By Andrew Coakley
FN Sports Editor
From all indications, the recent Grand Bahama Bodybuilding and Fitness Show was a total success.
No, the association did not get as many competitors as they would have liked, but they certainly had more than their fair share of fans who filled the Regency Theatre for the show.
Sure, there were a lot of first timers there who had never attended a bodybuilding show before, and that's always a good thing.
Many of those first time fans were there because of one novice, Bruce Silvera, who was competing in his first ever bodybuilding show.
The fans had not come just because they knew him or because this was his first show, they came because those who do know Silvera knew of his enormous weight loss.
When Silvera began his journey to redefining his body he started with a weight of over 200 pounds. Although he was an active cyclist, Bruce wanted to take his weight loss and his body to a whole new level.
The Grand Bahama Bodybuilding Championship became the goal.
"I made this show my goal, because I knew it was something I never did before and I wanted to really challenge myself," said Silvera.
And a challenge is what he got when he decided to enter his first ever bodybuilding show.
Unlike any other sport Bruce may have been involved with in the past, he found the sport of bodybuilding more than he had bargained for.
"This thing really messes with your mind," admitted Bruce.
"Especially when you begin to diet and cut back carbs and salt and stuff like that.
"Going into the gym and lifting the weights was the easy part, but the diet and the discipline that comes with it was more than I ever could have imagined.
"I now have a lot more respect for bodybuilders and what these guys have to go through to get their body in the kind of shape they get in. I have plenty respect for them, because now I know what it takes.
"And I'm a newcomer, so I can imagine what those who've been in it a long time have to go through."
Bruce not only shed almost 100 pounds, but he got into phenomenal shape, building solid muscle, losing body fat and drying out to the point where his striations were evident.
Not just mere weight loss, but a total body transformation.
It took 20 months of consistent training to get into the kind of shape Bruce found himself in.
Thanks to his coach Glen Stubbs, Bruce looked more like a seasoned bodybuilder than just a novice.
In 20 months, sure, Bruce could have lost weight and reached his desired weight goal, preparing for the bodybuilding show added the extra challenge Bruce needed to get into the kind of shape he had set as a goal.
And he did all of this at the age of 51, headed into his 52nd birthday!
He did more than just lose weight. Silvera suddenly found himself in the world of bodybuilding, which so few have dared to enter, and here is the ironic part, he was actually enjoying it.
Considering all he had to go through in getting in shape and preparing for a bodybuilding show, one would think that Silvera would not want to go through that again.
But actually, he is hyped about doing it again.
"Now that it's over and I see the kind of results that I've gotten, I feel this is something that I can do again although it's hard. But I feel that now I know what to expect, I would be more prepared."
Silvera was not the only novice who competed on Saturday night.
A newcomer, Phyllis Stewart made her debut to the stage as well. Perhaps no one knew she was a novice, because she certainly didn't look like one. Stewart looked like a long time heavyweight competitor, although she still needs some work on her legs.
But for the most part, she looked like more than just a novice.
The size and cuts in her arms, back and abs made her look like a seasoned bodybuilder. Only those who knew her knew that it was her first time on the stage.
"Phyllis has the potential to be a great bodybuilder," said Maurice Hall, who trained Phyllis for her first competition.
"If people think she looks good now, wait until next year...they will really see something. Because she has a strong determination and drive."
If anyone ever questions that drive and determination, consider the fact that Phyllis lives in Holmes' Rock and drives to Freeport every morning at 5 a.m. to go to the gym and work out.
That's determination of the highest order.
"When people who live right next door to the gym don't show up, Phyllis shows up," said Maurice.
Her story is similar to that of Silvera's. Phyllis was also a big person, according to Maurice, when she first began to train seriously, she was weighing in at about 210 pounds.
With a bodybuilding show as her goal, Phyllis had more reasons to be even more determined, not just to lose the weight, but to be ready for the stage.
Phyllis may not have won her division, nor the overall title, but she has certainly proven herself to be a threat in the future.
Maurice says that she's already back in the gym, training and preparing to go to the nationals next weekend.
Obviously, the more experience she gets, the more confident she will become on stage.
"I see her dominating the heavyweight division in the future, as long as she keeps up with her determination and drive," said Hall.
If that's the case, then bodybuilding fans better remember the name Phyllis Stewart, because it's gonna show up again, and again, and again........
