Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Thanks To The Big Dog by John Quinlan

I just wanted to thank the Big Dog for uploading a quick video clip of me working out in the gym yesterday to YouTube. Very cool man, that was a good workout, I feel great and injury free right now :)


 God Bless







Thank You Terrance Shaw & Leslie Weston of VIP Exclusive Fashion Models by John Quinlan

I would like to give a big shout out to Terrance Shaw and Leslie Weston of VIP Exclusive Fashion Models, honored to be part of your amazing agency. You both are truly great people! Thank you both so much!!!!!











God Bless










Monday, February 27, 2012

My Opinion of Michael Irvin by John Quinlan

I have always been a huge fan of Hall of Fame football player Michael Irvin. The other night was the first time I actually sat down and watched his Hall of Fame Induction speech. What an incredible speech Irvin gave. He thanked everybody from his mother, his father (who is no longer with us) and God above to Jerry Jones, all the Dallas Cowboys fans and his former teammates. I have always respected Irvin as an athlete but it was at the end of his Hall of Fame speech when I respected Michael Irvin the man. It starts at 21:40 into the video below:


He asks his 2 sons in the audience to stand up and he says....."that's my heart right there." He then admits he has had struggles and made some bad decisions and asks God not to let him "screw this up." He asks God to help him raise them for a young lady so they can be a better husband than I, help me raise them for their kids so they can be a better father than I and to always do the right thing so you can be a better role model than dad. He goes on to mention the Hall of Fame class the year before and how the late great Reggie White was represented by his wife Sarah White and he said....."that is what a hall of famer is, certainly I am not that." He told his 2 sons to do it like they did it. He said he wanted to stand in front of his 2 boys and tell them to do it like dad like any dad would have wanted to. In closing he states to tell anybody that has ever wanted to give up and quit.....to look up, get up and never give up. It takes a real man to do what Michael Irvin did that night, great speech.....one of the best ever!

God Bless














     

A Special Thank You To Mike Lyons of Silver Models Management by John Quinlan

I would like to personally send out a very special thank you to Mike Lyons of Silver Models Management in New York.


I met with Mike this past week and it was a real honor for me. I had been talking to Mike here and there for the past year and I was finally able to have a meeting with him. Let me first start off by saying what a top notch agency Silver Models Management is. They represent some of the best sports models, athletes and lifestyle talent for commercial print advertising, editorial, TV and feature films in the world. It seemed like there were thousands of names in the database that Mike showed me and here are a few of the names off the top of my head that stood out (although every model in there is tip top):




I have to say it was a very good meeting. Mike was very professional and down to Earth. The only difference was he is a huge New York Giants and Yankees fan, ha ha ha......but I won't hold that against him with myself being from Boston and liking the Red Sox all my life, lol! I did tell him I was still a big A-Rod and Jeter fan so all was good :)

Mike went into detail about how Silver Models Management works and I found it to be quite amazing! I really felt a connection with Mike, he represented himself and his company very well. With 4 physique competitions coming up for me (2 in May and 2 in June) Mike gave me some advice from a judges point of view and I appreciate his corrective criticism as I will work hard on those areas he mentioned to me. I feel anytime I am able to get the advice from a person that really knows the business I take it and try to learn from it to make myself a better athlete.

After some more talk about the agency Mike told me he wanted me to view him as a coach and I really appreciated that. I told Mike you will get 100% out of John Quinlan. I will show up on time and always work hard. I have to be completely honest here, I respect Mike Lyons as a human being and as my friend. After my big photo shoot in early April I told Mike I will send him some head & body shots and he said he will add me to the Silver Model Database with those images.  I can't say enough good things about Mike Lyons but the main thing I want to thank Mike for is believing in John Quinlan. 100% respect for you always man!

God Bless 


Sunday, February 26, 2012

First Progress Photo of 2012 by John Quinlan

Just wanted to post a quick photo of my first progress photo of 2012. I am about 9 or so weeks away from my first physique competition and my training thus far has been going ok. Knock on wood I am injury free this time for the first time in years so I look to be in the best shape I can be without any terrible setbacks that I have been so accustomed to over the years. This photo was taken with my cell phone and the photo quality was actually kind of poor with bad lighting to I put it into black and white to off set the horrible brightness.



I am going to try and focus a bit more on my abs as last time around I was injured and due to the fact that I was stuck in bed for over a week and could barely walk for another 3 really made cardio work impossible and just working out really difficult. As a result my condition suffered big time and my abs did as well. This time I look to make up for the mistakes last time and keep my main goal of avoiding injuries fresh in my mind at all times so I am given a fighting chance. My abs are slowly coming along but I am just going to try and stay consistent with my training and diet and whatever happens happens. As long as I know I gave it 100% effort this time around I can live with the results. Thanks Everybody!

