Love at first sight
"I had tried many sports before that," Timur recalls. "But when I was 13 and walked into the gym and saw all of it, I said: this is mine." These were years without the internet — people looked for information on video cassettes. By 15, Timur was reading physiology and endocrinology textbooks.
Navy-style pasta and hard times
His teenage years coincided with perestroika. "Sometimes we just boiled pasta in a cauldron, and that's what we had to eat." They earned the money for protein-rich food themselves. At 17, Timur started earning as a coach.
The first medal and the first injustice
His debut at 19 ended with a gold medal, and for the next three years Timur was the absolute champion of Uzbekistan in a row. The turning point was an injustice: athletes were promised prize money and never paid. "That's when I set myself a goal: athletes will not suffer like this."
"Night of Champions" and the birth of an organizer
Timur organized the first commercial championship in Uzbekistan's history with real prize money. The "Night of Champions" tournament was so successful that the federation unanimously offered him its leadership — at 23–24.
Uzbekistan's anthem in Vietnam
2012, the Asian Championship in Vietnam. When the country's anthem played for the first time before delegations from 40 nations, Timur realized he had found a new purpose.
A historic win at the Arnold Classic
In 2017, Mikhail Volynkin won his amateur category at the Arnold Classic and earned pro status — for the first time, Uzbek bodybuilding was talked about internationally.
Advice to young athletes
Timur's advice: don't try to break into America right away — first earn titles and a reputation in your own region, and arrive in the US already carrying the weight of an Asian or world champion.