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From Wellington, Justin had an amateur career spanning a decade winning numerous titles and was awarded IFBB pro status in 1999 after winning the overall at New Zealand nationals and he went on to compete in two professional level contests.

In 2006 Justin pleaded guilty to 11 charges of importing the class B drug ‘fantasy’[GHB] and one of money laundering, relating to more than $85,000 found in a friend's bank account. It was not Rys first conviction as in 2004 Justin was convicted of importing growth hormones from China and was given a six-month suspended sentence.

In 2007 he started a clothes lines from behind bars [see news report in this page] called “Big Kiwi Convict Gear” which featured a graphic of breaking out of bars which was controversial in some circles as some felt it made a mockery of the justice system with others supporting Rys.

Without access to weights in prison, Justin keeps in shaping by lifting other inmates. He is quoted as having said: "Have also figured out how do it heavy squats, One person on my shoulders, another person stands on top of them holding on to wall. Got up to about 230 kilograms (507 pounds) so far, better than nothing, still far too light though!"

Justin was released from Rimutaka Prison late July 2008 after serving 2 ½ years. We spoke with Justin a week after his release, and have the report here

Scroll down to view all, or click on a link to jump to:

• Contest History
• Photos
• Various News Reports
• 2008 Interview & Update Photos [seperate page]
  

• 2003 : 14th Australian Pro Grand Prix
• 2002 : 10th New Zealand Pro Grand Prix
• 1999 : Heavyweight / Overall Mr New Zealand
• 1999 : Heavyweight / Overall Mr Wellington
• 1998 : Heavyweight Mr Oceania
• 1998 : Heavyweight / Overall Mr Wellington
• 1997 : Heavyweight / Overall Mr Goldcoast
• 1997 : Junior Mr Australasia
• 1993 : Teen Mr New Zealand
• 1993 : Teen Mr Wellington

This full compliation of news articles about the arrest and incarceration of Justin Rys are listed most recent first.

A 15 minute video and interview with Justin from September 29, 2008

Bodybuilder Freed from Jail

[The Dominion Post, Saturday, 26 July 2008]

“Champion bodybuilder Justin Rys would have been a curiosity in Rimutaka Prison.

Even surrounded by other large men, the muscled 120-kilogram former Mr New Zealand and Mr Oceania would have stood out in a crowd.

He is polite and well-spoken, and has spent his lag studying - he completed four diplomas, gaining A and A+ grades - and continuing to work out, often asking other prisoners to stand on a bar to bolster the weights.

Rys was freed this week after serving 2½ years of a 7½-year sentence for importing more than 200 litres of the drug fantasy - a central nervous system depressant popular with nightclubbers as well as with bodybuilders, who use it to counter the effects of steroids and help them sleep.

He was jailed in 2006, admitting 11 charges of importing fantasy, of which he said he consumed up to a litre a week. He also admitted one count of money laundering, relating to more than $85,000 found in a friend's bank account.

Initially he was jailed for 10½ years, but this was reduced on appeal. The court was told he had a severe heart condition and a mental disorder called megarexia that meant he saw his bulging muscles as small.

Rys said he wanted to start with a clean slate. "I really want to have a new start. I just want people to know I've worked really hard."

As well as studying and undergoing drug counselling, he has also told his story in a book about fantasy addiction in an effort to educate others.

He tried to keep up the gym training, but struggled to get enough to eat to maintain his physique and was forced to improvise weights, using big prisoners to bolster his bench press.

He said that in some ways, going to prison was harder on his family than it was on him, "but I wouldn't recommend it as a holiday destination".

He praised his partner, Marina Hiroki, who opened a store in Petone late last year to sell his clothing label Convict Gear and health supplements.

The T-shirts and hoodies, emblazoned with a muscle-bound man breaking out of bars, have proved popular, with clients reportedly including lawyers, policemen and even a mayor.

A percentage of the proceeds from the business goes to the Life Education Trust and Project GBH - an international drug addiction support group.

Now he plans to work in the shop with Ms Hiroki, and maybe open a gym. "I'm just wanting to move on with my life."

It was Rys' first application for parole.”

© Emily Watt, The Dominion Post

Jailed Rys Muscles Into Retail

[Friday, 21 December 2007, by Emily Watt of The Dominion Post]

“Champion bodybuilder Justin Rys, in jail for importing more than 200 litres of the drug fantasy, has opened a store to sell his clothing label Convict Gear.

