2007 NPC Jr Nationals Light Heavyweight Champion, Branden Ray has just signed an exclusive contract with Team Muscular Development.  The CNN producer and current Washington, DC resident has his sights set on the 2008 NPC USA where he hopes to sweep his class and the overall en route to taking home his IFBB Pro Card.  Look for the man that Steve Blechman calls, "The Other Ray" to leave his mark on the NPC pro-qualifying scene in the very near future!

NOTE:  The following Flex Wheeler interview with Branden appeared in a previous issue of Muscular Development magazine. 

BRANDEN RAY, THE BROOKLYN KNIGHT

The Kid From The Hood Talks Politics, Bodybuilding And The Future

PQ: "I've met President Bush and the First Lady, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell. I was at Rumsfeld's house. I've met everybody!"

PQ: "When I returned to the gym, everyone felt like they won the Junior Nationals light-heavyweight title. It's a great feeling. I love to give back for everything I've received. I thought about getting into politics for this reason. I'd love to be a congressman for New York."

PQ: "My dad recently got into it with a newsstand guy because they didn't have the latest issue of MD."

If you were at the Junior Nationals this past June, you were treated to the birth of a new star who stormed out of nowhere to shatter the competition and capture the light-heavyweight class in stunning fashion. Those who complained about the lack of young, promising talent on the bodybuilding horizon couldn't have asked for a better remedy. Right now, we've got no less than three young lions making their mark in the sport. Now you can add the fresh new face and physique of Branden Ray to that list. And get this, on top of turning the bodybuilding world on his ear, he works for CNN! We caught up with the kid with dynamite potential for a serious sit down and let me tell you, for this young man, the sky's the limit. Sit back and enjoy the unveiling of one of bodybuilding's brightest new stars, Branden Ray.

FW: We're here with Branden Ray, the 2007 NPC Junior Nationals light-heavyweight champion. Branden, what's your full name?

BR: Branden Marcus Ray.

FW: How old are you again?

BR: 27 years old. My birthday was on Saturday.

FW: And where are you from?

BR: Originally from Brooklyn, New York- the Crown Heights section.

FW: So you're hardcore, huh?

BR: Yup, have to be coming from Brooklyn.

FW: Any siblings?

BR: No, I'm an only child.

FW: An only child. Were you spoiled?

BR: I guess I was a little spoiled by my mom.

FW: Tell me about your childhood growing up in Brooklyn.

BR: Well, it was a rough neighborhood, but I had it real good because my family was very close-knit. I was provided with everything a child needed growing up.

FW: Was it just you and your parents?

BR: No, no. It was also my uncles, aunts, grandmother, cousins- you name it. Everybody helped out. I was very athletic as a kid, so whenever I played my whole family came out to support.

FW: And what sports did you play?

BR: In New York and New Jersey, the only sport in the world is basketball. That was it. I played a little bit of everything else, but basketball was the main thing. I mean, growing up in that neighborhood, you had to have a killer crossover. Let me put it to you like this: you weren't getting a girlfriend unless you had a crossover!

FW: And how was your crossover?

BR: I had the best crossover; still do- no- probably not anymore. You know, basketball was a passion. I was so focused. Even though I was shorter than everybody else, I was thick and muscular. I would tell my family that I wanted to be 6'6" like Michael Jordan but my mother told me to find something else. She said I wasn't going to make 6 feet.

FW: Did you break a few cats' ankles with that crossover?

BR: Believe it or not, I did! I was 15 and there was this older guy talking trash so I put it on him and he hit the earth. Later, I found that he got a couple of screws in his ankle to hold it together. The park bench was the gathering place, so everybody saw it. The whole neighborhood knew that when I got on the court, you'd better watch out.

FW: Maybe you and Phil Heath can get down.

BR: Ha! Phil's great. When we met at the 2006 Bodyrock in Virginia, I told him we have to get a game going. He just started laughing. He took one look at my calves and said, "You could probably jump through the roof!"

FW: You must have mad vertical skills.

BR: No, not like Phil. I have to give him props. Right now, I'd be lucky to touch the net.

FW: So, being such a baller, how is it that you got into this thing of ours?

