Interview By Julianne Van Valkenburg
Jules Jewels Member Spotlight
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Last summer as I was sitting
around in my office shopping for fake PRADA bags, uh ,I mean
doing all the work around here as usual ,this email floats
into my InBox. Now, normally I would just ignore something
like this . I mean really, Charles has had his share of stalkers.
But I am not even ALLOWED to
talk about it here. Believe me, I would. In a heartbeat. Anyway-
here I am when this email pops in asking me if Charles had
happened to be at the movies over the weekend. Really, this
was the email:
"Hey Julianne! I think
I saw Charles at the Harkins this past Sunday??? Was it him?
Did he see a good movie?
Thanks!
Troy "
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Now, know that this kind of stuff
happens A LOT. Quite a bit actually. Usually though I just send
a free ebook and thank the writer for the question. Not this time
though. Turns out this guy was not a stalker, just a nice guy taking
his 4,(yep, count them 4) daughters to the movies. Before you know
it the head cheese says to have this guy come out to B&B and
take part in Garage session Saturday.
You know those stories about brothers
separated at birth? Turns out Phil and Troy were brothers in a past
life...or sisters, or something like that. Anyway- this guy showed
up on a Saturday and never left becoming a part of TEAMSTALEY. I'm
thinking his name means Paradise in Italian. I'm thinking I read
that somewhere. Whatever it is, it is that Troy Paradiso is a great
guy to know. So, get to know him here:
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Jules-
So, am I right about the Paradise fact? If I am it seems fitting
as you look like a guy that has the whole package. The cool supportive
wife; the great kids; groovy job; Phil, etc. Tell me about it, what
does your life look like from the inside?
TROY: You're right! It means Paradise in Italian. Life
on the inside, huh? Pure chaos. OK, not quite true. I'm definitely
the type of person who counts his riches based on his family and
friendships vs. material wealth, career, etc. , so when I take assessment
of where things are in life I have to admit we've been really blessed.
Thanks for the opportunity to put
a plug in here - Kim and I are about to celebrate 15 years of (mostly)
blissful marriage, so Happy 15th baby! Like you said we've got 4
beautiful daughters that keep us hopping. We're mostly just your
average God-fearing, tax-paying, hard-working American family really.
And of course Phil's been an awesome friend for sure.
Jules-
So, before you started hanging out over here I had seen you at tnation,
Was this passion for weights elevated over here or has it always
been that way?
TROY: I've had a fascination with weightlifing/nutrition,
etc., since my young days lifting in our basement gym with my Dad.
He had magazines with pictures of Steve Reeves, Arnold, Zane, etc.,
and like many boys, I dreamed of attaining such a physique as these
greats. Alas, then I learned about steroids and genetics - bummer.
But whether I was actively 'working out' or not, I tried to stay
abreast of the fields of weightlifting and nutrition.
But yes, it wasn't until I started
training with Charles and Phil that I understood what TRAINING was
really about, and it shows. I've put on over 10lbs of quality mass
and have made strength gains I never thought possible in the 7 months
I've been training with them, never mind the knowledge I've acquired
from them. What can I say, it's been incredible.
Jules- I had heard that you were pretty
competitive as a kid- what does your training background look like
from the past ?
TROY: From who? Phil? Yeah, I refuse to let that punk
beat me at anything. (LOL). I did all the usual team sports growing
up but nothing drew out the athlete/competitor in me like one-on-one
sports. I always heard about how much potential I had for playing
_______ (insert team sport here), especially gymnastics, but I never
got fired-up for those sports. In the end you won and lost as a
team so your success ultimately wasn't in your own hands. Head-to-head
competition was where I really came alive and thrived - it always
brought out the best in me I guess.
My Dad was always making fun of me
for how much I hated losing in stuff like tennis, ping-pong, boxing,
etc., so it has probably brought out the worst in me too! I punched
Phil right in the toolbag when he beat me at marbles a few months
ago - I'm not kidding (alright, I am). Anyway, it's finally here
later in life that I'm pursuing the sports I like and committing
to doing them well. I picked up golf about 10 years ago and I'm
pretty good at it. Now with Powerlifting and Oly lifting, I'm able
to pursue individual accomplishments and feel like a real athlete
in the process.
Jules- Do you see your girls getting
into all of this later, something for you to teach them ?
TROY: My kids know more about training and nutrition
than most adults do thanks to me and Kim! They just seem to pick
up on it and are constantly asking questions - which is good obviously.
My twins did the sports thing when they were younger, you know,
soccer, t-ball, golf, and whatever, but they never got into it.
They are VERY girly and are mostly
into music and art. My seven year old Sofia, is known for being
the 'tom-boy' if you will, and likes beating up little boys on the
playground... she has potential for sure. My little GiGi (Gianna)
is almost 5 now and very petite and girly which is just fine. I
don't push them to compete or anything. If they develop an interest,
I'll be there to teach them what I can.
Jules- Let's talk about the records
you are setting now. I believe you just did Nationals for power
lifting and you have the State for Olympic coming up in May. What
was your day like at Nationals, what do you hope for at the next
meet and do you see yourself at Worlds??
TROY: I did the Masters Nationals for the NASA federation
back in November - my first PL meet. It was awesome! I have to say
though, it wouldn't have been possible save for Phil's coaching
leading up to, then running the meet for me. I was able to set the
National record for Squat and Total (386 and 1026lbs) for my age/weight
class (35+ @ 165lbs) and set the AZ State records for the PURE/Unequipped
(lifetime steroid free) in all events + total, but I also broke
the squat, dl, and total record for the 'regular' sub-masters weight
class. I'm very happy with how I did my first time out.
