Flexers excel in Florida

National fitness coach Nardo Dean has now proven himself on the international scene two years back-to-back.

Dean finished third and fourth in 2002 in fitness and bodybuilding respectively, but has been a multiple winner at the NPC Southern State Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships ever since. Last year, he won the open fitness category, the middleweight division in the bodybuilding segment and the men's over 35 fitness category. He also won the strength and agility award in the open fitness category.

This past Friday and Saturday, he competed in those same championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and brought home the middleweight division in bodybuilding in the over 35 category and was also the overall winner in the over 35 division. The latter allowed him to be the first person to ever win both the fitness and bodybuilding overall divisions in the history of the championships.

Last year, Dean also became the first Bahamian male to win an international competition for fitness, and this year he added an overall bodybuilding title in his age division. Along with the three Bahamians who have earned their pro cards, he said that they should be recognised for their accomplishments and even hinted that their names should be added to the "Wall of Fame" at Nassau International Airport. At this present time, Dean has no chance to attain his pro card in fitness because men's fitness is not offered in the region, and you would have to be a U.S. American citizen in order to pursue it in the United States.

Two-time national champion Jaye Darling also took part in those championships in Florida over the weekend and finished first in the open men's light heavyweight division. Abaconian Arthur Eldon was first in the over 50 middleweight division, and Paul Wilson finished second in the open bantamweight division.

In addition to his success on the stage, Dean also received a scholarship from the Fitness Institute International to attend Florida Atlantic University in the Department of Exercise Science and Wellness. He has also been sponsored to pursue the personal training specialist certification, which is the only nationally accredited certification programme in the U.S. and has been approved by the State Board of Nursing and the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Dean might not compete much locally, but this is the third straight year that he has entered the Southern States Championships. He listed numerous reasons for his decision not to compete locally:

- Bodybuilding and fitness athletes do not receive recognition, respect, sponsorship or financial rewards as other athletes do;

- Competing internationally gives him a chance to compete against people from all over the U.S. and other countries;

- He has been pushing for men's fitness in the International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB) for over eight years (to no avail);

- As a Bahamian athlete, he has a better chance of exposure having excelled in both fitness and bodybuilding;

- Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation president Danny Sumner has been doing a great job, but Dean feels like all persons from the Novice Championships should participate in the nationals to make it more exciting, increase the level of competition and to better our national team which is the best in the region.

Dean, who is well versed in all sports and is certified in nine areas of health, fitness, nutrition and specialised training, said that his experience this past weekend was a good fete for him because he had to overcome a lot of tough competitors. "I'm definitely going back next year, but it might just be to do exhibitions," he said yesterday. "I'll probably come back as a guest next year, and I am also going to pave the way to expose some of our Bahamian aerobic instructors and some of our Bahamian bodybuilders. That's the main thing. I want to open doors for new people so that they can get where they need to go."

Dean offered special thanks to ABI Distributors, Commonwealth and General Insurance, Security Systems, Better Bodies Gym, Mystical Fitness and all the other sponsors who assisted him.