BR: In college, I used to play ball at this Gold's Gym. Actually, let me take you back a second to high school, because Coach made us lift weights. But I was never into it. I was already muscular and people said I didn't look like a basketball player. They said I needed to play football, because I was built like a running back. So I never wanted to get too thick. I would cheat and say I lifted even though I hadn't. But back to Gold's- obviously, there were a lot of bodybuilders there and one of them turned out to be real good friends with Don Long, which is eventually how we met. Due to my genetics, these guys would get on me to give up basketball and get in there and start lifting weights with them.

FW: Where and when was this?

BR: Maryland. I went to college at the University of Maryland, College Park. That was 1998-1999. How it came to play was the guys kept hounding me to lift. But I held my ground. Then one day, I went into a GNC to get an energy drink for basketball and I saw a magazine with you and Kevin Levrone in it. I started flipping through it and my first reaction was, "Damn! This is kind of cool." I was 18 years old and I had never seen anything like it before. I thought to myself, if I could look like this, why not? So finally, the guys won out. I had the magazine with me and one of them goes, "Kevin lives like 1/2 hour away from here." That shocked me. You mean this dude in the magazine lives right here? Eventually, he came into the gym to speak and I was so nervous; I sat in the back. The next day I got some workout gloves and never looked at the court again.  

FW: After all that balling, you walked away for the iron.

BR: Yup! I gave it up cold turkey. With my genetics, in about two or three weeks, I started seeing a difference. Here I was, all of 18 and all it took was for one girl to say, "Ooohh, you must work out." I never looked back!

FW: You must be highly influenced by the ladies. Are you a ladies' man?

BR: Yeah, I like the ladies. In the beginning, I did it for them. I'd wear a wife-beater in 30-degree weather. I'd be freezing, but you have to show off the arms.

FW: And how did it progress from there?

BR: It was crazy. I started lifting and looking back now, I have to thank God that I learned the right way. You know a lot of people don't learn until much later in life and as a result, they may have suffered injuries or failed to make progress.

FW: How were you so fortunate to get it right- right off the bat?

BR: It's actually funny, because this guy named RJ, he was gunning! So I asked him how he got guns like that and he said, "Your arms won't grow until you can leg press 1,000 pounds. Being young and dumb, I took it to heart. Every other day, I was hitting the leg press, trying to get to 1,000. Finally I got there, but my arms weren't any bigger. So I asked him again and he said I have to squat first. So I bought the Arnold Encyclopedia to learn the proper form. He said I'd have to squat 315 for my arms to grow. I learned and squatted 315. Eventually, he had me deadlifting. Throughout the whole thing, I did all the exercises that young guys neglect. I learned proper form. I hooked up with him again when I went to Los Angeles for photo shoots and we just laughed and laughed.

FW: In hindsight, did you ask him why he had you approach it in that way?

BR: Yeah, I asked him after the shoot and he said because the first thing young guys want is big arms and they neglect their legs. He saw that I had great potential so he had me building my legs from the beginning. He wanted me to start off doing the exercises that people forget about, the basics. So I was squatting and deadlifting off the floor. That built my foundation.

FW: Let's back off from bodybuilding for a moment. Obviously, you must have done pretty well in school, too. How far did you go?

BR: I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Communications. I've been an honor student all my life. I graduated top of my class in elementary school, middle and high school.

FW: What was your GPA?

BR: I maintained a 3.8.

FW: Even in college?

BR: Even through college.

FW: What classes did you take?

BR: I took all the English and journalism classes, and the mandatory courses like chemistry, history...I actually started off with high-level calculus because of my math score on the SATs.

FW: Which was?

BR: 710, just on the math.

FW: 710 out of 800 possible. But you're from Brooklyn! I am not feeling you. That's not right.

BR: Let me tell you, I fell asleep during the test because I was hanging out the night before. My mom woke me up that morning because I had forgotten it was test day. I was pretty fortunate when it came to taking tests, so it worked out. Technically, I was a year ahead in school. I was always in advanced placement courses. I was known for being smart, but I was also one of the cool kids and an athlete. So I had a good time. I was friends with everybody...the nerds, the jocks, the thugs.

FW: Again, not feeling you. I'm not liking you right now! Did those mad math skills transfer over to bodybuilding?

BR: You know, in school I would take the most complex math problem and break it down to its simplest form. That's how bodybuilding is. People make it more complicated than it needs to be.

FW: When you were in school taking all these classes, did you have a professional or career goal?