Like you said, I'm switching it up
this time and doing an Olympic Weightlifting meet May 2nd which
Charles' is graciously helping me to prepare for. I really am looking
forward to this meet in May and seeing how far I can go in the sport.
I do plan on competing in powerlifting also, but I want to try some
different things and see which one 'sticks' before I commit to one
particular endeavor - if I ever do. If I can get my weight up to
185-190 by November I'll do the Highland Games/Strongman meet Phil's
putting on - that should be a lot of fun!
Jules- I have heard about the great cook your wife is-all
the Italian foods, etc. How do you keep your body in such great
shape?
TROY: Tape worms. No, honestly, I don't know. I do train
4 days a week usually but it's mostly strength stuff so I don't
exactly burn a ton of calories in the gym and I despise cardio.
I have ALWAYS had a hard time putting on weight so a lot of it is
probably genetics (don't send me hate mail, it is what it is and
it isn't my fault!). If most people ate the amount of carbs I do
they would have to haul their gut around in a wheelbarrow... Kim
is a great cook for sure and we can really throw-down on some grub
around my house - just ask Phil. In fact, I would probably achieve
my 190lb goal if he'd stop eating all my food...
Jules- Do you have any favorite recipes
you would like to share here-including how to make your favorite
protein shake.
TROY: Sorry folks, but I can't give
out any of our traditional Italian dishes - they're top secret.
If you want to sample them, book a stay at the B&B and we'll
be glad to have you over! Here's one I can give you though...
This one's a Paradiso Family favorite
(and VERY anabolic I might add):
Texas Hash (It goes by many
names actually):
- 1 lb of hamburger (you can also
substitute half the hamburger with ground sausage for extra flavor)
- 3 cups of PRE cooked long grain rice (it¹s best to cook this
ahead of time and refrigerate about an hour before use to remove
moisture)
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 cup of frozen corn
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 2 TB garlic powder
- 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)
- 1 14oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup of beef broth
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Brown the hamburger/sausage in a large
skillet on medium heat then drain in a colander. Add some olive
oil to the pan and sauté the onion, bell pepper and celery
(now would be a good time to put in the salt and pepper) until the
onion is clear. Next, add the meat, rice, corn, tomatoes, broth,
and garlic powder (cayenne pepper if you want) to skillet and combine
all ingredients.
Reduce the heat to low, cover and
let simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring every 3-5 minutes. If
consistency is a little dry add some water a little at a time. Or
if you like it dryer, you can take the lid of the last few minutes
of cooking. I like a Pinot Noir or Cabernet with this dish.
Favorite Protein Shake: 1 serving
of Chocolate Whey, 1 scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream, 1 cup
of milk, and 1 tablespoon all-natural peanut butter. Talk about
anabolic!
Jules-Besides lifting heavy objects for sport what else
are you into?
TROY: Golf. Phil, Charles and I get together just about
every Sunday morning and play a round on a course right across from
my house. I thoroughly enjoy watching them battle it out for 2nd
and 3rd place - good times...
Other than that just hanging out with
my family and friends (mostly Phil and whoever he brings over from
the B&B) on the weekends, playing cards, drinking wine, and
enjoying good conversation. I've also been helping some friends
and my Dad out with their training here of late, which for me is
very rewarding. I helped my Dad shed almost 30 pounds of fat in
about 3 months... can't tell you how great it was to be able to
help him achieve that goal.
Jules- and BTW- awhile back you had a bad incident with
one of your toys. How did that injury heal up and have you replaced
the bike?
TROY: Yeah, that sucked. I'm mostly healed up from it
although I'm still doing rehab on my right ankle to restore full
range of motion it¹s getting better. The motorcycle is
sitting in my garage waiting for me to replace a few things on it
- not too bad though. I'll likely sell it in a few weeks once the
weather gets nice. I liked riding, but not enough to die for it...
(LOL) Riding a motorcycle in this traffic is like playing Russian
roulette most of the time.
Jules-Looking down the road a few years from now what
do you hope to accomplish, be it personal and professional?
TROY:
I've got some ideas for sure. I'd really like to open a gym some
day back in my hometown of Pueblo, CO. Teaching/Coaching others
has been something I've done right along now and it just comes natural
to me. I remember when I was training in the Navy I would have fellow
sailors coming up to me in the gym all the time asking for advice
on training and nutrition or program design.
Mostly because they saw my awesome
studliness and figured I must know something, but also because they
saw me training my friend and watched him go from a mushy, borderline
fat boy to quite the ripped stud during one of our 6 month deployments.
It's weird but, I've been in computers so long I literally cannot
imagine what it would be like to be able to do something I'm passionate
about or really enjoy... but I'm not going to quit trying! For now
it'll be raise my kids, train and compete, and keep trying to be
the man God wants me to be.
Jules- and finally, have you seen any good movies lately?
TROY: We don't watch movies anymore.
On Friday nights Kim and I gather around the computer with the kids
and watch all the freaks on youtube for a couple hours. It's good
clean family fun. Every once in a while Phil will bring over some
good 'man flicks' with chicks, cars and stuff getting blown up.
For example, he brought over Madagascar 2 a few weeks ago... talk
about a great flick!
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To read more of Julianne VanValkenburgs
interviews with members,and others in the industry please visit
the interview section of Team
Staley forum.
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