By Neto Baptiste
International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB) professional, Elvis Bailey, has rubbished the notion that there are too many pros coming out of the twin island state and that it could lead to a ‘watered down’ national competition.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo sports show, Bailey said attaining pro status is a prestigious accomplishment that could only encourage others to work extra hard.
“To turn pro is not easy and going overseas and competing and going against the best of the best and winning is not east. Then for the local show, its motivation for the younger ones coming up because they will say that these guys did it then, so it’s a possibility that I can do it also, so it’s actually a motivation and inspiration for the younger ones coming up to attain that also,” he said.
Bailey, who was coach of the country’s team to the recent CAC Championships held in Aruba, also sought to debunk claims that the pro athletes may not be doing enough to market themselves.
“We do a lot of things to show people that we’re out there doing this, and even when we’re doing a show we try to get backstage, how we are preparing in the room, the girls doing their make-up, practicing how to pose, and we just try to expose ourselves more so people could see that we are serious about this,” he said.
He however said that local businesses could be a bit more open-minded as it pertains to utilising local talent to market their products.
“I think a lot of business are skeptical about using athletes because they want to know the benefits they will get from using the athlete on a billboard or whatever the case may be, but at the end of the day, it’s not just locally, it’s regionally and internationally because we do international shows, regional shows and local shows so the type of exposure the business would get would be great. If the business would actually just look and understand it more, I believe we can get a lot more athletes advertising a lot of things for businesses,” Bailey said.
Ahjanya King and Jonathan Aubrey became the country’s newest IFBB Elite Pro bodybuilders after winning their respective divisions at the recently held CAC Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships.