BR: Once I got into my sophomore year, my goal was to get into journalism. I focused intently on it. I had an internship with C-SPAN and worked for the National Geographic channel. Funny enough, while taking all these academic courses, I had to have an elective. Basketball and swimming were full and the only thing left was bodybuilding. I wasn't into it, because I was still playing ball at Gold's at the time. But I took it. I was the strongest guy in the class. By the end of the semester, my physique really changed. That's when I became gung-ho. 

FW: What were some of the most important lessons you learned about this sport that young guys should know?

BR: I was around older guys and they kept telling me that the most important thing about bodybuilding was the lifestyle. People go to the gym every day, but bodybuilding starts outside the gym. It's not just about lifting weights; it's how you sleep, how you eat. I learned how to eat like a bodybuilder. I didn't party, drink or smoke like a lot of 20-year-olds. I slept instead. My physique was my main focus. I had no intention of competing, but I had a vision of you, Kevin and Shawn and that's what I aspired toward. I'd open up a magazine and see a picture of you and Kevin, stand in the front of the mirror and say, "A few more years."

FW: That's an incredible compliment from someone with such a tremendous gift. Tell me about your work.

BR: I work for CNN in Washington, DC. I've been there since 2002 after I graduated from college. I'm an assignment editor. I'm the youngest guy in my position. Basically, I'm responsible for all the logistics of the news stories. I field the breaking stories, assign producers and crews. Every now and then, I'm a field producer, so I work on Capitol Hill, the White House and the State Department with the Pentagon. I'm pretty much involved in all aspects. I plan the events we'll shoot the next day.

FW: You must have some very interesting information.

BR: I have some very interesting information, but we won't go into that right now. 

FW: At your age, and being a young black man, that is impressive. You're rubbing toes with some of the biggest names in the news media.

BR: After awhile, because you do it daily, you take it for granted. It's just like bodybuilding. At the time, you don't realize that with every chest workout, you're building a better chest. You only see the finished product that's a result of all those individual workouts. With my job, I look back to see what I've accomplished. I work for the number one news network in the entire world.

FW: What was your latest assignment?

BR: I just set up an interview with Hillary Clinton.

FW: So you've actually met her?

BR: Oh yeah, I've met her tons of times. I've met President Bush and the First Lady, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell. I was at Rumsfeld's house. I've met everybody!

FW: What is that like? Here you are, coming from Brooklyn.

BR: When you come from Brooklyn, it's easy to limit your purview to that environment. It's like you live in a bubble. The number one thing is just surviving from day to day. I was blessed because of my family. I got the opportunity to step outside and experience the whole scope of the world, especially with my job. I can talk about the stock market, the situation overseas and what happened at the USAs a couple of weeks ago. It diversifies your world. In effect, I get paid to learn.

FW: You must get paid nicely, too.

BR: It's pretty decent; I can't complain. But bodybuilding is an expensive sport. It really hit me when I was at Costco and realized that I had more food than these people who are shopping for their families. This woman saw my cart and asked how many kids I had. She was shocked. All those eggs and all that chicken for you?!

FW: What's the reaction of your co-workers to your physique?

BR: They have so many nicknames for me. I'm the Black Hulk...Captain America. When the refrigerator is stuffed full, they know it's mostly my meals. They laugh at the things I eat. And these are reporters you see on the air. I'm talking White House correspondents. They'll ask, "How's the competition going? Are you eating clean?" Wolf Blitzer tells me that I'm getting too big every time he sees me.

FW: Let me ask you this, on a controversial note, with the whole Barry Bonds situation, do they ever bring up the topic of steroids?

BR: All the time! They tell me to stay away from steroids. I'm asked how much of the sport is about drugs. They make fun of it in the open. When something goes wrong and I get a little upset, they go, "Uh oh, ‘roid rage!'" I learn to live with it. It's all in good fun. We actually had an incident where this woman called security because someone ate her lunch. It just so happened that I was caught on camera taking her lunch because we had the same lunch bag. I didn't even look inside, so I never realized. Afterward, they joked that I get so hungry now I'm eating other people's food.

FW: Let's jump back to bodybuilding. So, you're banging away with no thoughts of competing. How did you get thrown into the competitive arena?

