Vin Marco posted this very inspirational story at MuscleService.com’s Forum

Well, there have been some interesting threads lately asking some really interesting questions and I reminded me of my own story…. More than one person asked me last week how or what motivated me to be part of this old old old profession…
As a kid, I grew up helping my dad do his work out. I’d hang on his back while he did pull ups, I’d take his shoes off after his jogs, hold his feet down while he did sit ups, lay on his back while he did push ups. I would read his muscle mags and books. I was skinny most of my life. I was actually 6′1 and 150 lbs in 10Th grade….

Being skinny just made me work harder, felt I had to prove my self to my BIGGER buddy’s through never backing down from bigger guys, surfing, and doing the things I loved, but never for one second did I forget that my legs were about the size of most of my Buddy’s arms LIL
Like most of us who grew up this way, body building, the weight room was the answer.
In High school, after 10Th grade, you could say is where I turned it up, came back in the 11Th grade only to have people say “WTF happened to you?” I now had attention from my new found physical gains. I liked it and it just served as a motivation. Sad to say but I realized early on that I was treated different … The skinny kid had to fight to be accepted, the new big kid didn’t. The jocks treated me different now, the coaches begged, but I was still the same guy inside so some things never changed. I shared the same gym as the jocks but still didn’t have much in common. I liked the beach and didn’t care much for pro sports. I just knew I loved what the gym and what it did for me and little did I know it would come to save me some 14 yrs later… Like many things in life I had the chance to sit on both sides of the fence so to speak. I think this just helped me find compassion for people. It either does two things, you either find compassion or forget you were once there. I always help guys that ask for my help or advise in the gym. I was once that kid and will never forget.

Now as an adult, no longer that skinny kid, 3 yrs of private university, which I could just could not afford even with an academic scholarship, seems a leave of absence was the solution… I was told, Id never go back, until this day those who told me were right. What I did was find my self a member of an AFL-CIO construction union, knowing some way, somehow no matter how old I was, I’d finish what I started.
One day I sustained a bad work related injury that left me unable to work in my trade, at least that was what the medical doctors that represented my employer said….. Unable to make my living, a bum foot and not educated, it didn’t look good for me and It was starting to sink in. luckily my mom had 10 acres in the woods of Oregon that would serve as place for me to think, get away from Southern California and figure out what this invalid was going to do with the rest of his life. One day before I moved, I was at a bar in San Clemente California having a beer or eight with my buddy Matt B. We were looking at the houses on the hill and I said to Matt, “check out those houses” his reply was, “pretty nice eh, but I’ll never live in one” I just looked at him…. I thought for a second and told him…. ” it might be my twisted thinking Matt, but some way, some how, I’m gonna live in a house like that one day” I think it was that sort of thinking that has always driven me, weather it was a skinny kid who thought he was stronger than he was or some unemployed guy that didn’t know how he was going to make a living for the rest of his life.

When I say I have compassion for people I don’t just say it to say it. I have dug ditches, finished concrete, I drive by and see guys working in the hot sun and feel for those guys. I know the value of a hard earned dollar. I was little bummed when someone on this board asked me about some things I owned, retailers I frequented.. why should I not shop there?, buy the car I probably thought I could never afford. I know what its like to be poor, I know what its like to be treated different because of what I thought were physical shortcomings…

One day I packed my lil truck with all the personal belongings it could possibly fit making it look like Fred G. Sanford’s truck. I pretty much knocked on my neighbors door and said if you want all the furniture in my apartment, I suggest you come get it now because I’m driving to Oregon after my lil truck is packed. They made out with Beds, couches, dvd players, stereo, a whole kitchen, etc.

Oregon at first didn’t prove to be much better… I thought I would finish school, being I was at a private college, alot of the course work didn’t transfer and out of state tuition was going to kill me. At this point I really didn’t know what I was going to do. I did however find a little gym about 15 miles away, and that was the gym that changed my life forever….. I got into what was the best shape of my life. I was about 185-195 and never more ripped, I mean on any given moment you could see the veins in any part of my stomach. I was SHREDDED and I will go back, find some pictures of those days and post them. It was out of COMPLETE boredom that I posted some pictures on a body rating site and it is where Charlie sent me an email through that site. Charlie was a guy who lived in Seattle, and had great ideas, just lacked the capitol to finance his ideas. His initial email was to tell me I had an amazing physique and would I consider doing some nude modeling for his site. I pretty much just ignored his emails, just pawning him off as a pervert who wanted to just see me naked. Finally I began to just say no thanks MANY times, only to have to block him from contacting me…..Now, some 3 months later, most of my saved money depleted, here I was now digging and searching for his profile only to ask, what do I have to do?, where do I have to go? , and lastly, how much? LOL So here I was taking it off for a guy who paid me more in one hour than I had ever made in my whole life ( for an hour that is) He was actually who posted my pictures here on MSS. He had asked me if I was interested in Muscle Worship… Again, told him not interested… Only to ask him 3 months later, “so where is this muscle worship place?” LOL He laughed and said, its not a place you moron, its a service you provide! LOL I owe so much to Charlie, he believed in me, explained to me how what I had worked so hard to build could bring another person happiness, and fulfill a fantasy, describing it as TOTALLY SYMBIOTIC.
It was through Charlies postings here that Rob at musclegods contacted me and made me an offer I could not refuse. Rob showed me a lot more than how to make money, he mentored me, treated me like a friend, also believed in me and I will never forget the things he told me. Rob knows how to treat people, knows how to motivate a man, and in turn he got hard work out of me, which is something I try to apply in my new found business. I owe much to Rob and will be forever thankful for the friendship he offered. Rob did say once he wanted me to own my own productions… It seems like Rob and Charlie knew a little more about how to treat folks than some of the other bigger studios I worked for. Both Rob and Charlie encouraged 100% ownership of my images and productions, while other folks would promise to make you a “star” or tell you, “it’s not about the money”. If you can make a living and have fun doing it, as far as I’m concerned you have succeeded in business. Some of these folks really would piss down your back and tell you its raining. They tell you its not about the money, but yet they are BEGGING for you to sign exclusive so they can pay you 700 bucks for two days work, and sell your movie for 50 bucks all day long, but yet its not about the money….UH HUH! Yea, well those folks know who they are and they just made me work harder for no one but myself.
I still to this day, sometimes cant believe that I am able to drive to the gym at 9 am, 11 am, or any given time I feel like it. Its those types of things that I could not always do and yet I will never take that for granted. I remember when my two options for the gym were 4:30 am or 6 pm, and 6 pm was a dirty tired guy trying to push himself, only to go home, shower up, eat, and go to bed. My life now has become more about personal freedom more than any other factor. Sure money can be great, but what good is money without freedom?
The days of sitting on a plane and not telling the truth about what I do are far gone. I like what I do, if folks don’t like it, that is on them. I have found that once your ok with what you do, people are ok with what you do. If they see shame or weakness, people being people will only capitalize on it. I am lucky, all my loved ones know what I do and they TOTALLY 100% accept for who I am and not much feels better than being able to be who you are and to be loved.
I have learned more about life in the past 3 yrs, with all due respect for everyone I will not mention names, ( just too many) I have met soo many wonderful people( you all know who you are) through the male erotica and escorting. I still to this day, have never met anyone I would never see again. I have been really lucky to have met the people I have met. I have a lot to compare my life from what it was, and what it is. Thank you for those who have come into my life and made it that much better….In my life EVERTHING has happened for a reason.

Thank you,

Vin Marco