In more ways than one the sport of bodybuilding is on an encouraging upward trajectory in Guyana. Current enthusiasm for the discipline derives in large measure from the contemporary fitness craze amongst Guyanese, a trend which, in the last decade, has triggered a marked increase in investment in gymnasia.
The sport of bodybuilding itself has benefitted from the direction in which the industry has moved. The overall significant gravitation of the current wave of fitness fanatics to gymnasia in parts of coastal Guyana has been attended by a growth of interest in bodybuilding as a competitive pursuit. That interest, has contributed to the development of the sport itself and in the expansion in the number of categories that exist in the sport today.
The marked increase in the drift towards the stage in the sport of bodybuilding points to the fact that being body-beautiful has become a considerable status symbol in Guyana, across the genders. The introduction of what is now the highly popular Men’s Physique class coupled with heightened popular Ms Bikini niche that continues to grow out of an increasing pride in women’s awareness of the attractions of their femininity, has both swelled the industry’s market and attracted significant audiences to the eye-catching dimensions of the sport.
Bodybuilding has undergone its transformations too. The most notable of these has been the shift in the monopolization of the sport by the ‘macho crowd,’ to a following that has emerged from the ranks of the new millennium and benefitted hugely from the backing that it has received from social media. Bodybuilding has now become one of the favorite interests of the so-called ‘cool crowd,’ while retaining a mainstream appeal and a pleasing growth in female patronage.
The sport of bodybuilding in Guyana owes its successful graduation to the international stage to the dedication and attendant accomplishments of, among others, Hugh Ross, Kerwin Clarke, Bruce Whatley, Emmerson Campbell, Yannick Grimes, and Devon Davis, among the male adherents of the sport. Amongst the females, Alisha Fortune has been local bodybuilding’s leading female standard-bearer. The efforts of these and other Guyanese who have dedicated themselves to the sport has earned Guyana a number of awards at both the regional and international levels. Their successes have served as the perfect beacon for the advancement of the sport in Guyana.
Fresh talent
The most pleasing barometer with which one can measure the growth of the sport of bodybuilding has been the sustained emergence of female talent. There is no doubt that going forward, emerging male and female champions including Rosanna Fung, Tariq Dakhil, Nicholas Albert, Jason Kellman, Chandini Khan, Omissi Williams, Jonathan Jeffries, and Ashanti Conway will ensure that the mantle of high standards is kept in safe hands.
More than a hobby
An informed examination of the pursuit of bodybuilding will show that it is much more than a mere hobby. It can be a life-changing pursuit that repays you with gifts of an uplifting emotional outlook on life as well as enhanced mental and physical health. Bodybuilding can pay particularly rewarding dividends for persons experiencing transformative junctures in their lives including adolescence and middle-aged men and women whose circumstances are being transformed, perhaps on account of their children ‘moving on’ to independent lives or other changes in their personal lives. Bodybuilding can also provide escape from stressful situations, a current poignant case in point being the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Confidence
A sense of physical fitness and stamina attended by an attractive body also imbues a sense of confidence that impacts positively on other facets of a person’s life.
The local bodybuilding community
The local bodybuilding community comprises persons from all walks of life, all working together, sometimes not without differences of opinion, for the good of the sport. While the activity itself is about individual physical and emotional gain, the growth of the sport as a whole depends entirely on collective effort. Mentally, bodybuilding helps to cultivate the discipline to help cope with both physical and emotional pain. There are also considerable emotional gains to be derived from dedication to bodybuilding.
Challenges
Here in Guyana the sport of bodybuilding is not without its considerable challenges. Financially, bodybuilding is an impoverished sport in which athletes seeking to ‘raise their game’ through participation in high-profile international events must endure the considerable humiliation of ‘begging around’ to raise funds for participation. Bodybuilding, it has to be said, is just one of several sports which have benefitted only minimally from state support, which makes the international successes that our bodybuilders have realized all the more commendable. Still, the sport continues to soldier on.
Emmerson Campbell is a sports journalist and one of Guyana’s most successful and internationally accomplished bodybuilders