The T-shirts and hoodies, emblazoned with a muscle-bound man breaking out of bars, have been selling online for more than a year. They have proved so popular, with clients reportedly including lawyers, policemen and even a mayor, that his partner, Marina Hiroki, opened a shop in Petone yesterday.

Rys said from Rimutaka Prison that he did not receive any of the proceeds himself, and a percentage went to charity. "The way that I look at it is, `Hey, I've made a mistake and I'm paying for it now.' But it doesn't mean you can't go on the straight and narrow and be an entrepreneur and do something."

Rys, of Waikanae, who said he consumed up to a litre of fantasy a week, was sentenced last year to 1012 years jail after admitting 11 charges of importing more than 200 litres of the class-B drug, and one count of money laundering, which related to more than $85,000 found in a friend's bank account.

The former Mr New Zealand and Mr Oceania's sentence was reduced to 712 years on appeal. The court was told he had a heart condition and a mental disorder called megarexia that meant he saw his bulging muscles as small.

Rys said he had kept up his training in jail, and had six inmates he trained with. He used inmates to bolster the weights, recently reporting that he hangs two dumbbells on each end of a bar and has a person standing on top.

He has told his story in a book on fantasy addiction in an effort to educate and help people, and has also completed a diploma in management while in prison, getting As and A+s.

"I've been spending my time very wisely," he said. "I've got a lot of spare time."

A percentage of the proceeds from the business, which also sells health supplements with labels like Mutant Mass and Ripped, go to the Life Education Trust and Project GBH - an international drug addiction support group.

There is no law prohibiting prisoners from running a business while behind bars, but they are not allowed to use prison resources or employ other inmates.

Prisoners are limited to a maximum of $200 in their trust accounts and can spend no more than $60 a week.”

© The Dominion Post for text and Photo credit Justin Rys website

Judges Weigh Fantasy Man's 'Weak Heart'

[22 June 2007, The Dominion Post]

“Former champion body builder Justin Rys, serving 10 years' jail for importing drugs, should have his sentence reduced because of new evidence about his life expectancy, his lawyer says.

The judge who sentenced Rys last year did not have significant material now available from Rys' cardiologist and psychiatrist, defence lawyer Christopher Stevenson told the Court of Appeal yesterday.

Rys, 30, might live only 5 or 10 years more and could die suddenly.

He could also recover but a special low-fat diet that he needed for his health to improve was not available to him in prison, Mr Stevenson said.

The Court of Appeal reserved its decision on Rys' appeal against his sentence.

Past steroid use while body building has damaged the health of the former Mr New Zealand and Mr Oceania, Mr Stevenson said.

The Corrections Department had allocated drug counselling for Rys, but not until 2012, he said.

Rys had arranged a private counsellor, who the authorities had blocked from treating him. It now seemed the counsellor might be allowed back to see Rys.

Mr Stevenson said Rys had a mental disorder that reduced his moral blameworthiness for importing the drugs.

He became hooked on fantasy and was importing it before it was reclassified and made illegal.

His poor health prospects made him fatalistic and he continued even after it was made a crime.

Rys' partner in the importation of more than 200 litres of fantasy, Robert Stark, was jailed for three years and has already been released.

Stark had been treated as having a lesser role but Rys maintained they were equals, Mr Stevenson said.

Rys had always felt particularly wounded at the approach Stark took in laying the blame on Rys.

Crown lawyer Stephanie Edwards said she did not accept that the sentence should be reduced based on the conditions Rys faced in prison.

However, the heart condition could be seen as a plea for mercy and a cut might be appropriate on that ground.

More detailed information was available now about Rys' health, but the sentencing judge had known the overall issues, she said.

She emphasised the large scale and sophisticated importations made over about 15 months.

Rys said he was using a lot of the fantasy himself but it was four times more than anything he would have needed for his own consumption.

The fantasy importations came at a time when Rys was on bail for importing growth hormones without a licence, and after he had received a deferred sentence for that offending.”

© The Dominion Post

Court Thins Term for 'Megarexic'

[25 August 2007, The Dominion Post]

“Bodybuilder Justin Rys, whose jail sentence has been cut from 10 and a half to 7 and a half years, has a mental disorder called megarexia that means he sees his bulging muscles as puny.

