Wisbech father's bodybuilding journey proves to be a YouTube hit

A father-of-three has become a social media hit whilst documenting his comeback in the world of competitive bodybuilding following a 14-year absence.

Brendan Pearl, 35, from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, took up training again 18-months ago and has amassed more than 400,000 YouTube subscribers who follow him on his fitness journey.

Mr Pearl said he started bodybuilding “to get noticed” and later quit to raise a family, but now wanted to show his children “how dad can rebuild himself”.

“I am sharing the whole experience [on YouTube]… from bodybuilding preparation, mindset and diet breakdowns, to the chaos of balancing family life as a husband and father of three – it is all there,” he said.

Mr Pearl said as a teenager he noticed some of his friends working out and he felt inspired to start going to the gym.

“I really just wanted to attract some female attention and it worked, because I have now been married for 14 years.

“I did my final competitive body building show in 2011 and then quit to raise a family and start up a business in double glazing,” he said.

Mr Pearl said now that his three children were older he wanted to train seriously again.