Success wasn’t brought to the 90s bodybuilding icon, Dorian Yates on a silver platter. He had to work his way to the top. Fast forward to the present, he is a 6-time Mr. Olympia winner and is regarded as a G.O.A.T. in the industry. Therefore, in an interview with London Real, Yates once shared an anecdote about his daughter, Tahnee, that made him reflect on his own childhood. 

The bodybuilder struggled as a kid and felt abandoned by his family. After his father died when he was 13, things just spiraled for him. However, his daughter admitted to a whole different childhood experience. She claimed grown-up responsibilities weren’t her thing and desired to be a child forever. Here’s why. 

Dorian Yates narrated her daughter’s revelations

In an interview with London Real in 2018, the 60-year-old got candid and shared how his daughter admitted that she never wants to grow up. “I had a conversation with my daughter, which was really nice…I think she was about 12 or 13,” he said. Yates’s daughter would’ve chosen to be a child rather than grow up into an adult, if possible. When asked why, she answered, “because when you grow up, there’s all kind of responsibilities and things you’ve got to deal with like you know jobs and bills, all this stuff.”

Apparently, the quest for a modern adult life scared the little girl. Thus, the English athlete added, “She said, I’m just free unlike them you know, so happy and everything, being like this age.” The adorable yet deep remark left the legend in retrospection. “I’m like wow, that’s amazing to hear that because when I was your age, all I wanted to do is grow the f**k up,” Yates confessed. 

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In contrast to his daughter’s outlook, the 6x Mr. Olympia disclosed that he was impatient to be an adult, so he could “get control” of his life. Interestingly, that is why he drifted towards bodybuilding. “It was very individual, and I always kept it like that, I didn’t have a coach, I didn’t have anything,” he shared. Furthermore, Yates also shed light on his childhood struggles in the same conversation. 

A tough childhood couldn’t stop Dorian Yates

The source also spotlighted the icon’s dire times in his early life. After his father succumbed to a heart attack, the family moved to Birmingham from their hometown in Warwickshire. Soon, her mother remarried, which was followed by a similar fate. Thus, when his mother decided to move again, he stayed back alone. “I came from nothing, I felt like nobody gave s**t about me. Nobody’s trying to help me,” he let out. 

Owing to his past challenges, Yates was encouraged to grind his way to glory. Therefore, the 260-lb star athlete asserted, “I often think if there was a Dorian who had a nice stable family, and support and encouragement and a pathway to that into this career or that career. Will Dorian Yates, the bodybuilder, exist? No, I don’t think so.” He acknowledged his pain and suffering were the fuel for driving his success. 

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Apart from a difficult childhood, The Shadow even spent time in prison. Nevertheless, he utilized his time there to focus on bodybuilding. Rest is history. He shall remain an inspiration till time immemorial, don’t you think? Tell us in the comments.