God Bless





Friday, February 24, 2012

Update On My Training & Diet by John Quinlan

Well I am almost through February (2012) and I have been training decent since the first of the year. So basically about several weeks now and I feel pretty good. The main thing is that I stay healthy this time around. The past couple years I was injured and I made a few nutritional mistakes along the way as well. Some of these nutritional mistakes I think were because my mind set was that of when I was in my mid 20's and not my mid 30's. Funny because I still feel like I am in my early 20's mentally and physically. Hopefully with this mind set I will age gracefully then, ha ha ha! I am going to try and pay attention a bit more this time to my sodium intake, my overall carbohydrates and cardio work. These 3 things in the past have been a bit off so I think if I can get these down just right I should be ok.....I hope. My goal is to stay injury free straight through May and June so I have a fighting chance in my Physique competitions. To be honest, my main goal this time is that when people I know see me......they say, "he looked good." I tell people I just want to make this time around "respectable". One thing is for sure, I have 100% respect for all the judges and my fellow competitors. What I am most proud of over the years (and I am actually very humbled by to be completely honest) is how many people talk positive of me. You all know who you are and I thank each and every one of you for all the kind words! God Bless you all!!!!!! Hey, as far as these physique competitions go, all I can do is go out there and do the best I can. Work hard to prepare through good diet and consistent exercise and may God watch over me. Hopefully this blue collared tattooed Irish guy from Boston, Massachusetts can make those he represents proud come May and June. The only thing I can promise is I will work hard to make it happen, the rest is out of my hands. Thanks for reading and much love!

God Bless








Thursday, February 23, 2012

A Special Thank You To Julian & Amy Rifa by John Quinlan

I would like to personally thank 2 very amazing people who run a business that is one of the best in the world. Julian & Amy Rifa who own and operate Accelerated Web Studios. They designed an amazing Web Site for me and were both so very nice and as professional as any people I have ever dealt with. Here is my brand new web site they just designed http://www.johnjosephquinlan.com/ If anybody would like a professional web site like this please email Julian at Julian@AcceleratedWebStudios.com He said he will build a free web site for 3 of my friends if you just mention my name, very cool! Add Julian on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/JulianRifa Thanks Again Julian & Amy, much respect always!

God Bless








Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Jeremy Lin of The New York Knicks by John Quinlan

This guy Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks has been on fire lately! The Knicks said Tuesday that their past 2 games were the highest-rated regular season events on MSG since the network began tracking household ratings during the 1988-89 season. This past Friday and Monday nights games were watched in more than 540,000 households and drew ratings above 7.3. This easily beat out the previous regular season high which was Michael Jordan's "Double Nickel" game on March 28, 1995 in which he scored 55 points in his first game back at Madison Square Garden since ending his retirement. On a side note I think Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever and many will argue with me but I am a HUGE Michael Jordan and I grew up watching him so there is my basic reasoning, ha ha ha! What I think is awesome is that Lin went to Harvard University, the Ivy League school right down the street from my house, so he is kind of representing Massachusetts, lol! But really, that is very cool! I wish him the best in the NBA. As I stated above, Lin is on fire and an auction of his game worn autographed jersey where he sunk the winning shot against the Lakers along with 4 tickets to the upcoming game against the Atlanta Hawks and a chance to meet him raised $42, 388!!!!! This was all for the Garden of Dreams Foundation.....not bad Mr. Lin, great job!!!!! Nice to see money being raised for charities. It is really nice to see when athletes can use their ability and marketing power to do good for others so much respect for the New York Knicks and Jeremy Lin. To sum it up, great story! To read an interesting article about Jermey Lin click on the link below from the Los Angeles Times with the story by Bill Plaschke:


God Bless





Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Boston's Own Movie "The Town" Nun Robbery Scene

I grew up in the Boston, Massachusetts area and have lived here all my life. With that being said, I really enjoy when a movie is filmed here. I love seeing all the places I have been on the big screen.....very cool! So the other night we were sitting around talking about intense movie scenes and I always try and represent my "home turf" in situations like this. I immediately thought of the movie, "The Town" starring Ben Affleck. There were many intense scenes in this movie I could have touched upon but one in particular stood out from the rest. It was the robbery gone wrong scene when Affleck and his 3 other friends packed with guns and dressed up as nuns with the scary white faced masks on going to rob an armored car. It was so eerie when they drove by the boy on the street right before the robbery and in slow motion and the boy made direct eye contact with one of the men. That kid must have been horrified. This is definitely an intense movie scene with gun fire and chase with Boston Police. Click on the link below to watch this intense scene if you have never scene it before......pretty wild:


Ben Affleck starred in and directed this film and did an amazing job with both!

