Local Bodybuilder Builds Confidence

Phil Sottile, a 1992 graduate of Smithtown High School East, has been strength training since he was 11 years old and started competing when he was 26 in the International Natural Bodybuilding Fitness Federation.

"If you want to do something set your mind to it. If your mind is willing your body will be able," said Sottile, 36, about his philosophy on life.

Sottile is both a body builder and motivational speaker and he owns a business based in Commack called Intelligent Fitness. He got into training to increase his confidence.

"I did the same thing most teens do," Sottile said. "I read magazines and I was inspired by the look of strength. I wanted to feel confident, improve my self-esteem and attract a mate."

Sottile took his first step into the body building arena in 2000.

"I thought I looked great and it would be an easy win," he said. "There were eight people that were better than me. It was a humbling experience. It's a true test of who you are as a person how well you can handle defeat."

Sottile continued to compete.

"It gets my juices flowing to be in front of a crowd of people," he said. "I like to evoke emotion by doing my posing routine."

Sottile and his partner Durlan Castro, who is a chiropractor in Smithtown, have gone on to run and promote the Long Island Experience, their own body building competitions. The show has been taking place at Landmark on Main Street in Port Washington for the last four years and one was held last Saturday in Port Washington.

The show provides a forum for drug-free athletes to compete. It includes athletes that have never competed before as well as athletes that have competed and won shows. The show includes men and women and has a master's level competition for men, where men over age 40 compete. Their oldest athlete was 62.

Sottile also has a fitness television show on Cablevision called "The Intelligent Way to Fitness."  In it he discusses health and vitality in every aspect of life.

"When somebody comes to me looking for help in health and wellness it means they're not feeling good," Sottile said. "We start discovering the emotional inequities. We look at every area of their life. From their health and vitality to the pleasure they derive from their work. Most fitness people talk about fitness and training. We examine everything."

He said growing up in Smithtown had a huge influence on his life.

"Growing up in Smithtown was unique," he said. "I was exposed to a fine education with a low threat of violence or drugs to slow down my development. Few of my friends came from divorced families. Everything was within a bike ride of a few minutes."

He says some things have changed since then, especially with the recent youth heroine abuse on Long Island.

"Parents have to be involved in talking to their child," Sottile said. "If [the child] is using heroin there must be some reason why whether it's peer pressure or fitting into the social fabric. If there is not an open forum between parents and children that's where drug addicts form and become the statistics of tomorrow."

Sottile gives motivational talks at schools and BOCES workshops. He doesn't only talk about bodybuilding.

"I talk about relationships and the unity of life," he said. "It's all important."