His friends thought he was crazy.

His parents did, too.

But some 10 years ago, Dalton native Peter Putnam had the dream — and the drive — to seek to become a professional bodybuilder. After years of training, Putnam finally has realized his goal that at times seemed impossible to achieve.

Last weekend in Atlanta, the 32-year-old Putnam beat out 41 other participants in the light heavyweight division at the NPC National Bodybuilding and Figure Championships to earn his International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) professional card. He compares winning the pro card to making the National Football League.

Being in Atlanta had extra meaning since the city was the site of his first bodybuilding competition in 1998 and near his hometown.

“It was very symbolic to me knowing that I was returning to the stage where it all began,“ said Putnam, who now resides in Knoxville, Tenn. “That’s where my bodybuilding career was birthed. It all began in Atlanta. It was important to me to go out and earn the pro card knowing I had so many friends, family and peers in attendance watching.”

Putnam was also given the inaugural “Steve Stone Heart of a Champion Award,” named in honor of the late NPC vice chairman who died while working backstage during the 2008 Olympia.

Putnam’s pursuit of that elusive pro card took a long and winding path. In 2006, he was the runner-up in the light-heavyweight class at the NPC USA Championships. One year later, he won his class at the USAs and finished second at the Nationals.

Becoming a professional bodybuilder has extra meaning. His wife, Jessica, also has an IFBB pro card.

Putnam said he definitely felt the pressure before taking the stage. He was already signed to a contract as a Joe Weider athlete (Weider is known as one of the sport’s founders and publishes bodybuilding magazines “Flex” and “Muscle & Fitness” — publications Putnam has graced the covers of). He was now close to earning a pro card. Borrowing a metaphor from another sport, Putnam said he “had one pitch, one swing to hit a home run.”

After graduating Dalton High School in 1995, Putnam, like many of his classmates, went to college. He began at the University of Alabama ,but left Tuscaloosa after two years and returned home.

Always an active athlete, Putnam played several sports as a child and teenager. He excelled on the football field at Dalton High and played in the state football semifinals in the Georgia Dome in 1994. He had a thought to pursue football as a walk-on at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and continue the education he began at Alabama.

Then a funny thing happened. At the age of 21, he got hooked on bodybuilding, even though he had never picked up a bodybuilding magazine before.

His weightlifting regimen had consisted of several old school moves designed to gain strength on the football field. He always thought Arnold Schwarzenegger was just an action movie star. Putnam had no clue he was a seven-time Mr. Olympia, the zenith of the bodybuilding world.

Putnam eventually moved to Atlanta and learned the sport from anywhere he could: magazines, Web sites, picking the brains of other bodybuilders. He slowly learned the intricacies of the sport and built his body. His workout routine consists of up to two weight training sessions a day followed by an hour of cardiovascular exercise. He follows a strict diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates, but admits he’s been known to sneak in a few Reese’s Pieces or almonds covered in dark chocolate.