FOR DM (www.dailymuscle.com), the push came to the shove when he was "overweight, weighing in at 90kg... My waist was 36 inches."

That was nine years ago, he was nearing 21 and on the brink of adulthood, where mum still had a say.

"I was ‘forced' to go to a gym by my mother. When the gym owner lifted my t-shirt, exposing my ugly waist while poking fun at me, that was my turning point," recalls DM.

Welcome to first encounter of the nasty kind that hits home the message that exercise is paramount in life. So month after month, DM worked out. Within eight months, he had lost 18kg, was looking healthy - and probably in his mother's lingo feeling ‘groovy to be in the 70s' -- kilos, that is.

So agile has DM been that he has taken more than a leap forward. While handling his IT corporate world job for the past eight years, he passionately went into part-time study on fitness and health, nutrition-cooking and all. Last September, he went fulltime into it.

DM at 30 is a Certified Personal Trainer. He is also a Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant (LWMC), certified by the American Council on Exercise (ACE). He is one of the five in Malaysia who holds this qualification.

"This is by far the biggest and best decision that I have ever made. I now work with people from all walks of life - from housewives to CEOs, including medical professionals, lawyers, bankers, lecturers and even students," explained DM.

And he attributes the building of his confidence to his daily muscle blog.

"The site opened up opportunities, gave me new friends, fantastic loyal readers and ultimately this confidence. I've never felt better in my life."

Going through his blog, you will find not only bodybuilding-sculpting tips but also fitness and nutrition nuggets... and interesting insights as we muscle on in life.

When did you start to blog?

DailyMuscle.com was born one late night at the office back in April 2005. I spent less than US$10 on my credit card to purchase the domain name and a monthly renewable hosting plan to see how far I could take my harmless little hobby. I also made the decision to blog as an anonymous identity, which will allow me to be more open on certain topics/issues without having to worry about people knowing who I am.

Little did I know that my blog would one day inspire and transform lives all over the world - it is very humbling. I love my blog, and I love my readers even more.

The site currently averages approximately three to four thousand visitors daily, with the majority being international visitors. Interestingly enough, more than half of my readers are women.

Your reasons?

Back then, it was mainly an avenue for me to vent out frustration that I had with some of the health clubs and the personal trainers I came across - all the more reason to stay anonymous!

I blogged about their attitude towards their job, work ethics and the lack of genuine desire to see their clients succeed. I was just a regular gym-goer back then and I would observe what goes on in the gym.

I now blog more "responsibly" and on a wide range of topics related to health and fitness, always aware of the impact my messages can make. I am often reminded of Uncle Ben's piece of advice to Peter Parker (Spiderman) - "With great power, comes great responsibility".

What would you really like to achieve?

There are thousands of diet programmes and dozens of people out there claiming to be experts. With the ease of anyone being able to publish online, it has become more and more difficult to tell the legitimate experts from the self-proclaimed "gurus" in cyberspace. There is a great need for a credible source of information, one that is especially relevant and applicable to Malaysians. That is what I'd like to achieve with my blog.

Has blogging changed your life?

Actually, I had a great job in the IT industry for eight years but I can now boldly say I would not be where I am today if not for my blog.

The site opened up opportunities, gave me new friends, fantastic loyal readers and ultimately the confidence to take a leap from the corporate world to becoming a self-employed full-time personal trainer.

This is by far the biggest and best decision that I have ever made. I now work with people from all walks of life.

Foremost feature in Blogosphere that amazes/ irritates you?

I find it most annoying when a blog is set up for the sole purpose of making money online. No harm having an online income, but I've always believed in putting the needs of the readers first - and the rest will follow.

If there were someone you could encourage to take up blogging, who...?

My dog Troy! If only he could communicate in a way we could all understand - I would love to know the daily ramblings of a loving 80lb Rottweiler on a high-protein diet who cannot be separated from his rubber ball!

Your most memorable experience?

About a year after setting up my blog, I received an email from a reader thanking me for helping him change his lifestyle and that he is a whole new person now.... This was just the beginning of many similar mail to come. I began to realise then that what I had on my hands was more than just a hobby - it was life-changing material.