I was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1951. As a child, I had always been considered small in size. So it didn't take long for me to discover that to become bigger and stronger, I would have to lift weight and eat lots of food. It was with this knowledge, combined with the fact that my father thought his son's should be the best at everything. that my quest began.

Most people know me as Sherman M. Brown (Tank) in California, but for the first half of my life I was Shannon M. Brown which I decided to go back to. I attended Jim Hill High School, Hinds Jr. College and transferred to Jackson State College (JSU). I played football for three and a half years for the Detroit Lions, but bodybuilding was my dream. I won many titles throughout my career in bodybuilding: Mr. Jackson Miss., Jr. Mr. Michigan, Great Lakes Open, and Mr. Western America to name a few. I also worked in the aero space industry (General Dynamics) for ten years.

I bought Stern's Gym in 1994. It was a good investment because I worked out there for eleven years before I bought it so I knew all the people there and they knew me. Stern's gym is a historical land mark Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, Bill Pearl, Robby Robertson, and Frank Zane have caught a few work-outs at Stern's Gym. I train five days a week there from 4:30 am to 6:00 am. I truly believe training hard and eating right will help you and I to live longer, and have a good quality of life.

Shannon M. Brown

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