By Robin Roelofsen, GIANT!

On Friday March 20th, 2009, I finally had Dutch bodybuilder Robin Brantz in front of my camera. We first agreed to have the photo shoot done the week before – when Robin just returned from his Arnold Classic performance – but that did not go through because Robin did not feel too well. Luckily he felt good now!

Robin Brantz works out with his training buddy, IFBB pro Khalid Almohsinawi,  at the same gym I have my workouts, Spartacus Gym in Almere, Netherlands, and that was also the location for the photo shoot.  We did the shoot and the interview in the aerobics hall I quickly transformed into a photo studio. Robin brought along his one year old son Dean, and with a couple of punching bags we build a makeshift playpen, out of which he escaped in about five seconds. As luck would have it, Khalid also walked in and he was immediately bombarded to play babysit for the remainder of the session.

The photo shoot and the interview went very well. Robin is a genuine nice guy with no diva-like behavior, and that is great when you want to work with people. I did however discover that I really need a better backdrop for my sessions…

Below you will find a selection of the pictures I took (when you click on a picture, another tab opens showing the picture in larger format) and the interview I did with Robin.


Hey Robin, please introduce yourself!

My name is Robin Brantz and this is Dean Brantz (reacting to a little cry from his son), he just turned one year old. I just returned from the Arnold Classic two weeks ago, where I placed sixth in my class in the Amateur division. I had hoped for a better placing, but what can you do? Nevertheless, it was a great experience to be in this contest, and I hope to do it again next year!

Have you ever done a contest in States before?

No, this was actually my first foreign contest, and to be able to be in a contest of this caliber was fantastic! It was all very professionally organized.

That is a long way from the shabby auditoriums you sometimes get into over here…

Definitely! Those places you can cram four hundred spectators in and the others can just stand outside. I also gained a lot more respect for my buddy over here (nods at Khalid), because you are in a strange country and you have to arrange for food, prepare food, and especially when you travel alone like he does you sometimes feel a bit lost and lonely. I discussed this with him when I came back, and he agreed but also remarked he had gotten used to it.


Who were you with in the States?

I was there with my sponsor, John of Performance Supplements, Esther (a friend who also works out at Spartacus Gym), my girlfriend and my father in law, and a whole bunch of people from the Netherlands. I kept to myself mostly, and prepared myself in my hotel room; my sponsor took care of everything, together with my family. I basically had to eat and lie down!

I understand you also lay down during the contest, did you not?

Yep! Wanted to know if laying down on American wood would be different!

So you actually laid on the floor?

Oh yeah, at a certain moment I felt a bit light in the head and everything started spinning. I saw sparks and did not hear anything anymore, so I went backstage to drink some water and this guy told me to sit down for a moment. I actually thought I sat down on a chair, but I just crashed down on the floor.  He walked away for a moment and I just fell over backwards. Then I saw John and Mascha Tieken run towards me, and they gave me water and talked to me, but I was still in a haze. A moment later I regained my composure and said I wanted to go back onstage. First an official wanted to stop me, but I told him to go away and just ran out onstage. I was immediately pick out from the line-up for a comparison, so I guess the whole incident did not have had an impact on the results. The others were better, that’s it.

Was the rest of the class any good?

Oh yes, it was a strong class. The class was won by  Pavel Kirilenko from Poland, who according to me also participated last year.

I was asking that because in a contest like this, the top three or four is good, and the rest is there to fill up the stage.

I know, but that wasn’t the case here. I didn’t check out the rest so much, I was mostly checking out my own shape, but after seeing the pictures I feel that at least the top was quite good, except number five. Did not get his placing, but maybe he was better the day before.


Okay, back to you! How did you get involved in bodybuilding?

I actually started working out because my physician told me to, since I had a knee problem. I started out with weight training and in the end the hobby turned into an obsession. I used to be involved in jiu-jitsu and tae kwando. I was going for my black belt in jiu-jitsu, but then bodybuilding came along and I liked that more! I felt I had more talent to be a bodybuilder.

How long have you been training already?

I started when I was sixteen, and next week I’m turning thirty-two, so it has been sixteen years already.

Were you and Khalid always training buddies?

No, not from the start. I used to work out with other guys, but we met in 1999 and worked out together for a while. Then we both joined another gym, and since 2007 we renewed our training partnership again. We used to train legs together once a week at Papa Mike’s gym in Apeldoorn, but travelling back and forth was terrible. Khalid lived in Putten and I lived in Veenendaal, and it was a forty-five minute journey every time. In that case you can better work out somewhere else where there are less advanced machines and stuff, but at least not all of your time is consumed by travel. Now we’re back training together and we both like it.

Lucky it does, since you now both live in Almere!

Yes, I moved to Almere especially to work out with him. My girlfriend and I wanted to move in together…

And she had to take Khalid in as well!

Haha! Yes, and at least in Almere, it’s still affordable to rent.


When did you start doing contests? How long were you training at that time.

I entered my first contest when I was twenty-two, so I was already training for six years. During the preparations I started to look at my food intake and began taking protein and stuff, what I did not do before. It wasn’t until 2007 that I actually started monitoring my food intake more carefully, and that was when I seriously started gaining weight. During my contest prep for the Dutch Championships I was adhering to my diet, but before that I just ate sixteen jam sandwiches and bananas and the like. I definitely feel the difference now, I have more energy and strength, and I gain weight more easily. I have to say, I do miss the jam sandwiches… Now it takes me, and my girlfriend who also works out, a week to a week and a half to finish a 4.4 lbs jar of protein. Luckily I get all my supplements form my sponsor, Performance, otherwise I could not afford it.

What’s your profession?

I work forty hours a week at KPN at the back office service desk for telephony, Internet and such.

What is your current weight?

I am not sure. At the contest I weighed 214 pounds, and when I started with the contest prep, I think I weighed about 253 pounds. I guess I weigh around 236 pounds right now. I did not go overboard eating after the contest.  Year round my body fat percentage is about nine to nine-and-a-half percent. I have no idea what my fat percentage was at the contest, I do not have it measured anymore. I just check my shape in the mirror. The mirror doesn’t lie. When you measure, there is a lot of stress when you perhaps gained a percentage, while you may actually look better in the mirror.

What do you do to get in contest shape?

I dieted for eight weeks prior to the contest. After four weeks I really started doing cardio, and in the last week I did cardio in the morning before breakfast on an empty stomach.


How much cardio training do you do?

Forty-five minutes, once a day. That suffices for me.

And what do you eat during contest prep?

Just you basic bodybuilding food, so rice and chicken. I used to put some pineapple in a swell, but all of a sudden I got sick of that. No I am addicted to raisins. During the year, I eat quite clean, and with dinner I just eat what comes on the table. I just don’t eat pork. I don’t like the taste of it, and it is just not good meat.

I do like to eat out at McDonald’s, which I do once a week to forget about the plainness of the diet. Pre contest I actually ate steak and a potato. Luckily my coach, Khalid, knows how my body reacts, and my sponsor also checks if I am still looking good, and Khalid gets into trouble when I look bad! Mostly it’s okay. My sponsor is also a personal friend, and I like it he is showing so much interest.


Thanks a lot for the interview, Robin!

Robin and Dean Brantz

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