Les had a hand in the gym, and bodybuilding business between 1987 and 1994. He was involved in the designing, building, and managing of two Cincinnati area gyms during that time. Having been around the iron game for years, Thatcher's competitive spirit kicked in and at the ripe young age of 46 he decided to give competition a try. He competed in 14 contests over a seven year stretch winning first place in 5 contests, second on 3 outings, and third 3 times, only placing out of the money in three shows. Les joined the staff of bodybuilding guru John Parrillo in 1990 as a nutritional consultant and trainer working with amateur and professional bodybuilders. Some of those stars were Ron Love, 8 time Ms. Olympia Lenda Murray, and Mike Ashley to name just a few.

 The first five photos on this page are from Les' competitions.   

Les competed in the National Physique Committee's (NPC) Masters division as a middleweight. These are from his last two contests with the second and third photos from his last show just one week before his 53rd birthday.			This photo was taken at age 49
This photo is at age 47	Les with North American Woman Bodybuilding Champion, Sharon Bruneau, When working with Parrillo Performance he was honored to be able to work with people like Sharon, Ron Love, Mike Ashley, and seven time Ms. Olympia Lenda Murray.	Here is Les with 4 time Ms Olympia Kim Chizevsky at the fitness expo at the annual "Arnold Classic" held in Columbus, Ohio every year. (Yes, that Arnold, Governor Arnold) Kim was twice Ms International at this event.	This shot was snapped at 6:AM during a training session where Thatcher and another bodybuilder are training for an upcoming contest. Les is behind his training partner assisting him with the final reps of a set of squats
In this series of photos Les spends time with Parrillo customer, and bodybuilding's greatest poser, Russ Testo in the gym as a trainer and at the Parrillo complex as a tour guide.
More to Come