BR: My first one was the East Coast Tournament of Champions. One day I asked a couple of guys for a spot and this guy said his boy Don could guide me the right way. I asked him, "Don who?" He said, "You ever hear of Don Long?" You mean the IFBB pro, Don Long? Hell yeah! So he gives him a call right there, telling him there's this young guy with freaky genetics. I was incline dumbbell pressing 130s at the time with no plans to compete. But they said if I didn't hop onstage I'd be wasting all that talent. At the time, a trainer at my gym, Mike Moore, was preparing for a show. He said I needed to do this show. But I didn't feel too comfortable about walking around in my underwear in front of strangers. I mean, it was a cool sport, but standing in front of people in nothing but your drawers? Watching him prepare, I saw how excited he was and it led me to think that I might do it after all. Then I changed my mind. Luckily, he took it upon himself to sign me up. And that was at four weeks out! What was I supposed to do? I hopped on YouTube and watched videos of you, Kevin and Shawn posing. My study mentality from school kicked in and I researched everything. I was at the library reading Books and practicing my mandatories at night. I dieted for four weeks and won the overall.

FW: And then you were hooked?

BR: I caught the bug, big time! At the weigh-in, I stepped on the scale and people were telling me I looked fantastic, with great structure, shape- all that. And surprisingly, I was comfortable in the posing trunks. I fit in. I remember I wore yellow because you and Chris Cormier wore yellow a lot. After I did my thing, Don told me I needed to do a national-level show. He assured me I'd be ready. I was reluctant, but I looked at photos of Phil Heath and Evan Centopani. These guys looked good, but I thought I could hang a little bit. We settled on the Junior Nationals. So I circled the date on the calendar and busted my ass. Don was with me the whole way. Every night he called me at 11 p.m. I'd have to read him exactly what I ate for the day.

FW: Don is a warrior. He's very militant about his eating. He's one of the true self-educated minds of the sport.

BR: I have so much respect for the sport and lifestyle. People assume it's drugs, drugs, drugs. They don't realize that you have to schedule every aspect of your life. You have to be on a workout schedule, an eating schedule and a sleeping schedule. It's a total commitment. It's not about supplementation or genetics. Don does not rely on genetics. The number one bodybuilder in the world does not have the best genetics. He has the most discipline. He always uses Jay Cutler as a reference. Jay carries his food with him everywhere; Jay never skips a meal. Once, I substituted chicken breasts for egg whites and boy did he let me have it. He said if I was going to substitute chicken breasts for egg whites, he was going to walk away, because evidently I didn't need him. That's how strict he is. You formulate a game plan and stick to it.

FW: How was it when it was all over?

BR: I walked in there and it was just like I dreamt. I told my friends it would be so cool to be interviewed by Flex Wheeler. I'm living a dream and I don't want to wake up. I want to thank all the guys at the gym for their help and support. They told me the last week of training is the most serious. And these guys would be there before me, just to train me. My last workout, I passed out. We did 2 drop sets of 50 rep leg presses, each one supersetted with sissy squats. After that, we did 2 sets of 100 rep leg extensions. Next, it was 2 sets of 100 rep lying leg curls and 2 sets of 100 rep standing leg curls. And they made me pose afterward. During those reps, I questioned myself. Why was I doing this? But now, I know why. I open up the pages of MD and see my pictures. That's why. Once the lights go dark and the smoke clears, it's back in the gym to do it all over again.

FW: What's your dream in life? The sky's the limit. You work at CNN and you have a promising career in bodybuilding.

BR: It's a blessing to have two endeavors that balance each other out. Will I leave CNN if I become a huge success in bodybuilding? I'm letting God guide me. I will not slack on either one. I want to be the best bodybuilder I can be.

FW: If I can give you any advice, I think you can be the best at both. Make history. Be a role model for the young kids. I challenge you to be exceptional.

BR: Before she passed away, my grandma always told me that some of us are chosen to lead. God blessed me with the ability to be successful in pretty much everything I set my sights on. He's given me the strength to have the discipline to stick with it. Honest people who enjoy my success as though it were their own surround me. When I returned to the gym, everyone felt like they won the Junior Nationals light-heavyweight title. It's a great feeling. I love to give back for everything I've received. I thought about getting into politics for this reason. I'd love to be a congressman for New York.

FW: I don't see why you couldn't. If you can't learn from the environment you're in, I don't think anybody can.

