Thirion celebrates international win
Sheldon Thirion from Sunnyridge recently travelled to Italy where he won the title of Mr Fitness Model.
You had to be lean, fit, have amazingly well-defined abdominal muscles, good looks, confidence and a killer smile to win the Mr Fitness Model category at the International Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (IBFF) Mister and Miss Universe competition.
And this is what Sunnyridge’s Sheldon Thirion (24) clearly had as he won the category.
The trip to Taranto, Italy, was Thirion’s first international competition and he was elated to have won.
“At first I didn’t know what to feel. Winning felt unreal but as soon as it sank in, it was the best feeling ever knowing that all my hard work and dedication had paid off.
“The IBFF Mister and Miss Universe competition was my first international competition but is definitely not the last one,” Thirion said when he spoke to the GCN recently.
He was selected as part of the team to represent South Africa at the competition after a standout performance at the IBFF South African Championships.
Thirion explained that besides the win, the opportunity to explore another country and meet new people were the highlights of the competition.
“Experiencing a different country was the major highlight. I was fortunate enough to see a lot of Italy while I was there.
“Another highlight for me was the number of new friends I made. It was almost surreal getting to see them enjoy the sport as much as I do,” he said.
Thirion has lived in Germiston for the past 16 years, since his family moved here to be closer to the school he attended then, namely Sunnyridge Primary School.
His love for bodybuilding was sparked after a 12-week challenge.
“I was always active at school and played rugby, cricket as well as soccer,” he explained.
“After I matriculated I stop participating in sport and wasn’t active at all.
“I woke up one morning and decided I didn’t like the way I looked. I needed to make a change, so I joined a gym and started the next morning.
“After a few sessions I decided to really challenge myself and set out on a 12-week challenge to see what I could achieve and loved the results,” he said.
After that the bug had bitten and Thirion decided he wanted to compete. This involved a lot of dedication and hard work to reach his fitness goals before appearing on stage in April 2016.
“Since then my love and passion for the sport have grown,” he said.
Thirion credits his family, friends and work colleagues’ love and support as his driving force when things get tough.
“My number one supporter is my mother, Lynda,” he said proudly.
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When it comes to prepping for bodybuilding and fitness competitions, Thirion’s training and diet change drastically.
“The preparation for a competition differs a lot to my average training and healthy lifestyle and is very demanding,” he explained.
“I train twice a day: I do cardio in the morning and weight training at night.
“I eat around six meals a day, made up oats, egg whites, basmati rice, sweet potato, fish, chicken, steak and mince.”
After his win Thirion and his coach, Nick Robert from East Coast Transformations, have decided that it’s time for him to move up a division. This means that Thirion will have to work even harder to gain more muscle and increase his size in order to meet the new criteria.
“I will only look at getting back on stage again in 12 to 18 months as we want to make sure we make the move to the next division, in the right way,” he said.
His advice to people wanting to get involved in the sport is to take it one day at a time.
“There are no shortcuts so enjoy the journey and learn as much as you can from people who have been in the game for years as they each have a different method. Remember though, that you have to find what works best for you,” he said.
“Most importantly, stay humble and you will achieve everything your heart desires.”
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