Aaron

It is sometimes hard for me to talk about myself. I am someone who very much likes to lay low and stay as far from the spotlight as possible. Every day I do my best to reach goals. Sometimes it’s just a daily goal. But that daily goal snowballs into a weekly goal, which gets me closer to my monthly goal, then yearly goal. All these goals reached get me closer to my life goal which is to be the best person I can be in all aspects of life.

My name is Aaron Shumway. I was born on January 25th, 1993. I have two sisters, one older one younger, and a younger brother. I am an uncle of three boys.

My early childhood was a lot like many others, I am sure. I had my close group of friends who I enjoyed spending my time with. I tried a handful of sport which included baseball, basketball, and soccer. I went to public school from k-8th grade. My high school days were spent in a private school. I then went on to college where I started my journey at Bryant University and then transferred to Bridgewater state university where I ultimately got my degree in business management with a minor in accounting.

I had some hobbies growing up which as I stated earlier were sports but also enjoyed fishing, snowboarding, drawing, riding bikes, dirt biking, and cars. One hobby I took more seriously than the rest, and that was soccer. From an early age, I played soccer year-round. Many summers were absorbed in soccer camps around the East coast. I would eventually play in high school where I made the varsity team as a swing player my freshmen year. I was also faced with adversity because of my size (4’ 10” 95lbs) at the start of my freshmen year. It wasn’t until the summer going into junior year where I hit my growth spurt and grew to my current height of 5’10”. My junior year of high school is where my soccer career took a turn for the wort. I always saw myself playing in college, and going as far as my skill and drive would take me. Unfortunately, during a summer session leading into the season, I suffered a season-ending injury. I had torn my groin ligament so severely that it tore a piece of bone off my hip. This forced me to be a supporter/spectator rather than a player for that whole season. My senior year I came back but was never the same player. This is when I started to think about the weight room.
All throughout high school, I would be on and off in the weight room. For a long time, it was just pure embarrassment rather than the commitment that kept me away. I could not bench the bar (45 lbs.) a single rep my freshmen year, and that was enough to keep me away.

College is where I really started to love bodybuilding. I had bought my first “stack” of supplements with the little money I had being a college student. This stack included protein powder, creatine, BCAA capsules, and a pre-workout. I started following workout routines I would find online and eating anything and everything I could to put some weight on. I would watch youtube videos non-stop of Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman, Dorian Yates, Kai Greene, Dennis Wolfe, Arnold, Seth Feroce, and many more.I started to love lifting and the lifestyle of bodybuilding so much that I started prepping for my first show.

I was 20 years old when I started a 20-week prep for my first Men’s Physique show. I competed in the Jay Cutler Classic in 2014 where I placed second in the open C division. I then went on that year to compete in the Connecticut Grand Prix and then the New England’s where I placed second in C class open in both of those shows as well.

After the competing season had subsided, I went into my first offseason. This is where I began my days with Bill Anger. He saw something in me I hadn’t in myself. Together we grew and came up with a game plan for the following season. Our goal was to compete and be competitive in my first national show, Team Universe. We did what we set out to do. We Placed 3rd place in my class, which was one spot away from obtaining my IFBB pro card. After the show, I was determined to get my pro card, so we stayed on prep for another 8-10 weeks for the North Americans. It was here where I won my class and came in second in the overall to solidify my spot as a professional in the sport of bodybuilding in the Men’s physique division.

After getting my pro card, I decided to step away from bodybuilding to focus on my life, career, and relationships and that is just what I did.

After stepping away I was able to focus on myself as a person and because of that, I am who I am today. As it stands I am a Raynham firefighter and plumber. I am finishing up paramedic school and am in pursuit of a second bachelor’s degree in fire science. My life as a bodybuilder has not changed. I still eat and train the same way I did but on my own terms and for no other reason other than the fact I love it. I will always have the title IFBB pro, and maybe someday I will return to the stage a better man than the one that left it a few years ago.