Athletes weigh in for Mr Samoa

By Thomas Airey 23 November 2018, 12:00AM

Competitors in tonight’s Mr Samoa 2018 bodybuilding competition registered and weighed in at the S.T.A. Fale yesterday.

Former Mr Samoa champion and this year’s guest poser Karl Tui Adam was present to talk to the competition hopefuls.

He said to be invited back to the Mr Samoa stage was a huge honour and a privilege.

“Especially with how hard they’re working to bring back the sport.”

This year’s event is the second in a row after a competition hiatus.

Bodybuilding Federation of Samoa president Romulus Leung Wai said they made a promise last year that the event would continue.

“We’ll be looking at around 30-plus athletes, some people are still arriving from overseas.”

Adam said that was a turnaround what he encountered coming into the sport.

“Back in the day I was travelling to NZ to get the experience and improve myself, and now New Zealand guys are coming here to compete.”

Leung Wai said the sport in Samoa continues to grow.

“The majority of these kids are new faces, they weren’t competing last year.

“We’re gonna try and make it a great spectacle of entertainment, because bodybuilding is a visual sport.

“At the same time we wanna make sure people see the hard work these kids have put in throughout the year.

“We have some athletes that lost 30-40 kgs within a short time, just for the competition.”

Adam said one of the main reasons he took this opportunity is to spread the healthy living lifestyle.

“It’s important in my life, this is how I changed my eating habits and learned how to diet.

“It’s tough because food in our culture is really important, we eat a lot.

“Sometimes the salads on the table, I think they are just there for decoration.”

Adam moved to Sydney, Australia five years ago, and currently works on a diabetes project within the Pacific community.

“Before that I had no idea how bad things were, simply because of our lifestyles and what we are eating,” he said

“I try to come once a year to visit family and friends, but if the shows are going to be on a yearly basis I’ll be coming a lot more.”

Mr Samoa 2018 starts 7pm tonight at Faleata Gym 1.

By Thomas Airey 23 November 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>