BR: I've been very fortunate to meet people at the top of their game. In bodybuilding, how many guys get interviewed by Flex Wheeler? How many guys have Don Long calling to see if everything's OK? When I was dieting down, I was sitting on Capitol Hill eating chicken breasts and rice. They've seen me eating my tilapia and rice. Don texts me, asking if I've eaten my meals. That was the number one thing: don't miss meals! I've busted open a can of tuna in some odd places.

FW: What's the next competition?

BR: Aiming for the 2008 USAs. Right now, I'm at 225, just started bulking up. I want to make improvements so that I can be a force. It's not so much a size thing as it is little improvements. If you can make those, you'll also have gained size, too. We've been blasting my back. I'm on a strict diet with no junk food. I eat every three hours. I'll do that for the whole year. Don firmly believes I can take one of those pro cards.

FW: I concur with Don. With your tenacity and grit, I don't see anybody standing in your way.

BR: My training split is geared toward bringing up key areas. I'm pretty balanced, but at the pro level, you need a pro-level back. It's not about being 27 years old, because you don't win big shows on potential alone; you need the goods. It's what you bring to the table that day. In order to be a better bodybuilder, you can't be delusional. A lot of guys aren't honest with themselves. They'll never make the improvements they need. All they see are their strengths. In bodybuilding, the successful ones see their weaknesses.

FW: Let me ask you, because of your education you're obviously used to studying. Are you somewhat of a historian on bodybuilding?

BR: Oh yes! I've read about everybody. I was always told that if you admire someone, backtrack and see what path he or she took to lead to success. How did the person do it? What shows did the person do? What approach did he take in his training? I look at guys who have had long, successful careers, like you and Kevin.

FW: Let's play a little word association. Arnold.

BR: Made bodybuilding; popular.

FW: Kevin.

BR: Longevity and success.

FW: Shawn Ray.

BR: I was hoping we were related.

FW: Don Long.

BR: A blessing.

FW: Chris Cormier.

BR: Cool as hell!

FW: Tom Platz.

BR: Ridiculous wheels- ridiculous.

FW: Paul Dillet.

BR: One of the first freaks ever, especially the vascularity across his chest.

FW: Milos.

BR: Definitely admire what he's done after his competitive career.

FW: Paul DeMayo.

BR: One of my top-three favorites of all time.

FW: If you could emulate a bodybuilder, who would it be and why?

BR: As far as stage presence, it would have to be you. A lot of people get nervous before a show, but I'm confident because I know I busted my ass. Nobody can take the stage from me. Training wise, it would have to Dorian. I love his "Blood & Guts" video. He did have a lot of injuries, but he was so hardcore. It looked like he wore rags to the gym. Nothing matched, but he didn't care.

FW: Color.

BR: Yellow.

FW: Car.

BR: Bentley Coupe.

FW: Cheat food.

BR: Mother's lasagna!

FW: Movie.

BR: "The Miseducation of Sonny Carson."

FW: President.

BR: Clinton.

FW: If you could change bodybuilding, what would it be and why?

BR: Bring more people into the sport. It's such an incredible sport. It takes 100 percent discipline. That's something people from all walks of life can respect, not just bodybuilders in the audience. My co-workers know the sport because of me. Everybody has the magazines now. If we became more personable, people wouldn't see us as just freaks. When I was 19, I met Kai Greene in New York City through my uncle and watched him eat chicken after chicken after chicken. I asked him a million questions, but he was cool. I also had a couple of other pros give me guidance for the Jr. Nationals. Rusty Jeffers gave me some posing tips and Willie Stalling gave me some tips before I departed DC for Chicago. Let them know you on a human level.

FW: What do you feel the United States needs to do to step its game up?

BR: Our main language is English and other countries speak and learn our culture. But we're at the point where we turn our back on anything that's not the United States. We don't take the time to learn other languages and cultures. We force others to adopt our language, our culture and way of life. We should educate ourselves on other lifestyles. Maybe we could get along better with other countries if we understood their culture. Also, we need to be aware of what's going on inside our own country. I'm from the neighborhood, so I know there are lots of problems. You can look at the micro levels, but you need to see the macro levels as well and understand that it starts from above.

FW: If you had a choice, who would be President, other than yourself?

BR: Obama. I like him because he's on a humanistic level, which is so crucial to getting people involved. If the public can't relate to you, nothing's going to get accomplished.

