Meet Ken Elrod

We were lucky to catch up with Ken Elrod recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ken, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

How did I find my purpose – That is a tough one. It took me 41 years to figure that question out myself. In April of 2011, I had stopped by my brother’s house and my nephew, who was 16 at the time, was there. I had just turned 41 earlier that January of 2011. As I was talking to my nephew, he stopped and stared at me for a moment and said, “Uncle Kenny”, I was like “yeah?”, he said “I am F****** bigger than you.”

At the time I was 137 pounds soaking wet. Well, that was all I needed to hear, and I vowed there and then that was the last time I was going to be called skinny or hear that I am so thin that I could hang glide on a Dorito.

I made my mind up and picked a day when things were going to change. I was going to quit drinking heavily on weekends, quit smoking two packs of cigarettes a day and stop consuming my usual seven to nine Mountain Dews a day. I was going to change my life.

I had always sucked at sports; I was always just too thin and too small. My nephew’s offhanded comment ended up being a life changing moment for me. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason.
I picked a Saturday that I was GOING TO QUIT all the bad habits and start working out. I bought a home gym and put it in my auto repair shop and had my last drink, smoke and Mountain Dew and on that Saturday night and started working out that following Monday. It took me a year before I would even set foot in a regular gym, due to low self-esteem and body dysmorphia.

I had started following a guy on YouTube named Greg Plitt and then got a subscription to his website and watched his vlogs. He was the GOAT of influencers at that time and there was just something about him that I could relate to. Sadly, January 17, 2015, the day after my 45th Birthday, Greg passed away, in a tragic train accident. He had always encouraged his followers to do something 90 days out, whether it’s a marathon, a 5k, lose weight for a wedding or family reunion or a bodybuilding competition.

I was talking with a friend of mine at a gym and told him about Greg and how much of a motivational influence he had become for me. My friend responded saying that I should do a bodybuilding competition. I have never laughed so hard. To think, me – “skinny Kenny” do a bodybuilding competition. It sounded absurd. He wasn’t laughing. He was dead serious. He proceeded to tell me about a class within bodybuilding called Men’s Physique which had been added to the sport only a few years prior.

After thinking about this for a bit and biting the bullet, I said “Screw it, why not?” I reluctantly agreed to do my first show. I had been tremendously impacted and saddened by the death of Greg Plitt. I thought to myself, what a tribute to Greg and his family it would be for me to compete in a bodybuilding competition.

Now the question became – How to go about it? I set out to find the biggest guy in the gym. I walked up to him and asked him if he did bodybuilding and if he coached people. The answer was yes, to both questions. I then asked how much he would charge me to prep me for a show and to my astonishment, he responded that he would do it for FREE. I was thrilled and we got to work right away. After completing the 12 weeks of prep I nervously got on stage for my very first Men’s Masters Physique contest and amazingly, I took 1st in my class, 1st in novice, and 2nd in open.

With this experience, I was hooked. I had finally found something I was good at! My coach built me up to 186 lbs. and leaned me out during show prep to my stage weight of 162 in 12 weeks. That first show prep experience was tough both mentally and physically, and to be honest, I almost quit 4 weeks out. I called my dad and told him that I didn’t think I could finish this and thought about quitting. I think that it was especially tough for me because I had worked so hard to gain weight then to turn around and lose it, even on purpose, freaked me out. My dad said if I quit now that I would regret it. I have always quit everything I had started up till this point in my life and he was right. It was time I followed through on something I had started. Needless to say, I finished and won.

Fast forward a few years. I am now 54 years young and have competed in 8 additional competitions. Two of which were National shows in an attempt to go after my Pro card, which would elevate me from the amateur NPC competitor to the big leagues of the professional IFBB. I have taken home first place trophies in 5 of these competitions, 2nd in one, and my first National Competition was in July of 2023 where I took 11th in my class and in July of 2024, I took 5th in over 50 and over 45.

