Kai Greene (born July 12, 1975) is a professional bodybuilder. His most recent win was the New York Pro Show 2011.In an autobiography published on his website, Greene describes his childhood as troubled. At age six, he became a ward of the state; he was moved through different foster homes for most of his adolescent life. His seventh-grade English teacher encouraged him to take up bodybuilding as a "behavior modification tool." After some initial successes in winning teen awards, Greene started working out at 5th Avenue Gym in Brooklyn, which would become his "home and institute for competitive education."
Greene then set his eyes on becoming a professional bodybuilder. In order to do so, he first had to win amateur competitions. He competed in the National Physique Committee, with the goal to move into the International Federation of BodyBuilders. He perceives his success in the NPC as mixed. Although he won the 1999 Team Universe, he was disappointed and took a five-year break from competitions, before re-emerging in the 2004 Team Universe contest, which he won again. This victory qualified him for a career as a pro.
Greene says that he became interested in bodybuilding through his love of visual art. He regards his work on his own body as an extension of his artistic bent: "I became my own living model. I utilized my own physique to gain a greater understanding of space and movement, creating works of art that became increasingly detailed and complex over time."