FW: What are some of the highlights of your young life, thus far?

BR: Number one would have to be the opportunity to prove myself. When I first went to CNN, I had dreadlocks, but they accepted me. I didn't have to change who I was. Number two is that I'm able to do something that I have a degree in. I know a lot of people who graduated with me in journalism and now they're working as car salesmen. I'm very fortunate. Number three is the fact that my co-workers have embraced my lifestyle. It's unorthodox, but they're respectful and curious. When I injured my shoulder, they were so concerned. When we have pizza or birthday cake, everyone's all, "Branden can't have a slice; don't give him a piece." No man is an island. Life is so much easier and fulfilling when people support you.

FW: How about in bodybuilding?

BR: The first would have to be being trained by Don Long. I'm very lucky to learn what to do and what not to do. Second is winning my class at the Junior Nationals. Third is the night I got an e-mail from Flex Wheeler to do this interview. I was shocked! When I told people at the gym, they weren't surprised at all. They said they knew it was going to happen.

FW: Are your mother and father proud?

BR: It's unbelievable how proud they are. My father and Michael Lockett were going at it, like the scene from "Pumping Iron" with Arnold and Lou's father. My pop was going back and forth with him. It was all in fun. My father was saying, "My son's going to beat you!" Michael said, "No he's not. I got this show!" The worst part was he backed it up. But that's how we got so cool. He's my brother from another mother. My dad recently got into it with a newsstand guy because they didn't have the latest issue of MD.

FW: I heard about that. He goes around the newsstands and gives them an earful if they don't have it.

BR: Now he wants me to come to his job with my trophy in hand because nobody believes him. I'm not walking around New York City with a big old trophy in my hand!

FW: What about your mother?

BR: You know, three weeks out from the show, I called my mother in the middle of the night. I didn't know if I could do this. It was rough and I was drained. We all go through those highs and lows before a show. You know what she said to me? She said, "Cut it out! You ain't no damn punk!"

FW: Where are they from, originally?

BR: Both are from Brooklyn. My mother had me in high school when she was only 15. She's my best friend. She's always there for me. We used to share a bunk bed in our apartment, that's how close we are.

FW: Let's go back to growing up in Brooklyn. What were some of the worst elements that you remember to this day?

BR: The drugs were really bad. There'd be gunshots every other night. You know, there a lot of really good people there. But they depended on substances to escape their reality. People get into drugs and alcohol because they can't face reality. A lot of my friends' parents were on drugs. Growing up, I thought it was like that for everyone, because that's all I knew. I thought it was normal to be on drugs or sell them. It was the best way to get a nice car and jewelry.

FW: How did it affect you? I ask because it might help a kid in a similar environment.

BR: It definitely crossed my mind because those are the people we admire. Of course, it wasn't going to happen in my family. As I got older, I realized that those same people were in jail or dead. But it didn't affect me in a profound way until it got personal. I never realized how rough the neighborhood was until I got to college. Everyday in high school, my main concern was whether or not I'd get robbed walking to school or going home. I mean, 80 percent of us have been robbed at gunpoint.

FW: Did it happen to you?

BR: Yeah. I was walking my girlfriend to her job after school. I was 15 years old, just a kid. A crackhead walked by, grabbed her, put his arm around her neck and a gun to her head. He told us to give it up or else. I thought I was Action Jackson or something. Maybe I could hit him really fast and disarm him. I guess he could see it in my eyes, because he cocked that gun and told me "Don't be stupid and get her killed." He took everything. I went home full of rage. As a man you want to protect your girl. Of course, word travels fast on the streets and this older guy told me to come see him. He had a gun for me. He advised me to start shooting at the next guy I see in a grey sweatshirt. Needless to say, the guy who told me this is in jail for life now. When I got home, that night, my uncle, who had been in the streets, told me I was a schoolboy, not a thug. What was I going to do? He got what he wanted and I got my life. Was I going to break his leg with a gun or give him a black eye with a gun? No. A gun is for one thing and one thing only: to kill. A gun isn't for grazing or wounding...it's for killing. He led by example. He told me I was too smart for this. I remember when I got to college, I brought the whole hood with me to party and chill. I mean there were like 20 guys. One of my boys was this tough dude who, by the age of 18, had already been in jail a few times. I was showing him around campus one night and he started crying. I asked him why and he said, "Man, you're going to make it. I have nothing to live for and you have everything to live for. I can't imagine where you're going to be 10 years from now." That's why I want to give back. I had their support even when they were down and out. I know people who spent their last $7 on MD because I was in it. It takes a whole village to raise a child and when they see that potential in you, it makes all the difference in the world. My success is their success. When it's all said and done, it's your family who you turn to in your hour of need, the loved ones who were there the whole time through the ups and downs. 