My coach and I are now preparing for another National show (North Americans) August 27th 2025. The judges feedback was overwhelmingly positive stating that I looked amazing, my posing was spot on, and just need to gain some more thickness in chest area.

I finally found my purpose. In an ironic and beautiful twist of fate, Greg’s parents follow me on social media, and I am following in his footsteps in helping others with their personal transformations. I am very thankful for my nephew and for Greg. My goal now is to get that PRO-CARD and finally can say that I finished something and didn’t quit.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Born in Akron, Ohio, I moved to Fort Myers, Florida in 1980 at the age of 10. I never really fit in with one particular crowd and had very few friends. Honestly, I could count on one hand of people that I actually called friends.

I tried to play basketball in middle school, but I was too short. I had one friend, Gavin Foster. He played drums and I had thought that would be cool to try it myself. After all, what a way to relieve stress. My grandmother bought me a snare drum and I took lessons at the same place as Gavin. We would take the bus together to drum lessons and then home. I was ok, good enough to make it into the middle school band. Then came high school. I continued to play in the band and my grandmother bought me a full drum kit and that was amazing. I played in the high school marching band but wasn’t good enough to play snare so played the bass a few times and cymbals.

I joined the wrestling team but was way too small at just 128 pounds and only slightly over 5 feet. I had also tried playing pop warner football at the age of 11. I wasn’t big enough for that at the time either. I mostly joined because of my dad who was coaching at the time.

As I mentioned earlier, I just could not seem to find something that I was good at. I quit high school 6 months before graduation and ended up getting married at 19. She got pregnant shortly after we were married so of course I then needed to find a job that would help support us and pay for our son to be born. That is when I joined the Navy. In order to be accepted I had to go back to high school and get my diploma because I failed the GED. I graduated in 1990. My graduation date really should have been 1988.

After entering into boot camp in June of 1990, my son was born the 3rd week in. Kuwait was invaded during my 4th week there. I got sent back three times for failing the written tests. Boot camp should have taken 9 weeks. It took me 16. Upon graduation from boot camp (finally) I was stationed as active duty on a carrier and on December 28th of 1990 we were headed to be a part of Operation Desert Shield. My birthday that year was eventful to say the least. January 16th as I wake up to celebrate my 21st birthday I receive the news that the U.S. started air strikes on Iraq which became Operation Desert Storm. We finally got back to Virginia that following June of 1991. At that time my wife and I ended our marriage.

That night I got back in; she left and took my son out of the state and headed to Minnesota without telling me. I never got to say goodbye to my son. I was lost and depressed. Unable to deal with so much, I sunk to a new low and decided to take my own life. As I was upstairs in my apartment starting to take a whole bottle of pills, I hear a crash outside where all of my friends were partying.

It was a horrible sound. I put down the bottle and ran outside to see what happened. My friend, who rode a motorcycle, had been drunkenly hauling ass up and down the empty street. He was making a lot of noise and someone suggested that it needed to stop. It was because of this my other friend went out to try and slow him down. The only problem was that he stepped out from behind another vehicle and wasn’t seen in time with the speed the motorcycle was racing. The unexpected impact killed them both instantly.
What I was met with when I ran downstairs was seeing two of my best friends dead in the street. The odometer on the motorcycle was stuck at 103 mph. This happened on October 5th, 1991, which was a Sunday. At the young age of just barely 21 I had just lost my wife, my son, and two of my closest friends. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the following Wednesday I called my friend’s parents to see how they were holding up and to pay my condolences.
I realized very quickly that the Navy had not contacted them, leaving me in the awful and awkward position of being the one to tell them that their one and only son was dead. I got out of the Navy in June of 93.
I had also fathered a son in high school at the age of 16. I was unfortunately quite stupid and immature and was set on denying that he was mine because it was just too much to handle and deal with. After I got out of the Navy I reconnected with his mother and began seeing my son. At the age of 2 he went to bed one night with an ear infection and woke up the next day totally crippled. He was diagnosed with a rare brain disease. I missed the first six years of his life, and he passed away October 12, 1995, just a few months shy of his 8th birthday.

