63 year old Liverpool bodybuilder sets his sights on becoming Mr Universe

He was pipped to the post this year, but Liverpool bodybuilder Ian Fitzmaurice says he’s more determined than ever to become Mr Universe.

Ian, 63, from Croxteth, came second in the National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association’s (NABBA) Mr Universe contest in Newcastle on Sunday – the first time it’s ever held an over 60s category.

Now he says he’ll take a year off to give his body the chance to rest and then:

“In the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, I’ll be back!”

The father-of two said:

“I was very disappointed on Sunday because you put yourself through a lot to compete.”

But he added:

“I enjoy what I do – and I want to be Mr Universe. That’s my goal.

“So I’m taking 12 months off to look after myself and then I’ll be back, a million per cent.

“I’ll be competing for Mr Universe 2027 and I’ll win it. Just you watch!”

The former gym owner who’s now a personal trainer was originally a bodybuilder more than 30 years ago, taking part in just three competitions including Mr UK and NABBA North West – and winning every single one.

“And that was me then, I’d done it.”

He took up the sport again in 2023 after daughters Holly and Heidi persuaded him to give it another go to raise money for Dementia UK.

Ian explained:

“My late mother-in-law Maureen had dementia and it’s awful, frightening the way it changes you, and so I decided I wanted to do something and raise money.

“I thought I’d do a sponsored walk or something, but Holly said ‘why don’t you do a bodybuilding show again?’.

“I’ve always looked after myself and stayed in good nick, and so I started to train.”

It’s hard work. When he’s competing Ian follows a strict diet of rice, potatoes, chicken, fish and whey protein – ‘everything’s clean’ – and undergoes a demanding training schedule, with more than six hours a day in the gym, six days a week.

“I get up around 6am and do a two-hour cardio session, with maybe half an hour on the exercise bike, a half hour on the stepper, walking on the treadmill and then back to the exercise bike.

“I I train one body part in the morning, maybe chest, and then another in the afternoon, arms, triceps, shoulders etc.

“Later on, I’ll do another hour’s cardio, maybe a walk.”

Ian competed in 11 competitions last year, raising £8,000 for Dementia UK.

This year – raising money for the James Bulger Memorial Trust – he took part in three, NABBA North West, Mr Great Britain and Mr Universe which, if he’d won, would have meant he was the first person over 60 ever to take the title.

He added:

“And I’m not stopping now,”

“I was so close.

“I’ll take some time off to rest and step up my online training work, but I’ll try again and I’ll still keep myself in this condition. I like being like this and I feel great mentally.

“I got into bodybuilding when I was about 15, because I was into football and I went from playing kids my own age to playing men, the old alehouse teams who kicked lumps out of you on a Sunday after too many pints the night before.

“I wanted to beef myself up a bit and it started from there.

“But it’s now my lifeline too. I have struggled with my mental health since I was young, and feeling depressed is an awful place to be in.

“Training releases all the endorphins and serotonin that keep me feeling good and positive.

“And people say I’m inspiring too, to be still competing over 60. Men of 40 say they thought they were finished and see me and realise that they can go on. I have recently seen someone online who’s 90 and he looks about 60, he looks amazing. And he’s inspiring me!”

Ian said it would mean the world to win Mr Universe and take the prestigious world title:

“I’m so glad the girls got me back into this. Everything happens for a reason and, 30 years on, this is the right time.

“And it’s all or nothing for me. I will have a rest, and then I will be back.

“I’ve got a goal – and I’m going to achieve it. I will be Mr Universe 2027.”

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