After His Father’s Unexpected Death, 13-Year-Old Dorian Yates Felt Abandoned Until He Turned All the Anger Into Achieving His Bodybuilding Dreams

A father’s support and encouragement play a crucial role in his child’s upbringing. But unfortunately, there are some people who paved their way to success through struggle. Six-time Mr. Olympia, Dorian Yates, was one such kid. Notably, he was only a teenager when his father suddenly passed away. The unforeseen loss angered the 13-year-old boy, who felt abandoned. But such was his strong-headed personality, that even though he started as a traumatized child, Yates got wide recognition in the history of bodybuilding.

A couple of days back, The Shadow sat for an interview where he opened up about his tumultuous childhood after losing his father. The Englishman shared how he was going through a rough phase until he was able to turn the negative feelings into something constructive.

Dorian Yates faced his odds while growing up

While having a candid chat with Rob Lipsett, the Birmingham native talked his heart out about his childhood. As per his interview, Yates didn’t have a regular upbringing. Although it started well, as he was living in a holding in Staffordshire with his family, where their house was beside a farm. But soon the rock hit the bottom as his father died of a heart attack.

Explaining the situation in the podcast, the former Mr. Olympia shared, “It was a great environment to grow up, but then there was a big shock in my life. At 13 years of age, my dad passed away very suddenly. He was only 42 years old and he died of a heart attack. So, that just changed everything.” As a boy who just hit puberty, this was indeed a big shock.

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Of course, he couldn’t take it well, as the bodybuilder shared, “I believe it definitely motivated me and it also made me very upset and very angry. And I didn’t think that anyone was really catering to me or looking after me…When I got to the gym, I used the anger, I call it F**k you motivation. I actually thrive on negative. I turn negative into a positive. So, I took my anger in a gym and turned it into something positive.” Moreover, his determination helped the legend to channel his anger into excelling in the sport.

From a street boy to Mr. Olympia, he faced it all

It was never easy for Yates. His bodybuilding journey began when he was in prison at 18, and later he lost his home too. But that’s when he carved his own path to make his own destiny to smother the dreams of seeing himself on stage.

Idolizing Lee Haney, whom he later defeated on the Olympian stage, Dorian Yates trained himself to enter the field. Soon in 1992, he won his first maiden trophy, and the rest is history.

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As the bodybuilder later stated, if he had come from a comfortable background, he wouldn’t have done it. Dorian Yates is indeed the diamond that shines in the rough.