and I came second twice; I came second in masters over 35 and second overall in the men’s physique,” he recalled.

He shared with OBSERVER ONLINE that his main aim now is to go to the 2022 Bodybuilding Olympia in the United States. He has the points to get there, but is being restricted due to his past conviction.

“I went to the embassy in 2019 and I never lied, I wrote that I was incarcerated and I never got a visa. Because I have a record, it is hampering me and I have met a lot of athletes who have had setbacks so I am currently hoping that there is someone who would take my case into consideration to have my record expunged; some leniency since this is what is keeping me from getting a visa and going further in the sport,” Moodie said.

“I can say that I am one of the few that came out of prison and I made something good of myself because here I am, I have paid the price for what I did but when I go on the stage they are not just saying my name, they are saying St Michael Moodie from Jamaica. So secretly I am an ambassador for Jamaica.”

Moodie went on to state that though a bodybuilding career has not repaid what he has invested in preparation for shows and daily upkeep, he loves the sport and is passionate about going further in his career.

“If I thought about the money that I have invested in becoming a professional bodybuilder I would have stopped already but I love this sport. It took me seven long years to become a pro because of my setback. I could not get to certain regions to compete but it is the passion, consistency and the perseverance and love for the sport that has kept me going,” he said.

Moodie shared that this sport which started out as a means of escape, has turned into something he loves and the means to leave a legacy behind his name.