It's finally time to kick off the THIRD TEAM MD TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE, sponsored by MHP.  For those of you that are not familiar, the Transformation Challenge is an opportunity for those who have lost or given up hope with their body, health, and life in general.  Team MD has once again joined forces with MHP Nutrition to provide the best training package ever assembled: Dave Palumbo guides you through diet and supplementation; Mr. G. provides training advice and unrivaled inspiration and motivation; and Gerard Dente (owner of Maximum Human Performance) has generously offered to sponsor the challenge and provide the contestants with the optimal supplement stack to reach their goals.  For 16 weeks, the contestants have the opportunity to live the life of the world's top bodybuilders.  With the greatest resources in the industry at their disposal, our contestants need only one ingredient to reach their goals-- relentless commitment to progress.

We allowed some time for the word to spread about the success of the Second Transformation Challenge and allowed a few months for new potential candidates to enter.  The six candidates with the most compelling stories have been selected.  With these people, hope is long lost and complacency is a way of life.  Sometimes the greatest tragedy leads to the greatest triumphs.  Here's an introduction to the six individuals whose lives are about to change:

ESTHER TUGURIAN

1.      Esther Tugurian, from Houston Texas, is 24 years old and already has over 8 years experience in the gym.  For the last 3-4 years bodybuilding has been her passion, but she cannot find the inner strength to commit to a diet.  With each failed diet, she has become convinced she cannot be more than just a "chubby" gym rat.  Team MD will show Ester she has the power to take her body wherever she dreams it to be.

 3.     

CURTIS GARNER

Curtis Garner of San Jose, CA also suffered through a tragic car accident and suffered severe lower back injuries. Following the accident, his fears rapidly climbed and his self esteem reached new lows. Curtis hated the person he saw in the mirror.  To add to his bad luck, the current economic crisis has crippled business for this entrepreneur and he now struggles to put himself through college.  The Transformation Challenge will change his body back to something he can look at in the mirror; and it will give him the respect and self esteem that comes from achieving something great through sweat and hard work.

4.      Jerry Rios, from Indio, CA, has always been "the fat guy."  In college he became determined to lose weight and did just that; he gained new self esteem and found new confidence, especially with the opposite sex.  Unfortunately, Jerry's hard work and progress led to complacency and at the conclusion of a relationship he

JERRY RIOS

found himself at all time high of 334 lbs.  Since then he has not been able to commit to a diet and workout plan and his self esteem keeps telling him he can't do it.  Team MD is going to show Jerry he can and will regain his health and confidence - and maybe find a date in the process...

5.      Pantelis C. Fouli is our only international contestant. Residing in Cyprus and now 34 years old, "Pan" suffers from high blood pressure and fatty liver. Last year he followed along with the Transformation Challenge and despite not being an official

PAN FOULI

contestant, he was admired by all those that read his posts full of continuous positivity.  The problem for Pan was that not being an official contestant last year became an excuse to cheat and sabotage his goals.  Now he has the chance to be an official participant and there are no excuses - Pan is now held accountable to everyone that was not selected and he knows he owes to them and himself to maximize the new resources at his disposal.

6.      Francisco Rodriguez of Tustin, CA was a successful power lifter in high school and decided to make a career of personal training.  His business never got off the ground and after hopping from job to job depression set in and Francisco went from a powerful 250lbs to a fat 330 lbs.  His depression grew deeper after a wrist injury derailed his power lifting and a 4.5 year

FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ

relationship with his girlfriend came to a messy conclusion.  He is now only 21 years old and ready to start a new chapter in his life. 

There they are - the 6 contestants in the 3rd TEAM MD MHP TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE.  You can follow along daily on the MuscularDevelopment.com forums along with weekly updates on No Bull Radio and monthly progress report in the magazine by John Romano.  You'll also find weekly Video Transformations Tips full of valuable information along with costumes and antics that only Mr. G. can provide.  I encourage everyone to follow along on the journey and find inspiration that can be applied to your struggles and triumphs. 

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