A PIZZA-eating bodybuilder who is 60 years old told how his sights are set on an international contest held in Las Vegas.

IT worker turned gym owner, Rick Waters, of Wyburns Avenue, Rayleigh, has trained for between five and seven hours a week for 33 years to compete in the World Natural Olympia Championships, held in November.

His diet consists of eight meal times a day - including chicken, salad, porridge, rice cakes, protein shakes - plus pizza, roasts and the occasional tipple at the weekend.

Mr Waters, who lives with his son Mitchell, 21, and wife Karen, 55, said: “I’ve got to this physique by purely natural means.

“I’ve seen guys who take drugs, and it doesn’t turn out well. They’re playing Russian Roulette with their lives.

“With drugs you lose your weight when you stop training anyway.

“The first year of my training was the hardest, but when you see the weight change it makes you want to do more.

“Most bodybuilders are placid and shy guys, me included, but you do get a handful of those arrogant types down at gyms which makes people stereotype.”

He added he became inspired to start his journey after he was in a Southend gym and spotted an 80-year-old bodybuilder pushing weights.

He added: “It just made me think ‘wow’.

“You can’t train all the time and live life by the book though. At weekends I’ll have a takeaway, like a pizza, and on Sunday I’ll have a roast.

“Whiskey and Guinness are my favourite.”

In Vegas, Mr Waters, who has won more than 50 body building titles, will compete against counterparts aged 50 and over from around the world.

He continued: “I can see myself continuing to do this for a long, long time.

“I’ll body build for as long as my body and mind allow me.”

Son Mitchell, who runs the Prohydr8 gym in Brook Road, Rayleigh, with his dad, told of his pride.

He said: “My father is one of the most humble characters you could meet and in my eyes does not get enough credit for what he does.”