John Hansen Interview With Critical Bench

John Hansen Bio

Birthday - March 10, 1963
Birth place - Chicago, Illinois
Current Residence - Westmont, Illinois
Marital Status - Single
Height - 5'8"
Offseason Weight - 235
Contest Weight - 210
First Bodybuilding Contest - 1979 AAU Teenage Mr. Chicagoland (I placed 4th at 16 years old).

John Hansen's Major Wins

1998 Natural Olympia - Professional Division
1996 Natural Mr. Universe - Professional Division
1996 AAU Mr. Illinois - Short Class
1992 Natural Mr. Universe - Overall Winner
1992 Natural Mr. North America - Overall Winner
1992 NPC Natural Illinois - Light Heavyweight Winner
1990 NPC Illinois Cup - Light Heavyweight Winner
1986 NPC Mid-America - Heavyweight Winner
1986 NPC Illinois State Championships - Overall Winner
1981 AAU Teenage Midwest Open - Medium Class Winner

Role Models - Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Lee

Physique Role Models - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman, Phil Williams, Mike Quinn, Kal Szkalak

Biggest Disappointment - Showing up flat and pale and failing to make the finals at the first NPC Team Universe in Chicago.

Best Bodyparts - Biceps, Back and my Smile (when I'm in shape).

Most Difficult Bodypart - Thighs

Favorite Exercise - Barbell Rows and Deadlifts

Least Favorite Exercise - Abs and Cardio

Traits you most admire in others - Trust, Honesty, Confidence, Positive and Fun Attitude

Traits you most admire in yourself - Discipline, Creativity, Desire

John's Favorite Movies:

"Pumping Iron" ("The definitive movie on bodybuilding and Arnold")
"Rocky" ("The best movie ever on making your dream come true")
"Breaking Away" ("It touched me on so many levels - becoming like your hero's, impressing the beautiful girl by pretending to be someone you're not, a father and son coming together")
"Body Heat" ("A great movie about how the wrong woman can ruin your life")
"The Fabulous Baker Boys" ("Having the guts to pursue your heart")
"Braveheart" ("Every man dies, not every man really lives")

Favorite Actors - Arnold, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, James Gandolfini

Favorite Actresses - Jennifer Lopez, Michelle Pfeiffer

Favorite Meal - Carne Asada with some Strawberry Margaritas

Idea of a Perfect Vacation - Laying by the pool in Cancun, Mexico sipping Frozen Daiquiri's with my sweetheart by my side.

Ideal Woman - Sweet, Romantic, Sexy, Fun, Goal-Oriented, Trust-worthy and Down to Earth.

Things I am Blessed With - Peaked Biceps and a Great, Great Family.

Long Term Bodybuilding Ambitions- To become the Arnold of natural bodybuilding by winning international competitions, promoting the sport to the media, staging bigger competitions, writing books and inspiring people to begin exercising.

Long Term Ambitions - To become rich and famous doing what I love to do!

What Do You Like Most About Bodybuilding - The challenge of becoming better than ever, the total discipline and commitment required to succeed, the feeling of satisfaction from lifting heavy weights with focused concentration, looking different than most of the "average" people in the world.

What Do You Like Least About Bodybuilding - Stubborn bodyparts, having to eat every couple hours, shaving my legs, injuries.

Favorite Saying - "There are three types of people in the world : Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened."

John Hansen's Life Story

Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen first became interested in the sport of bodybuilding as a very young man. An avid comic book reader, John was fascinated with the physiques of the colorful superheroes he read about in the comic books. They were so muscular and impressive that they captured his imagination and he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have a body like that.

Several years later, John began to idolize the late martial arts superstar Bruce Lee. He was intrigued with Lee after seeing a picture of him with his shirt off from the movie "Enter the Dragon". Bruce Lee was the only person he had ever seen who looked like the superheroes he had read about in the comic books.

John soon adopted Bruce Lee’s training regimen so he could develop a body similar to the kung fu superstar. He started jogging, took karate classes at the local park district, did push-ups, sit-ups and chin-ups on a daily basis and eventually started lifting weights. When he began lifting weights, John had to buy some bodybuilding magazines to learn how to perform the various exercises needed to develop his body. When he saw the incredible physiques on the bodybuilders featured in the magazines such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno and Franco Columbu , John knew that this is what he wanted to do with his life.

He began training for bodybuilding at 14 years old, right before beginning his freshman year in high school. Although he only weighed a skinny 135 pounds, it didn’t take long for John to tell everyone what he wanted to accomplish. "I’m going to be Mr. Universe someday", he would say. Of course, no one took him seriously.

John began competing in bodybuilding contests two years later at 16 years old. Over the next 3 years, he competed in 10 teenage bodybuilding competitions, eventually winning the Teenage Midwest Open at 18 years old and taking 5th place at the Teenage Mr. America contest when he was 19.

After his teenage years were over, John realized he would have to get much bigger before competing with the big boys. He used the next 2 years to "bulk up", going from 180 pounds at 19 years old to 205 pounds at 20 years old and 230 pounds by the time he was 21 years old.

John competed in the Illinois State Bodybuilding Championships at 22 years old, taking third place in the heavyweight class. His goal was to win state and regional level competitions before going on to the national level and eventually to the Mr. Universe contest.

The following year, John won the heavyweight and overall title of the 1986 Illinois State Bodybuilding Championships. Two weeks later, he also won the Mid-America Championships in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Now he had accomplished his goal of winning bodybuilding championships at the state and regional level.