Last September in St. Albans, Herts, Habersham Central High graduate and Demorest resident Corey Mote won the MuscleMania 2010 Fitness Britain National Championships.
The win elevated him the highest level of natural bodybuilding — the status of MuscleMania professional bodybuilder.
Nine months later, Mote, who runs a chiropractor practice in Clarkesville, is about to make his professional bodybuilding debut. On Saturday, he’ll compete in MuscleMania’s Universe Weekend & Expo in Miami.
The event will be televised online on ESPN3.
At the competition, Mote will find himself among some of the world’s best-known bodybuilders. Around 20 professionals will be on stage, with international judges critiquing each contestant’s build based on symmetry, definition, size and presentation.
At the professional level, there are no weight classes.
“I’m expecting to be humbled,” said Mote, 30, who stands at 5-foot-9 and weighs 195 pounds. “I’ll be ecstatic just to place somewhere in the middle. That’s my goal this year. Next year, I’d like a top-five finish, and in two years, I’d like to win it all.”
Mote wasn’t expecting to win the Britain championships last year either, but surprised even himself when he emerged overall champion.
“I thought I’d win my weight class, but I was shocked when I won the overall,” he said. “When I looked at the video afterwards, I realize I did legitimately win. I see my competitors as better than me. But this time, it’s different.”
While Mote is accustomed to finishing first or second, as he has in every amateur event he’s competed in to this point, he doesn’t think a top-two finish is realistic in his pro debut. He’ll be up against bodybuilders he’s long idolized, like Morris Mendez, who Mote considers the favorite to win, and Jeff Beckham.
“I’ve looked up to these guys for years,” Mote said. “It will be really neat to be side by side with them. That’s one of the most exciting things about this — I’ll be competing with icons.”
Mote said championship events such as Universe Weekend & Expo can carry prize purses in the $20,000-range for the top winner. Even if Mote doesn’t finish at the top, the event will still be a winning situation for his professional career.
Though the Britain event earned him professional status, the Universe expo is Mote’s first chance to earn national publicity in the US. He’s already sponsored in the event by JBT Labs, which signed Mote just before he won in Britain. On Saturday, he’ll look to gain more sponsorships as well as become a product endorser and fitness model.
Some of those opportunities are already in the works for Mote, he said.
“You can make a living on it, and some do,” said Mote, adding his full-time focus will always be his chiropractor practice.
For now, he’s days away from his professional debut and “the biggest show of my life,” he called it.
“My mind set is to be the best I can be. It’s all about getting my name out there.”