The homeless bodybuilder

Look at the photo collection on the right. What does it tell you? A boy in his teens playing guitar, a proud young father and then a man, a father. It can be from anyone's photo album and can be the story of one of millions of people on this planet. This particular man and his particular story is one of the more sad stories that you may come across.

He is Jacques Sayagh. He used to have a nice life. He used to have stability. Now he lives on the streets of Paris. Once an alcoholic, he is homeless. He is also a bodybuilder.

Jacques is 51 years old and now a proud grandfather. Life dealt him several rough cards and now he is homeless living in a tent in a park in Paris with his dog and not much possessions. His liver is damaged. He openly talks about his alcohol abuse and his past life on the seedier side of Paris, including liaisons with prostitutes.

Jacques sleeps on the floor and doesn't mind the cold. Nowadays his focus is on bodybuilding and he uses the streets of Paris as his gym! He does push-ups on the pavement, pull-ups using belts suspended from lamp-posts and bicep curls using bungee ropes attached to railings.

"I have grandchildren now. I want them to be proud of me" says Jacques.

Jacques can't afford rent for an apartment or gym membership but he is focused and very determined. When he competes, he stands side by side with some of the greats in the world who have much more than him but there, on stage, he is just another bodybuilder. His most recent competition was the IFBB France contest.