Bodybuilders to flex their muscles

By Morissa Lindsay

Former three-times Mr Barbados Stevenson Belle and his team at Formula Body Tuning Centre are ready to hit the stage for the inaugural In-house/Inter-gym Bodybuilding and Fitness Competition which takes place Saturday, April 30 at the Wildey Gymnasium.

No stranger to flexing his muscles over the years as a competitor and exhibitionist, Belle said the idea for this bodybuilding show stemmed from the fact that many youngsters seem to be losing interest in the sport and he believes this would be a great way to keep them motivated.

“We found that the sport has dwindling interest in terms of the youngsters on the block that would usually come to the gym as a getaway to train and just to improve themselves. We found that they kind of fell off because of Covid and other situations that would have led up to people not being interested in it.

“We saw a lot of people in the gym that had potential and the idea just came to ask them if they would be interested in doing a competition and they were very keen on doing it so we just started to make the move to get things in place,” Belle told Barbados TODAY.

Belle explained that the competition will commence at 6 p.m. and that the atmosphere has changed in the gym since a decision was made on the show as many participants are eager with a total of BDS$10, 000 worth in prizes to be given away.

All the medals and trophies are sponsored by Kwanza Canterbury of Elevation Construction.

The categories for the competition are men’s bodybuilding, men’s physique, men’s classic physique, women’s physique, women’s bikini fitness and women’s wellness fitness.

According to Belle, there are 15 other athletes from other gyms such as Body Shapers, Body by Frank, First Fitness and Strike Force Gym. He also revealed that there are members of the Barbados Police Service that have expressed an interest.

Then there are also household names such as Ian Chase, Roderick Stuart and Sanaj Lewis that will be in action. Belle described Lewis in particular as a very promising bodybuilder. “He has really good quality muscles on him and we are really trying to improve the conditioning now of his body,” Belle said.

While Belle tried his best not to single out too many individuals, he promised the public a great show and urged fans to come out and support the future of bodybuilding and body fitness in Barbados. There will be guest posers and Belle spearheads the list, multiple Mr Barbados winner Ramon Broomes and former national champion Shaquille Lavine will also feature.

Jason Bourne, the owner of Formula Body Tuning Centre which opened its doors in 2019, said he was happy this competition was being made a reality. “It is a good feeling to see this competition being made possible and it is actually the brainchild of Stevenson Belle and his support and the energy he put into it so far, it gives you an overall feeling of confidence and fulfilment of being part of something that could be very much life-changing.”

The organizers have teamed up with the Barbados Powerlifting Association and powerlifting will also take place at the event. Tickets can be obtained at Sole Addiction, Body by Frank Gym, Strike Force, the Nation Gym and Formula Body Tuning Center. All Covid-19 protocols will be in effect for those who attend.

(morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb)