Danster beats odds
Date: 13-10-2010
Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamSouth Africa |
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HE WADED into serious competition just three months ago and already the omens are looking good for Eastern Cape bodybuilder Lusindiso Danster.
The 15-year-old Grade 10 Winterberg Agricultural School pupil in Fort Beaufort will be travelling to Brusno Kupele in Slovakia with the South African team for the WFF- WBBF Amateur World Championships from October 28-31.
SA WFF-WBBF president Tommy du Rand, in a written statement, congratulated Danster for making the team.
“He has displayed the highest levels of dedication through his achievement at the SA Championships and will now compete against athletes from all over the world,” said Du Rand.
“His selection is the result of months of dedicated training and extreme mental toughness. We know he will give his best and do us proud.”
What makes Danster’s achievement so remarkable is that he had to sail solo when he first took up the sport.
“I started bodybuilding last year on my own, using low standard equipment from my neighbourhood in Tinisi, a township near town,” said Danster.
“Even now I have no coach or trainer to guide me, but I believed I could give it a go. I read a lot about the sport and when I saw some of the young bodybuilders I felt I could beat them.
“It was at Health Avenue gym in King William’s Town that I got some help from other bodybuilders and I love it so much I want to make it my career.”
He is grateful to his mentor Bulelani Jola from Port Elizabeth, who shared valuable advice on how to be competitive and how to build muscle.
“He has been great in helping me pump iron over the past months,” said Danster.
The young muscleman only tweaked he was onto a good thing when he started entering serious competitions as a novice and winning at provincial and national level to boot.
“In July I won the Eastern Cape Novices and last month I won in my category at the Eastern Cape Provincial and also at the SA Championships on October 1-2,” he said.
It was at the SA Championships at Carousel in Pretoria that he got the good news he had made the SA team for the European challenge.
“I was excited and could not believe I did it. This clearly shows my love and dedication for bodybuilding as a sport,” he said.
“I am a bit nervous about the competition over there and it will be my first time overseas. I have never been there before and it will be a new experience for me.
“I want to go places with bodybuilding. And my mum supports me in any sport, but she was worried about me playing rugby because she believes I could get hurt.”
Danster, who lives with his single mother Nomvuselelo, however has to raise R13000 for the cost of the trip and is hoping a kindhearted benefactor will assist by sponsoring him.
“If I can get help it will make my dream come true. I have to raise the money soon, as the team will leave on October 24,” he said.
