John Gallagher, bodybuilder from Napoleon, earns coveted title of Mr. Michigan

When you see John Gallagher, call him Mr. Michigan.

He might need the reminder that he actually won that title, since even two days after he earned it, he remained in disbelief.

“Still, right now, I can’t believe it,” said Gallagher, 41, of Napoleon. “When you’re working for something for so long and you finally achieve it, it still hasn’t sunk in.

“I told (wife) Crystal that I probably would have cried like a baby if I wasn’t so dehydrated.”

John Gallagher, a longtime bodybuilder, earned the state’s most coveted bodybuilding title Saturday night when he was named the overall winner of the Michigan Championships at the Redford Theatre in Redford near Detroit. He competed in and won the masters division for competitors 40 and older and also the open middleweight division.

Gallagher’s 5-foot-4, 172-pound chiseled frame was then judged against other division winners and deemed the overall winner of the competition. More than 110 bodybuilders competed in the Michigan Championships, and Gallagher said he felt blessed after being named Mr. Michigan.

“Everybody had been coming up to me all night, saying how crazy my conditioning was and that they thought I was going to be Mr. Michigan, even people I didn’t know,” said Gallagher, a corrections transportation officer with the Michigan Department of Corrections. “I knew I was in great shape, the best shape I’ve ever been in, so I knew I had a good shot.”

It was by far the most illustrious victory in an already well-decorated bodybuilding career that Gallagher put on hold for seven years to start a family. His first competition was as a 151-pound lightweight in 1992, and he estimates he’s competed in between 15 and 18 events. He won his weight class in the Michigan Championships in 1999 but did not win the overall Mr. Michigan title.

“That makes this one that much more special,” Gallagher said.

Courtesy of Anthony SbrigliaJohn Gallagher of Napoleon won the title of Mr. Michigan.

Gallagher delayed his ambitious competition plans to focus on his family but continued to lift weights. He never lost the desire to compete, so he and his wife decided last year that he should jump back into the bodybuilding game at age 40.

“Before I took that time off, I had been nationally qualified for 12 or 13 years,” Gallagher said. “I always kept training and (Crystal) knew I still had that itch to compete. We talked about it, and she said, ‘OK, do it.’”

In August 2011, he won the Central States light heavyweight division. Two weeks ago, in Little Chute, Wis., Gallagher earned first place in the masters and open middleweight divisions at the Fox Cities Bodybuilding Showdown.

That gave him all the momentum he needed heading into the Michigan Championships.

“This year, everything was coming together and I knew I’d be a threat in my weight class,” he said. “Two weeks earlier in Wisconsin, when I won the open middle, people were buzzing, and I was in better shape than that (for the Michigan competition).”

Gallagher said he trained more than two hours a day, seven days a week leading up to the Michigan Championships. He was typically at Pro’s Gym, 202 E. McDevitt Ave., by 4:30 a.m. before heading to work.

The Michigan Championships began about noon, and Gallagher stepped onto the stage about 2 p.m. with other masters division competitors.

“They had us out there a long time, putting us through the paces,” he said. “It was pretty grueling, under the hot lights. They’d move people around to compare you to each other. They finally dismissed me, and I knew that was a good sign.”

The open middleweight division went much the same way. After he earned both titles, he was again on the stage for the overall competition, which took place after 11 p.m.

His family, friends and former training partners let out a roar when his name was announced as the winner.

“It was a great turnout, and I was just blessed that so many people came out and gave me so much support,” he said.

For winning the titles at the Michigan Championships, Gallagher brought home three swords that organizers gave out instead of trophies.

His next competition is Saturday at the NPC Junior USA Championships in North Charleston, S.C. It’s likely the euphoria of winning Mr. Michigan will join him on stage in South Carolina.

“This really re-energized me,” Gallagher said of winning Mr. Michigan. “I had been running on low batteries, so there’s been a lot of pressure lifted off me for this week. It’s been a heck of a year, so there’s nothing that can put a black spot on this.”