A psychiatrist's report about the disorder was given to the Court of Appeal judges who yesterday reduced the former Mr New Zealand's term, meaning he will first be eligible for parole in July next year.

Rys, of Waikanae, had pleaded guilty to importing the class B drug fantasy over a 15-month period, in amounts thought to be worth at least $600,000 and perhaps up to $2 million, to use himself and to sell.

He appealed against the 10 and a half year term on the grounds that it was excessive, especially given new evidence about his physical and mental state.

The court accepted the sentencing judge had started his calculation for the term too high, resulting in a "crushing" end sentence for Rys.

It said the new psychiatric evidence was more important than the heart condition to the sentence appeal.

Rys became hooked on fantasy when it was legal.

In 2002 it was made illegal but Rys continued to use it for purposes that included reducing pain while exercising.

Psychiatrist Dr Tony Marks had said Rys' drug crimes were largely the result of his untreated and unrecognised "muscle dysmorphia" known as megarexia.

His disorder was the catalyst for the drug addiction, Dr Marks said.

"Mr Rys maintains a delusion that he is small and tiny, when physical appearances suggest the contrary," the Court of Appeal said.

Cardiologist Professor Stewart Mann said Rys's heart was also damaged, almost certainly because of his use of anabolic steroids and other drugs he used to help his body building.

Rys' lawyer Christopher Stevenson said the effect of the evidence was that Rys may die in prison and will probably only live for five to 10 years more.

However, the Court of Appeal said his condition seemed to have stabilised, perhaps because he did not have access to drugs in prison.

Rys' drug counsellor Roger Brooking wrote that Rimutaka Prison recorded Rys as having raised cholesterol levels, breathlessness and dietary problems in 2006.”

© The Dominion Post

Fantasy over for Mr NZ

[February 11 2006 , By Chalpat Sonti]

“Justin Rys had it all. Money, fast cars, a plush pad and the best physique drugs could buy.

The former Mr New Zealand and Mr Oceania lived a luxury lifestyle and claimed to be the inspiration for the gorilla model in Peter Jackson's film King Kong.

But Rys – who was considered the Mr Big of the Wellington fantasy scene and the man who created the market for the drug – saw his life come crashing down on Wednesday when he became part of New Zealand's biggest conviction for importing the drug.

With an estimated value of up to $2.1 million, the drug was brought into New Zealand from eastern Europe in wine bottles and vegetable tins.

International courier firms were used to send the drug to Kapiti addresses selected at random and the packages were tracked on the Internet.

Rys and his co-offender Robert Stark intercepted the packages at the courier company. They switched their supply source from Romania to Moldova when they thought New Zealand Customs was on their trail. The vegetable tins were used briefly but leaked, and were discarded in favour of the wine bottles.

Fantasy sells on New Zealand streets for about $25 a 5ml "hit" and is popular in both the nightclub – where it is considered the cheapest way to get a high – and bodybuilding scenes. It has also been implicated in drug-rape.

After Rys was arrested, supply dried up in Wellington till another group moved in to take his place.

Rys, 29, of Waikanae, pleaded guilty in the High Court at Wellington on Wednesday to 11 charges of importing the class B drug fantasy and one of money laundering, relating to more than $85,000 found in a friend's bank account.

The drug charges were representative of more than 100 incidents and related to 47.7 litres of fantasy imported between October 2003 and December 2004. It is believed Rys and associates imported at least 165 litres more before getting caught.

Customs seizures for all of last year netted just 20 litres and Rys' importation has been exceeded only by a recent seizure of more than 200 litres of the drug in Whangarei. It was not Rys' first drug-related conviction – he was convicted of importing growth hormones from China in May 2004 and was given a six-month suspended sentence. Seven months later, he was arrested in Taupo and charged with more than 100 counts of importing the drug. Stark pleaded guilty to 14 charges of importing fantasy shortly after and was sentenced to four years' jail. His partner, Arabella Tyler-Wright, pleaded guilty to helping Stark and was sentenced to 180 hours' community work.

A man who says his family has been wrecked by fantasy bought from Rys said he hoped the "scumbag" would "get everything he deserves".

The charges carry a maximum penalty of 14 years' jail.

However, many associates believe Rys' health – already poor from years of drug abuse – will suffer even more in jail. Some doubt he can survive long.

Rys will be sentenced on March 3”