While his Albury High schoolmates tucked into pies, hot dogs and sausage rolls every lunch time, Williamson would happily munch on his tuna and salad with the knowledge he was a step closer to achieving his dream.

“I remember Mum said to me ‘What do you want for your 14th birthday?’,” Williamson said.

“So I just showed her a picture of a guy and told her I wanted to be a bodybuilder.

“She kinda didn’t really know what that meant but got me an Ace Fitness in Lavington membership for my birthday.

“Ever since then I’ve never looked back and in year 9 and 10 at school I would pack tuna and salad for lunch.

“Even when I turned 18, I never went out and partied and drank alcohol with my schoolmates.

“Since I turned 14 I have been to the gym seven days a week and have never wavered from trying to become the best bodybuilder I can be.”

A decade on and Williamson is on the cusp of achieving his childhood dream.

The 24-year-old will compete in the inaugural Arnold Classic Australia at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from March 13-15.

“It is the most prestigious bodybuilding event Australia has ever held,” he said.

“It’s going to be huge with something like 75,000 tickets sold and 10,000 competitors across the different divisions.

“Arnold (Schwarzenegger) will be there and while I am an amateur at the moment I want to go for my pro card.

“If successful, Arnold hands out the pro cards and it would be a huge buzz to be able to meet him.

“Obviously he is an idol of mine and a very successful and inspirational athlete and businessman.”

Williamson is fast making a name for himself in the sport.

Last year he competed in his first bodybuilding event and finished second in the FitX open heavyweight class.

Last week he finished second in the Victorian Championships in the same division.

Williamson is leaving no stone unturned as he prepares for a podium finish in the open division of the Arnold Classic.

The 100-kilogram colossus has just returned from a five-week stint in America training alongside pro bodybuilder Chris Cormier.

“Cormier is one of the most renowned pro bodybuilders on the planet,” he said.

“He has competed in the Mr Olympia for over a decade, which is the most prestigious bodybuilding competition in the world.

“Cormier finished second six years in a row and is considered one of the best trainers and athletes in the world.

“I trained with him every day, lived in the same house, ate with him and did everything side-by-side Chris on a daily basis.

“It was tough leaving my partner Julia and daughter Chloe behind but I just had to deal with it and it was really a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be up close and personal with a legend of the sport like Chris.

“While training alongside Chris was brutal, I feel I am in the best shape of my life because of it.”

Williamson said he has been spending up to five hours a day in the gym, seven days a week, honing his physique in preparation for the Arnold Classic.

“It’s very demanding leading into a competition and I have been going to the gym, sometimes for up to five hours a day,” he said.

“I get up in the morning and do my cardio on an empty stomach and then come home and eat. Go back to the gym and train and then eat, go back to the gym and train then eat.

“By the end of the day I crash into bed and am mentally exhausted.

“But you have got to do what you have got to do.”

While weight training is an integral part of bodybuilding, Williamson said nutrition was the most crucial component of a bodybuilder’s physique.

“Coming into the last few weeks before competition all I have been basically eating is fish and vegetables,” he said.

“I do carb cycling and some days I will have carbohydrates and some days I won’t.

“I weigh every ounce of protein and vegetable to the gram.

“I’m not even eating skinless chicken breast at the moment because it contains too much fat.

“I’m zero alcohol, zero recreational drugs and at the moment zero caffeine.

“Mentally it is very demanding and when your blood sugar is so low your body naturally sends messages to you brain to crave sugar and carbohydrates.

“But bodybuilding is 99 per cent a mental game, you could be the most gifted athlete genetically but if you don’t have the mental willpower you will never succeed in the sport.”

While Williamson remains on the strictest of diets in the lead-up to competition, the off-season is a different story where he eats every 2½ hours in a bulking phase, adding up to 15 kilograms to his already hulking frame.

“During the off season I will eat up to 30 kilograms of meat a week,” he said.

“If I go to bed at 9.30pm, I will set the alarm for midnight, 2.30am and 5am to get the extra meals I need to put the weight on.

“I’m not doing that at the moment because coming into a show it’s important I get my sleep.”

Unlike INBA bodybuilding events where competitors are tested for drugs, Williamson said the Arnold Classic was an IFBB event where participants were not drug tested.

“You do what you do, to become what you want to become,” he said.

“It’s really like an open book and you do whatever you can to be the best.

“That’s the nature of IFBB where competitors are looking for more of that freak look because there is a lot more money involved as well as endorsements.

“As long as you doing everything correctly and safely and your body is in check and healthy — I think it’s great.”

So what will the teetotaler do to celebrate if he is crowned the inaugural Australian Arnold Classic winner?

“I’m going to eat a lot of food, I’m going to eat a lot of ice-cream,” he said.

“Ice-cream and pizza are my kryptonite — they are what makes me weak.

“Thinking about eating it makes my mouth water every single minute of the day right now.

“But regardless if I win or not it is an achievement in itself what I have been through to get to this stage and I’m going to be going out and eating as much pizza and ice cream as I possibly can.

“Then I will enjoy the off-season and just try to come back bigger and better next year.”