PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Two years ago, when David Corser of Presque Isle began working out near the abandoned lot behind the Presque Isle fairgrounds to avoid being seen at a gym, he did not expect to meet someone else who was there for the same reasons.
“I was walking my dog in the woods, working out and trying to lose weight. After a month I had lost 25 pounds. I was there one day and saw this other fat guy walking his dog,” said Corser. “I asked him, ‘Are you losing weight, too?’ and he said he was.”
The other guy turned out to be Steve Plummer, 47, of Mapleton, who at the time was 240 pounds with a 44-inch waistline and determined to make major changes in his lifestyle. He and Corser, 39 — who started out at 268 pounds with a 38-inch waistline — began meeting for outdoor workouts regularly until Corser injured his knee.
Two months later, they met again at a local gym and continued exercising, dieting and losing weight with one another’s support. Plummer researched natural bodybuilding and found out about the annual OCB Pine Tree State Championships held in Westbrook in April. The men spent eight months training for the 2018 Organization of Competitive Bodybuilders competition.
On April 14, Plummer and Corser, who were joined by 25-year-old Joshua Michaud of Mapleton, won awards for their categories at those championships. The competitions center on natural bodybuilding, which prohibits the use of anabolic steroids, prescription-grade stimulants or weight-loss substances and prescription-grade diuretics.
Plummer placed first in both the Masters Over 40 and Masters Overall categories while earning his professional bodybuilder card. Corser won first place in the Novice 5’ 10’ and Over competition and second place in Overall Open category and will compete at another bodybuilding event in Westbrook in September to earn his professional bodybuilder card.
Although Michaud, who is also a member of the Marine Corps Reserve, began training with Corser and Plummer only two weeks before the championships and did not place in the competition, he said bodybuilding is something he wants to continue.
“I started working out three years ago as a way to make my body stronger, both for myself and for military training. One day I walked into the gym and learned that Steve and David were training for a competition. They said I should sign up,” Michaud said. “Now I want to keep competing until I can’t do it anymore.”
This year Plummer qualified for the OCB Yorton Cup Pro World Championships in Washington D.C., but decided he needed more training and experience. He plans to travel to that competition in the future.
“As nervous as I was backstage, I have never been in a place where there was so much friendship and high-spirited people who just wanted to make you feel good,” Plummer said about the Westbrook contest.
The three returned home with a mission: to help others interested in either bodybuilding training or simply improving their overall well-being. So far, four more people are working out and training with them, and they are always looking for more to join. They use space at the Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center’s health and wellness center.
The men balance bodybuilding with their day jobs. Plummer is a supervisor at Aroostook Trusses in Presque Isle while Michaud works for his family’s business as a professional home care specialist.
“We want our workouts to be age friendly, but we also want them to be ‘fun friendly,’” Plummer said, “meaning if you do an exercise that isn’t working for you, we’ll move on to something you might like to do.”
All three said bodybuilding has given them greater self-esteem and motivation to better themselves physically and emotionally. They now want to inspire others to do the same.
“I’m a totally different person than I was before I started working out and bodybuilding. I’m goal-oriented now and I have more focus and energy,” Corser said. “I’d say to people, ‘If you’re tired of the way you look and feel, come join the gym and we could help you.’ It has changed my life one pound at a time.”
Anyone who is interested in training with Plummer, Corser and Michaud can contact the Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center health and wellness center at (207) 764-3321 for membership information and get in touch with the bodybuilders via their Facebook or Instagram pages.
