The Burnaby man facing terrorism charges was a fitness buff who worked as a security guard and had dreams of joining the RCMP, according to family members.

But something changed in the last few years, and muscular 25-year-old Hasibullah Yusufzai, who could be seen posing shirtless outdoors in Facebook photos, was gradually replaced by a man who grew a full beard, posted pro-Jihadist writings, and may have deceived his family before a trip overseas in January.

“He never talked to us about anything. Just going to work, going to mosque, coming home,” said Katya Yusufzai, his sister, who believed he was in Turkey.

“Even my parents don’t know (what happened). They were waiting at home, he went to mosque for prayer, and that was it. He was gone,” she said.

Yusufzai became the first Canadian to be charged with leaving Canada to take part in terrorist activities, the RCMP announced today.

Most family members wanted to remain anonymous, stressing how embarrassing news of the charges were for them, and saying that they had fled Afghanistan because of the fighting more than two decades ago.

The RCMP has been approaching family members for at least a year, some said, adding that the Mounties searched Yusufzai’s home and seized his computers, looking for his communications.

“Police picked up his computers and everything to find out what happened,” his sister said.

Yusufzai’s immediate family was sponsored by Canadian relatives when he was a teenager, family members said. His family settled in a Burnaby subsidized housing complex run by B.C. Housing, and he and his brother Rahul were known for a love of motorcycles.

“They were super nice. No trouble I ever had with them,” said neighbour John Carscadden. “I’ve always liked him. He was a good neighbour.”

Hasib Yusufzai worked as a security guard, said Carscadden, with a uniform to prove it. Other family members say he volunteered with the Burnaby RCMP with dreams of becoming a Mountie. Carscadden said the idea he would leave the country to fight with Islamists is completely unexpected.

“Truly until he’s found guilty, I have no feelings. He’s never given me any problems,” he said.

Photos posted on Facebook show a shirtless Yusufzai posing at the top of the Chief in Squamish in 2009, where he had hiked up with another woman. He also flexes in posts to another social media site, wearing sunglasses.

However a new profile shows no photos, instead Arabic writings, as well as cartoons and photos against the American military.

One photo shows a soldier holding the American flag upside down, saying “There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.”

Another has a bird of prey labelled “Taliban” clutching a duck labelled “USA.”

The RCMP would not answer questions, claiming that they are in an ongoing investigation. Mounties also didn’t say where Yusufzai is now. However it is clear that he is currently beyond the jurisdiction of Canadian law.

“Should he come home, he can be arrested. Should he end up in a country with whom we have an extradition treaty, we can apply for extradition and bring him home,” said Geoffrey O’Brian, a former CSIS counter-espionage director general.

There are about 130 Canadians supporting terrorist activity abroad right now, officials said, with 30 of those in Syria.