Body Building: Mr Samoa and the world

My first “Mr Samoa” competition was at age 18 in 1998. I competed in the junior division, which I won that year, and the next three years. I then pursued university studies for the next two and a half years in Auckland, majoring in Information Technology.

Following my studies, I returned home to Samoa and immediately started training once again. By 2003, the “Mr. Samoa” competition was no longer an annual event. I had mixed emotions, especially since my very good friend Tohill Rokeni won the overall competition the previous year. I was very happy for him, but I also wanted to compete against him. I had beaten him in the past, but he had gotten so much better over the years. And now, he was the man to beat! He was also my dear friend, and these were motivating factors for me to compete against him. However, it never materialized, as he was involved in a serious car accident, and had to retire early.

The following year, I returned to full competition mode and was fortunate to compete against the best in New Zealand. I knew I had to compete in order to progress and improve while preparing for “Mr Samoa” that year. My main goal however, was to qualify and represent my country in the South Pacific Games (SPG), which Samoa hosted in 2007.

I returned to New Zealand to learn as much as I could from anyone who competed in New Zealand because information regarding diet, nutrition, and healthy supplements was limited in Samoa. I competed in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch from 2004 – 2007 just in time for the Big South Pacific Games in Samoa 2007.

Success in my Open Division during these competitions, boosted my confidence incredibly. The goal by this time was to win Gold at the SPG 2007! While I gave it my very best, with the best crowd of supporters in the world, I won Bronze instead. To say that I was devastated would be an understatement. I had done my best, but it wasn’t good enough. I was proud of what I had accomplished over the course of 10 years of aggressive competition but I knew that it was time to focus on my career in Information Technology.

Mr Samoa Nationals

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