LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — Champion bodybuilder. Reality television star. Model. Professional Wrestler.

Not too bad for a 26 year-old from a small town in Iowa.

“It’s truly been a whirlwind,” Jessie Godderz said.

A whirlwind that will blow into town tonight when Ohio Valley Wrestling returns to the Optimist Club and “Mr. Pec-Tacular” makes his London debut.

Fans of reality television will no doubt recognize the name, as he appeared for a record-breaking four consecutive years on the CBS prime time hit series, “Big Brother,” with his most recent appearance last September alongside Tori Spelling. He has also made several guest appearances on MTV as well.

Since debuting in Ohio Valley Wrestling in December 2011, Godderz has known nothing but success. A month later, with partner Marcus Anthony, he captured the first of his four OVW Southern Tag Team titles, setting a new OVW record with four title reigns in just six months of action. He also won the belts once with “The Freak” Rob Terry and twice with Rudy Switchblade. Godderz is a member of Josette Bynum’s Family, along with OVW Champion Rob Terry, Rudy Switchblade and TV Champion Mohamad Ali Vaez. “We’re running the show,” Godderz said.

When Godderz was a youngster, he became fascinated with professional wrestling and what he perceived as “giants” on his television.

“Those guys were 6-4, 6-5, even 7-foot,” Godderz said. “I never thought that I would have a chance to become a professional wrestler. I just thought it was too far apart for me.”

And who could blame him. Standing under six feet and weighing just 145 pounds as a senior wrestler in high school, he certainly didn’t look like someone who could make a career out of the sport.

Then a few things happened that changed his outlook.

First off, smaller wrestlers, like Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit and Eddy Guerrero, were becoming more prominent in the sport. Secondly, Godderz became interested in bodybuilding.

While attending community college, he started working out everyday at a local gym. He also started taking protein and creatine supplements and eating more. And he started seeing results.

“I started making dramatic improvements in my physique,” Godderz said. “Fortunately I either had really good genes or a great workout ethic because my body slowly changed.”

Within a year, he was up to 160 pounds of solid muscle. Those gains had friends wondering if he was using steroids.

“I wasn’t,” Godderz said. “In fact, I didn’t have the money, knowledge or inclination to ever use drugs. I have some friends who do use steroids, but that’s their own decision.”

Wanting to prove that he wasn’t on steroids, he joined the North American Natural Bodybuilding Federation. Prior to every contest, competitors have to take a urinalysis test and are administered a polygraph test twice by a trained policeman or professional. This organization also bans several over-the-counter supplements, making it the strictest around.

At 19, he entered and won the NANBF Teen Class, Novice and Overall title. Two weeks later, he entered another contest and won the Teen Division. Then on May 20, 2006, having just turned 20, he competed at the Iowa show and won his pro card, beating competitors who weighed upwards to 230 pounds and were much older. At the time, he weighed 170 pounds. Having earned his pro card, he graduated to the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation and won the Mr. Natural Iowa title in 2008. He also moved to California and started to be featured in such magazines as Muscle and Fitness and Men’s Health. And he joined the cast of “Big Brother,”

That’s when wrestling re-entered the picture. And The Miz.

Having seen the success that The Miz was having in World Wrestling Entertainment, Godderz realized that he could also have that success. The two are very similar. Both come from the Midwest and both were stars on a reality show. And both would end up training in OVW.

“To see how successful The Miz had become made me realized that I could achieve my goal,” Godderz said. “Everybody has dreams, and I wanted to pursue mine.”

Godderz moved to Florida in 2009 and started training in Florida Championship Wrestling, the training facility for the WWE. He left there and headlined a television show called WFX Overload, which originates out of Canada and broadcast in the United States on the America One Sports Cable Network. When that happened, he officially became the youngest two sport pro athlete ever.

That’s when he caught the attention of TNA, and signed with them. He continued training in Florida at the prestigious Team 3D Wrestling Academy, which is run by TNA superstars Devon and Bully Ray, better known as Team 3D or the Dudley Boys.

While in Florida he got a chance to talk to The Miz. They have a mutual friend and met one evening to discuss wrestling.

What advice did the former WWE champion give?

“Don’t give up, don’t quit,” Godderz said. “He told me that’s what they would want me to do. I look up to him. To see what he has been able to accomplish in a short amount of time pushes me.”

Godderz said that it has been an easy transition from reality star to the wrestling ring. He was a heel on “Big Brother,” so being one in wrestling comes naturally.

“I know my role going into it,” Godderz said. “I’m able to play up on that. That’s what they wanted me to do on “Big Brother,” and it carries over. Being on “Big Brother” helped me see what goes on in production. You need to be a character. You want to have something. You want people to either love you or love to hate you.”

Right now, fans hate him. And that’s all right with him. He’s learning the business, and learning from the best. Nick Dinsmore. Al Snow. Rip Rogers. Danny Davis. These are the same guys who helped train the likes of John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, The Miz, CM Punk. The list goes on and on.

“You couldn’t ask for any better area to wrestle in,” Godderz said of OVW. “This is a great opportunity and I love where I am at. I love these guys here. I’m learning the psychology of wrestling. I’m learning how to react and adapt. You have to put yourself in the mindset of ‘if it were real what would I do?’” He also credits Devon and Bully Ray for helping him. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am to those guys.”

And to TNA president Dixie Carter.

“She’s helped me so much,” Godderz said. “She’s given me this opportunity.”

Godderz now stands 5-10 and weighs 220 pounds. Quite a long way from the 145 he weighed just seven years ago. His physique is so impressive he’s taken on the nickname “Mr. Pec-Tacular,” and credits a lot of his success to that.

“Once I took that name on, it became a huge hit with fans all around the world,” Godderz said. “It has truly opened up a ton of doors for me in the television industry.”

OVW is now the official training organization for TNA, and Godderz hopes to make his Impact debut on Spike TV soon.

“They haven’t told me any specific date yet,” Godderz said. “Hopefully it will be sometime this summer. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed.”

Godderz said while he is thrilled to be given this chance to fulfill a childhood dream, he’s willing to take his time and learn as much as he can.

“There’s no timetable for me,” he said. “I want to still be relevant years from now. Longevity is the key. That means you are good. I want to give back to wrestling to prove to those that believed in me. I want to be a return on their investment.”

Ohio Valley Wrestling will be at the Optimist Club tonight with doors opening at 7 p.m.

sports@sentinel-echo.com