Bodybuilder gets noticed
The one and only muscular beast, King Kong has yet again marked his territory, but this time at Mr Olympia.
No, it is not the giant movie monster, but a local bodybuilder from Mbombela, Lucky Nkosi, also nicknamed King Kong.
This 36-year-old placed sixth in the mother of all competitions, Mr Olympia, which recently took place at Carnival City in Brakpan. “I didn’t expect to place at all. I just competed to gain experience.”
Nkosi joined a gym in 1994 and started competing in 2005. With his first tournament, he received bronze. “A third place at my first tournament! I didn’t even want to compete, but my friends said I should give it a go. It was a wake-up call, a kick-start to train even harder.”
He came first at the provincials held in Secunda in class 4 for under 1,5m. Only two weeks after the provincials, he got a fifth place at the nationals in Pretoria at the end of September. “The other competitors feared me and started asking me who my trainer was. I don’t have a trainer yet, but I really would like to have someone to help me become even better.”
This sport requires a lot of discipline and hard work, over 15 litres of water a week prior to a competition and eight hours of sleep. A healthy and high-protein diet is also necessary to be in top form. “I will only compete in March next year. I am currently having my off-season and I eat like I horse. An athlete craves just about anything when he’s on a diet.”
When asked if he ever pictured himself wearing a little red number, he says, “I am a very shy person, so I really don’t know how I ended up in something like that. But if I look at my competitors, it really motivates me to get even bigger.”
His main goal is to be the ultimate bodybuilder in the province. He also wants to win the overall category on national level.