FW: It would be great to go back and do a seminar or something.

BR: Once I make enough money, I would love to put computers in the community center. A lot of people don't have the Internet at home. They don't have the luxuries that we consider necessities. There's no dishwasher in the neighborhood. You wash the dishes with your damn hands! You can't flip a switch for the central air in the summer.

FW: With your ability in journalism, it would be interesting to write a book about it.

BR: You know it made me think, no matter what problems people had in their life, the moment they saw me in the magazine, it brought so much joy to their life. What a great thrill. It makes me feel like I was put here for a purpose.

FW: I'd have to say you were. I feel you'll be in a position of power and through that you can shed light on the dark things that go on in your neighborhood.

BR: That's why I want to be a congressman. The whole purpose of language is to communicate, but if you have someone who doesn't speak our language, the people won't listen. They're going to respond to the guy who looks like them and talks like them. They can identify. And they'll respect you because you made it out but then came back, instead of turning your back on your roots.

FW: When's the last time you've been back?

BR: I'm going back next week. I'm going to see my boys. They have tons of jokes about me in posing trunks. Now they know the sport. They're all bragging, saying, "That's my boy! He's killing it!" Even my mother knows the sport. She's asking if I'm OK with my quarter turns, am I dieting for the show or am I bulking up. It's great to bring people in and expose them to another world.

FW: You have the opportunity to speak to millions of people. This is your forum to communicate to a vast audience. What would you like to impart to them?

BR: At the moment when it seems like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, give it another day. Without hope and faith, you become irrational and live just for that moment. Give it some time. I see so many people on the verge of losing it and if they held on for one more day, one more minute and experience the joy that could come at the end, they'd be alright. If something's crushing you down at that moment in time, don't think it's the end of the world. You're always going to have your ups and downs. But if you have hope, faith and love, things will get better.

FW: Again, this is your forum. Obviously you're very appreciative of the people who have helped you in one form or another. Take this time to let them know how gracious you are for their support and guidance.

BR: Endless thank yous to my loving family; they're the reason I'm here. My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you to Don Long for your expertise, understanding and guidance. Steve Blechman, thank you for seeing the potential in me. I'm grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to be interviewed by Flex Wheeler and Dave Palumbo. I want to thank everyone in my whole neighborhood for their support. Thank you to all the people I know in New York, New Jersey and Washington, DC. Thank you to everyone who got my back! This is just the beginning.

FW: I've got to tell you, you said so many kind things about me. This is one of the best interviews I've ever done. It's truly going to be an honor to watch you get down and do your thing. The whole world is going to be your stage. I have high hopes for you. I'm going to be hard on you. I challenge you to reach great heights, because I know you've got it in you. It will be a blessing to see what you can do. The trials and tribulations you went through give you strength to carry more than just Brooklyn on your back.

BR: I praise you as a bodybuilder, Flex. You were the first one I idolized in the sport. But the number one thing I learned and what I admire most is that you are a father, first and foremost. There's nothing greater.

FW: It's a thoroughly humbling experience. Everyday they teach me something new. I'm sure you will experience that joy, too. Do you have a website or e-mail address for the fans? 

BR: People can reach me at myspace.com/branden_ray. I'm open to communicate with anybody. And I'm still a fan of the sport. When I see someone who has got it going on, I'm like "Damn!" I read the interview you did with Iris Kyle. She's one of my favorites. That was long overdue. Whether you just won a local show or qualified for the Olympia, if you're bringing it, bring it! If you're taking the time to eat, sleep and breathe this sport, I have much respect for you. Thank you, Flex; it was an honor to do this interview.

FW: The honor is all mine. Congratulations on your recent success. I know we'll be seeing a lot more of you very soon.

CONTEST HISTORY

2007 NPC Jr. National's Light-Heavyweight Champion

East Coast Tournament of Champions Overall Champion