Neil Hill Bio

On the West Wales coast, surrounded by beautiful tranquil countryside and castles dating to the Middle Ages, is a small fishing town called Tenby (Dinbych-y-pysgod in the native Welsh tongue), a beautiful medieval town with brightly colored building fronts.

My mother and father welcomed me into the world there on March 21, 1969. aka Yoda! As a young boy I was always very active in sports. I competed nationally in swimming and was the Welsh champion. At fifteen years of age, my focus turned to playing football (known as soccer in the USA) and rugby, again at a high level. Unfortunately, due to a serious injury to my right knee, I had to quit those sports by the time I was nineteen.

My entry into the world of bodybuilding was quite accidental. A friend of mine asked me to go to the local gym with him for a workout, and I was hooked from there on. Encouraged by an older masters bodybuilder who trained there, I entered my first competition just twelve weeks after I picked up my first weight. To my surprise, I finished third at the IFBB-sanctioned show held by the WFBB (Welsh Federation of Body Building).

I continued competing on and off for a couple of years, winning the Junior Welsh, Junior Intermediate Welsh and the under-80kg class and Overall title. In between competing, I met my greatest treasure in life, my beautiful wife Angie, and we were married in 1996. This was by far the best day of my life; the other best days were when Angie gave birth to my two wonderful sons, Chad, now ten years old, and Kurt, who is eight.

With Angie’s support and belief in me, I returned to competition. In 2002 I won the light-heavy weight class at the Welsh Championships.  Not only did I win my class, I won the overall and Open classes as well, which earned me IFBB professional status. Having my pro card led me to enter my first pro show later that same year. I went up against the likes of Dennis James, Chris Cormier and Dexter Jackson. It was the first pro win for Dexter Jackson, who went on years later to become Mr. Olympia.

Since that competition, I have not competed again. My right knee injury deteriorated so badly that I was no longer able to train my lower body as heavy and intensely as is necessary to compete at the pro level. One thing I am pleased about in my fairly brief competitive career is that I will always be remembered and known for my extreme condition and balanced physique.

With competing no longer possible, I concentrated much more on my nutritional and training work with my clients. They were and continue to be wide range of types, from professional and amateur bodybuilders all the way to normal folks who want to better their health, and to look and feel good. Shortly after beginning my career in the health and fitness industry sixteen years ago as a personal trainer and nutritionist, I opened my own gym in Tenby called The Dungeon.

Over the years I gained a good amount of experience and expertise. My reputation grew as I had a high success rate at turning amateurs into pro’s, and taking some of those pro’s all the way to the Mr. Olympia stage.  By 2009, I managed to catch the eye of bodybuilding legend Rich Gaspari, owner of Gaspari Nutrition. Rich signed me on as their official trainer and nutritionist. I am very proud to be associated with such a great name in the bodybuilding industry as Rich Gaspari and the fantastic team that he has working for him.

People always ask me who is the best or favorite athlete that I work with or have worked with. I always respond “All of them,” as I always treat my athletes equally whether they are getting ready for their first local contest or the Arnold Classic. And I can honestly say I become a friend of each athlete as well as their coach. While some have a policy of ‘keeping it strictly business’ with clients, I find that a personal relationship as a friend brings out the best in them.

My achievements in the sport of bodybuilding as an athlete, trainer, and nutritionist do make me proud and satisfied at a job well done as well as enjoying being able to help athletes be their best. But my happiest times are at home in the beautiful tranquil countryside of Wales; walking along golden sands with my two boys and my wife, exploring a castle, or just enjoying a nice family barbecue in the summer. I really do have the best of both worlds and for that I am deeply grateful.