Colin Hards' childhood hero and role model was actor Lou Ferrigno, best known as The Incredible Hulk. Hards took up body building as a teenager, just like Ferrigno. He competed professionally, just like Ferrigno. But unlike the Hollywood Hulk, who was 80 per cent deaf because of childhood ear infections, Hards has been completely and utterly deaf since birth.

The 38-year-old has put his life's work into his head-turning physique, but his most triumphant accomplishment is his speaking voice and ability to communicate in the hearing world. As a person who has never heard a single vowel, consonant or the subtle sound of a "th", Hards is amazingly articulate. He is so fluent in lip reading and body language that people don't believe he's really deaf.

"It was a lot of work, starting when I was about three years old. I was on the Handi-bus by 7 a. m. going to school, to doctors and to speech therapy. My parents gave me the best of everything,"Hards recalls. "I learned how high to talk, how low to talk. I just remember I'd be wiped out at the end of the day." His mother, Inge, says it was a long road of constant learning for her energetic, somewhat overactive son."We thought, if he's going to be in a hearing society, let's try him in the oral program," she says. "Not all deaf people can function in a hearing society. It took a lot of work and frustration on his part."

As a boy, Hards discovered singing by feeling the vibrations in his younger sister's throat. Today, he enjoys techno, reggae and even opera just by cranking up the volume so loud he can feel it.

Hards' hearing loss is congenital. He was born without the cilia, or tiny hairs in the inner ear that move sound along to the brain. He was tormented by other children during his school years and he retaliated physically. By junior high school, he'd become a behaviour problem. "I lost my self confidence in public school," he admits. He was sent to St. John's School, a boarding school near Edmonton, where daily chores and extreme sports helped the troubled youth become self-reliant.

He returned to Calgary to complete high school at Western Canada where the athletic young man found an outlet in lifting heavy weights, giving him an outlet for his immense frustration. As perfect as the sport was for Hards, the lifestyle was not. He turned pro in the U. S. and soon fell prey to the shadier side of the business, becoming hooked on steroids.

"I had 33-inch legs at one time," he says with some dismay. "Steroids weren't illegal in Canada until 1993. I'm totally against them now. It's not a healthy lifestyle." He was only 25 when steroids caused his body to "fall apart."

He returned to Canada in 1997 to get clean and continue his 12-year career as a meat cutter. There were other attempts to get back into competitive circles but Hards decided to hang up his barbells and concentrate full time on his business, Hards-Way Personal Training Facility at 11488 -24th St. S. E. "It's very small. We keep things tight and contained so people feel comfortable here," he says with pride.

Hards and his staff work with everyone from body builders, teens wanting to buff up for grad right up to the obese, offering nutritional and supplement counselling, fitness tests and one-on-one personal training. Packages start at $348 for five sessions. Monthly memberships are $38 and drop-in is $15 per visit. Hards says he still wrestles with his inner demons, but his business helps keep life in perspective.

"People tell me a lot about themselves. I've learned that we all have issues and stress. Keeping fit and taking care of ourselves is the best way to deal with it," he says. Despite retiring from the well-oiled world of competitive body building, he keeps his bulging biceps and perfect pecs in peak condition. He keeps a picture of the 58-year-old Ferrigno in his office as inspiration. "I had a lot of help when I was doing body building. I just want to help other people now," he says.