Three’s a Charm for IFBB pro Fouad Abiad in Dallas

MuscleMag’s Fouad Abiad, who placed third at the Europa Super Show in Dallas on August 16, earned his first-ever Olympia qualification when he came out in the top ranks in his third consecutive show of the year.

The 29-year-old, who turned pro in 2006, hit the stage earlier in July at the Houston Pro Show with considerably more mass, helping him notch a respectable 7th place in the Men’s Open. It was only moments in to prejudging and the ear-stinging buzz had already begun to engulf the theater — the virtual unknown from Canada had one of the most-impressive packages on the stage. When the callouts came, however, it was clear the judges disagreed. Over the following days fans and industry experts alike touted Fouad as the most-overlooked competitor of the show.

Although Fouad stepped onstage with more shredded muscle than ever before (he weighed a whopping 249 pounds!), he admits his condition was not the most crisp he’s ever brought to the stage. “After the Houston show I refocused and decided that I was going to attack Tampa full steam ahead to try and redeem myself,” says Fouad. He went back to the drawing board tweaking his already militant regimen for the weeks leading up to the Pro Bodybuilding Weekly Championships in Tampa. He nailed his conditioning, unveiling detailed muscle that appeared as though wrapped in cellophane, which earned him 5th place among some of the sport’s most-decorated veterans, but looking back he confesses, “I still had doubts all the way up to the final day before the show — thoughts of uncertainty if this was really for me or if I had what it takes.”

With two top-10 finishes in a row and renewed mental vigor that he was on the right track, Fouad had just the momentum he needed to plow through the year’s deepest field of competitors at the Europa Super Show. “Being mentally tough and having courage means having those fears and pushing through with it anyway, so that’s what I did,” he says. Pushing through proved to be decisive in the final moments, as Fouad displayed one of the hardest and most-conditioned physiques in the top-five lineup with the likes of Toney Freeman, Dennis James, Will Harris and Tarek Elsetouhi and clinched the coveted Olympia qualification. See you at the O!