I was never the same after that and also not the same person after that tragic accident and the loss of my friends in 93. Throughout my life I was always trying to find my place. A place that I fit in, kind of like the Island of Misfits. I have had over 100 jobs in my lifetime and now I am 100% disabled from the military due mental health issues.

The bodybuilding community is the first place and the first group of people I have associated with where I truly feel I fit and am a part of something. I honestly feel like the gym is the only place I fit in and I don’t fit in on the outside world. If I could not compete much less workout, I am not sure what I would do. I am solely focused on competing and chasing that Pro Card. I can honestly say that this sport has changed my life. Sure, it may have taken 41 years to figure this out, but I am happy I did.
Had I not taken first place in my first competition, I am not sure where I would be. Probably just trying to find my place or where I can fit in. I do have a handful of friends now that are more like brothers. I do keep my circle small for many reasons. I love competing because I am a very competitive person and that is what drives me, I guess. I do not want to be just good at this, I want to be great. I love how hard it is, I love that this tests me not just on a physical level but a mental level as well.

I do not really have a brand other than Team Krod and my YouTube channel where I can help educate others and share my story. Mental health is so important, and the gym and competing are my main forms of therapy.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Tough question……. There is an amazing amount of knowledge to be gained in bodybuilding. I don’t know if it is even possible for someone to learn everything. Just like science, it keeps on evolving over time. If I compare what I know now to what I knew when I started, it really is mind blowing.

The three pieces of advice I feel can benefit everyone interested in this sport or even regular fitness enthusiasts is this:
1. Find someone or something that inspires you. Find someone who has what you want, watch them, and do what they have done.

2. Don’t go it alone. There is far too much information and misinformation out there to sift through. You could waste years trying this and that with minimal results. If you have a goal in mind, find a trainer or coach to work with. They are there to help guide you along your journey and make sure you know where you are going.

3. Foster Sticktoitiveness – Believe in yourself and make agreements with yourself that you will not break or let yourself down. Consistency is the name of the game. They don’t say “Rep by Rep” for nothing. That is how you build and grow, inside and out.
Change doesn’t happen overnight, but if you stay with it – you will begin to see your new self emerge. The effort you put in is what you get back, and it is worth it.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

At the age of 54, now actively involved in bodybuilding for 8 years, having found my passion I have put my whole heart, mind, soul and body into it.
I do not believe in doing anything half assed. It is because of this that I have been successful, but it may also be because of this that I find myself with multiple injuries.
My goal is to get my Pro-card in Men’s Master’s Physique Bodybuilding and nothing, not even my own body, is going to stop me. My wife, friends, and even doctors support me in this, but they do not fully understand. They all agree that most people would and should get the surgeries done that are being recommended. Yes, I said surgeries, plural.
I have multiple repetitive use injuries very likely due to weightlifting over time. I will eventually need my shoulder repaired if not replaced. There are 10 different tears in the muscle surrounding my shoulder area, scapula, neck and chest. My elbows are shot – I have tried PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injections in both elbows, which was incredibly painful, with minimal results. On top of this the Ulnar nerve has become entrapped on my elbow area and lower arm. I lose feeling and often drop items. I have to be very careful when lifting. My wrists also give me issues as well.
The doctors have said that I can wait on these surgeries as long as I can stand the pain. Like I said above, nothing is going to stop me from reaching my goal – not even me. I still work out just as hard as I always have, if not harder. I do try and be more mindful and make sure I am holding proper form so that I hopefully do not hurt myself further. But if I agreed to the elbow surgery alone, they have said in no uncertain terms that would be it for me. I would be done competing and likely done with bodybuilding.
So, for now I work with an amazing physical therapist, a body mechanic (for lack of a better term, he does massage therapy but its unlike anyone else I have ever been to he releases and realigns your entire body, muscles, tendons, ligaments and all.), follow what my coach tells me, and do my best to keep my chin up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.teamkrod.com
• Instagram: @team_krod
• Facebook: teamk-rod
• Youtube: @teamkrod