Inspired by Sylvester Stallone, Makely got into bodybuilding at a young age. He worked as a bouncer at the former Cactus Club on Market Street and as a bartender at Confetti's on Academy Street, both in Poughkeepsie.
Won the tri-state professional Natural Bodybuilding contest in 1997.
He was working as a fitness trainer at Bally Total Fitness in New York City and doing commercials and small film roles, including one opposite Russell Crowe in the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind (2001), when he got a lucky break.
His advice for up-and-coming actors is to work hard and to heed advice from everybody.