God Bless




Shout Out To Amy & Julian by John Quinlan

I would like to give a personal shout out to 2 very special people Amy & Julian who created an additional web site for me. Great job as I am honored to be surrounded by such amazing people like you! I am going to forward this site over to my PR guy to run once it is completed as it is still being set up right now. Click on the link below to check it out:


I would like to thank everybody out there that has always supported me....too many to name but you ALL know who you are and am forever grateful! I'm gonna keep pressin' on with a positive attitude and strong work ethic :)

God Bless












Monday, February 20, 2012

Migraine Headaches Just Dibilitate Me by John Quinlan

Over the years I have suffered from Migraine headaches. I wish I knew the cause of these things because they absolutely kill me. I know when one is coming on because I begin to lose my vision....man it's terrible. Usually I can stop most of the nightmare before it has a chance to really kick my butt if I take an Excedrin Migraine pill and 1 caffeine pill along with a few ice packs that I immediately place on my head and neck. If I don't do this within the first 5 to 10 minutes I am all done. I was taking prescription medication for them many years ago but I stopped those because I am a not a fan of taking any serious medication if I can get around it with something simple like an over the counter remedy that I use very sparingly. Below is a great article I found on Migraine Headaches:


Maybe someday there will be a vaccine for these dreadful things. Probably not in my lifetime though!

God Bless  





Friday, February 17, 2012

God Bless Gary Carter by John Quinlan

I would just like to express how sorry I am to all the friends and family of Hall of Fame baseball player Gary Carter who passed away yesterday after his battle with cancer. Growing up as a kid I was a huge baseball fan and Gary Carter was right up there in my "favorite baseball cards book". I remember back in 1986 when the Red Sox played the New York Mets in the World Series. Even though I was a Boston Red Sox fan and wanted them to win, and this sounds kind of crazy, I was still hoping some of my favorite players at the time (Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez, Howard Johnson and Kevin Mitchell) on the other team would play well. You know.....have a solid individual performance but just come up short and lose to the Sox. I remember Carter hitting 2 home runs in Game 4 of the World Series at Fenway Park, what an amazing performance! We all know the Mets went on to win the World Series but performance like this were what Gary Carter was all about. He finished his career with 324 Home Runs, 1,225 RBI's, an 11-time All-Star, a 3-time Gold Glove Award winner, a 5-time Silver Slugger Award winner, a 2-time MLB All-Star game MVP and winner of the Roberto Clemente award in 1989. He played nearly 2 decades for 4 different teams (Montreal Expos, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodges). He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. Gary Carter was a classy baseball player and human being. He played the game the way it was meant to be played, with 100% intensity! Again, my prayers and deepest sympathy goes out to Gary Carter's entire family and to all of his many friends and fans. Below are a couple of links on Gary Carter, the first being his website and the second is a nice read by the New York Times:

Click Here To Visit Gary Carter's Website

Click Here To Read About The Exuberant Power Hitting Catcher Gary Carter by The New York Times

Below are a few photos that I thought really summed up the career of Gary Carter, truly one of baseball's finest!


Gary Carter with Keith Hernandez during the 1986 World Series.


I remember this card from 1987, it was in my best players book.


Carter showing compassion here, what an amazing person he was. Winning the Roberto Clemente Award in 1989 which is given annually to the Major League Baseball player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individuals contributions to his team were traits that Carter continued after his playing days were over.  


Thanks for all the baseball memories Gary Carter, you will never be forgotten!

God Bless



   

