Sam Bond was born and raised in Dorset, UK and is a born and bred beach boy. Though, as much as he loved the sand between his toes, his thirst for knowledge took him to the Midlands in 2006 to complete a degree in Exercise Physiology at Coventry University.

Before focusing on weight lifting, Sam enjoyed training for athletics - track and field and at the local rowing club. Though, by his own admission, rowing didn't float his boat for too long because the boats were so narrow; Sam kept capsizing. However, it was at the rowing club where he was first introduced to serious resistance training.

Sam has mostly kept active through his life with extreme sports such as downhill mountain-biking and surfing. Today, Sam still jumps at the opportunity to ride a snowboard or his motorbike whenever it appears.

It was because of his constant search for information that drove Sam to study the body’s response to exercise at Coventry University.

In 2004, aged 20, Sam won the first bodybuilding show he ever entered at the BNBF Northern Championship, placing first in the Junior Category. Sam competed again in 2006 with the NPA and BNBF qualifying for the British Championships in both federations where he placed fourth and third respectively, as well as taking 2nd in the 2006 NPA Heart of England Championships in the heavyweight category. Since then, Sam has continued to develop as an athlete and now focussing primarily on Strength and Power Training.

Graduating in 2006, Sam went to work for a charity (RNLI) in their Marketing Team before being invited to join the all new 2008 Gladiators line up as Atlas. His passion for training and bodybuilding was fuelled early on in life - ironically - by the original series of the Gladiators in the 1990's on ITV. Sam says he remembers looking up at the screen and seeing legends like Wolf and Hunter going against the contenders and was fascinated by their physical prowess and athletic ability. For Sam, becoming a Gladiator was a boyhood dream come true and he hopes that he can inspire other children just like he was inspired as a young lad. Sam is now working as a Strength and Conditioning Coach where he hopes to help others achieve their dreams and reach their potential.

Sam Bond

He began training with weights when he was just 15 in his garage after watching Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.

By 16 he had outgrown the garage weights and joined the local council-run gym where he started working as a lifeguard.

Sam insisted on learning the training methods himself rather than being instructed on what to do. He consciously tested each training method and philosophy until he tailored his very own and personal approach to training.

Sam is still learning today and his training is continuously evolving.