A fitness speaker who started at 304 pounds

How he actually did it

The day a doctor told him his body was like a 70-year-old man's, he drove to a gym and hired a trainer. He trained six days a week, cardio first for 30 minutes and then moderate weights. He weighed his meals to the gram and cooked them days ahead. He cut out fast food, soda, most dairy, sugar and white bread, quit drinking, and allowed himself one cheat meal a week. He lost about 140 pounds that first year.

His trainer was a natural bodybuilder, and Phil followed him onto the stage without anabolics, for a reason he explains on his podcast: a man who could drink 20 or 30 beers and never feel satisfied would carry that habit into steroids too. In 2015 he won the Black Sword, the championship trophy of the NGA Northeast Ohio All Natural, in an open class against much younger men.

What he tells people who want to start

Start light. "And the key to everything when you're starting off is light. Go very, very light." He never uses "no pain, no gain," a phrase he says he hates: "Pain is your body's warning sign that you're doing something wrong."

Start small. "Small habits repeated over time create massive change." And don't wait to feel ready: "You don't need to feel ready. You just need to decide that now's the time to change."

Age is not the excuse. "Your body is incredibly powerful. It doesn't care if you're 20, 30, 50, 70. If you give it the right stimulus, it will respond." He has the clients to prove it: Karen, who started at 71 and now trains others, and Bill, 70, who holds the gym's 45-minute record on the Jacob's Ladder climber.

The boxer at 50-plus

Phil always wanted to box and was too out of shape until bodybuilding changed that. After retiring from the stage he took up Masters boxing, won a Masters main event in Girard in November 2021, and in August 2026 was matched with former Harlem Globetrotter Wayne "Rare Air" Clark.

The clients behind the talk

Phil has trained more than 400 people at Body by Phil in Austintown. Some of their stories reached the news or his podcast: Tom Wagner, blind from diabetes, whom another gym had called a liability; Ben Ilich, who had to lose 50 pounds before doctors would test him as a liver donor for his mother; Karen Himes, who started at 71 and now trains others; Tory, who lost a leg at 51; and Bill, who turned 70 after cancer and spars with Phil in the gym's ring. He told the Tribune Chronicle about a stroke survivor who regained 45% of her arm's range of motion after six months of training with him.

Questions

Who is a fitness talk for?

Gyms, corporate wellness programs, schools, senior centers, recovery programs and anyone who has started and quit before. Phil has spoken to audiences from 50 to 600.

Is Phil a certified personal trainer?

Yes. He got certified after people at his gym kept asking him to train them, and he has trained more than 400 people.

Was he a natural bodybuilder?

Yes, he competed natural, without anabolic drugs, in 20 shows and won four championships, including the 2015 Black Sword trophy.

How long is a talk, and where does he travel?

Up to an hour. He travels in any state, with a focus on events within about 200 miles of Youngstown, Ohio.

Does Phil still train clients?

Yes. He owns Body by Phil in Austintown, Ohio, and is at the gym by 4 a.m. writing programs.

Does Phil box?

Yes. He took up Masters boxing after retiring from bodybuilding and has been matched on Masters cards in Girard, Youngstown and Campbell, Ohio.