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

My Current Training by John Quinlan

I am back training again and I must say so far so good. It has been a real learning experience for me this time around. The past couple years were a bit rough, my diet was off and I was injured very badly. This time I feel I have learned from my past mistakes and I WILL avoid injuries. For the past month my training and diet have been the best since my days as a pro wrestler. It is nice that I am getting back to that point again. There have been a lot of distractions along the way but I am mentally sound and now able to focus on my goals and being positive 24-7. I am looking forward to 4 upcoming Physique competitions, 2 in May and 2 in June. My main goal for anybody that sees me is when they leave they can say, "John Quinlan looked good, he made it respectable." I am just honored to be on the same stage as all of these great athletes and when I say "make it respectable" I mean just that, show the judges and the people in the audience that I did my homework and worked hard. Where I place is out of my hands but to me, I worked hard to get there through good consistent diet and exercise and that is the best I can do. What I do want to say right now is how much respect I have for all the judges and my fellow competitors. All of the competitors.....male and female bodybuilders, fitness girls and physique competitors at these shows work very hard through perseverance and discipline and stepping on stage makes each and every one of them a winner in the game of life. Thus far my diet has been very good, keeping a close eye on my carbohydrate and sodium intake (my biggest mistake over the past few years). Last year was tough as I tore my hamstring and groin a month before a show which resulted in not being able to do ANY cardio for that last month which is crucial and my overall diet was a bit off as my sodium intake was much to high. I kick myself because I know better, basically foolish mistakes that I WILL NOT make this time around. I do want to apologize to some people (you know who you are) as I feel I let you down. I was not discipline enough last time around and it showed so another goal I have is to win those people back this time. I represent the blue collar Boston Irish :)



God Bless








Monday, February 13, 2012

LeBron James and The Heckler by John Quinlan

In the 4th quarter of Miami's win over Washington LeBron James was given some choice words from a heckler in the crowd. His name was Bob Moore and he made a verbal reference to that "years-old urban legend" about James former teammate Delonte West and his mother Gloria. You can do the math here and put 2 and 2 together about what he was getting at, anyway when LeBron heard this he verbally fired back himself from the court. Basically to sum it up he said the only reason you (Moore) talk the s**t you do is because I can't do it because I'm stuck on the court but if I had the opportunity I would do it right now. Moore replied that he was right here, let's go. My take on this is that it can go both ways. Every fan, when he or she buys a ticket has the right to voice their opinion to players what they think of them.....hecklers as they call them. Personally. I would never do it but everybody is different. So with that Mr. Moore is entitled to his opinion here although the thing I had a bit of a problem with was the fact he made reference to LeBron's mother. Guys, we all know the cardinal rule.....never talk about another mans mother! It's just wrong. So I think LeBron had every right to respond the way he did. Bottom line here is choose your battles wisely because sometimes the things you say to others can backfire on you.


God Bless


    

Thursday, February 9, 2012

A Shout Out To Lacie Nation by John Quinlan

I would like to give a personal shout out to one of the world's greatest up and coming writers, Lacie Nation. This girl is such an amazing person and she has a huge career ahead of her with romance novels. Check out her blog "Soul Shakin Romance" by clicking on the link below:


Check out her book, "So Beautifully Broken" by clicking here
It is my honor to call this very talented up and coming author my friend!



God Bless




























Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Rapper Chris Parker by John Quinlan

Just wanted to let everybody know to go check out rapper Chris Parker from Chicago, Illinois. This kid is an amazing up and coming super talent and he has the drive and desire to be one of the best in the world. His current record label is Self Made Glory. He specializes in R&B and Hip-Hop as well.

Click Here To Listen To His Song "Underground Kings Remix"

Listen to this song and you will see what I mean.

Here are a few more of his links:

Chris Parkers YouTube Channel

Chris Parker on Twitter

Chris Parker's Facebook Fan Page



God Bless





Monday, February 6, 2012

Wes Welker Will Always Be The Man by John Quinlan

As a huge Patriots fan I was rooting big time for them to pull off a victory at Super Bowl 46 against the Giants. It didn't happen as they came up short 21-17. A lot of the talk was about some of the missed plays of the game on the part of the Patriots, especially Wes Welker's dropped ball. Here is a great article to read and it shows what a polite and humble guy Wes Welker is:


Wes Welker is one of the greatest wide receivers the game of football has ever known. The pressure in that situation was at an all-time high.....playing in the biggest game of the season in front of thousands of screaming fans analyzing your every move along with millions watching you all over the world, stuff happens. Welker mentioned it was a play he has made a thousand times that he never drops and always makes. He also noted it was the most critical situation and he let the team down. Personally I have to say.....Wes, if it wasn't for your amazing play during the regular season the Patriots probably wouldn't even be in the Super Bowl. Because of you, year in and year out New England has excelled. Don't beat yourself up man, it's one play! You will always be the man! One of the greatest ever! Tom Brady commented as well saying,"I'll keep throwing the ball to him for as long as I possibly can.....I love that guy." I respect Wes Welker as a person and an athlete. I admire him also for his attitude, he never makes excuses or blames other people. Players on both sides of the ball played competitively which made this a great battle. Each and every player gave it 100% to the very end. Hey Wes Welker, you are not known as one of the best receivers to have ever played this game for nothing, you earned that through hard work, consistency and putting up incredible numbers.....you will always be the man! 


God Bless