He might have just returned from Spain where he took on some of the world’s top bodybuilders, but less than three years ago, Mthatha’s newest bodybuilding star, Unathi Tshezi, did not even know such a sport existed.
Born in Corhana village in Libode, about five kilometres outside Mthatha, the soft-spoken 26-year-old was among a team of South African bodybuilders to compete at the International Federation of Body Building world championships in Spain two weeks ago.
This was after he was judged the winner of the bantamweight U60 division during the IFBB South African national bodybuilding championships in Rustenburg in August.
Before that, he had also won the same division in the fast-growing IFBB OR Tambo championships in Mthatha, which earned him a ticket to the national championships.
“It was a great honour to be chosen to go and represent my country. I was shocked but excited at the same time as I never anticipated this at all.”
Growing up in Libode, Thezi was already a fitness freak.
He would train alone at home until he managed to ask for more space from one of his neighbours and began training with others.
“People lent us their weights. We were just training because we loved to have these beautiful bodies, but had no idea what we were doing was actually a sport in itself.”
It was not until 2016 when bodybuilding coach Xolani Mbotya visited his makeshift gymnasium in Corhana that Tshezi suddenly found out there was something called bodybuilding.
Mbotya, a former professional bodybuilder, was impressed by what he saw and helped donate more equipment to Tshezi’s gym.
On the side, he also taught the youngster the finer points of bodybuilding, from diet to training tips from a professional to achieve maximum results.
All of this was brand new to Tshezi.
“It was a culture shock to me because all I did was just train.
“But with coach Mbotya, he taught me that you must have a training programme with a particular focus on specific body parts.
“I also ate anything I could lay my hands on and was shocked that in bodybuilding food is a very big part of achieving your goals,” he said.
His first competition was the Novice Bodybuilding competition in Mthatha last year, and he also finished third in the IFBB OR Tambo bodybuilding championships last year.
Tshezi could only manage 14th position out of 15 in Spain this time, but he reckons that with preparation and financial support he can crack the top ten next time...