Elsje Vermeulen
VEREENIGING. – He was born into the world of body building. He is a national and international judge and chairman of Sedibeng Body Building. He is 31 year old Douglas Johan Slater Jnr.
Better known as DJ, this dynamic youngest son of the late Doug Slater, has been chairman of Sedibeng Body Building since 2015 and is on a winning path to help grow this sport’s support and popularity in this region.
His passion and dedication to body building and health and fitness makes perfect sense. It runs through his veins.
His farther, Doug, started the very first Slater Gymnasium on the corner of Voortrekker Street and Kruger Avenue in 1975.
He married blonde bombshell Dawn, and they probably became SA’s first true power couple when they won the SA Couples Body Building Championships. Doug was quite a looker and had the personality to match.
This saw him become one of the most loved and prominent trainers in the industry. He produced many body building champions over the years.
They had four children and even after Doug and Dawn got divorced, DJ remembers spending most of his childhood in his father’s gymnasium.
The three older children Kirk (44), Camilla (39) and Cleone (40) now all resides Australia with their families.
“I loved spending time with my dad. I learned so much from him and during the school holidays I loved being a junior instructor,” says DJ.
“My dad knew how muscles work and the principles behind training. This he has passed on to me,” says DJ, who is now a full time and well respected trainer based at the Slater Gym in Three Rivers.
“I owe so much of my knowledge and love for body building to my parents and my uncles.”
DJ’s uncle, Bill Slater, was the chairman of Sedibeng Body Building and before that, Chairman of Vaal Triangle Body Building, for 30 years. DJ is thus doing his bit to keep the Slater legacy alive.
* At the end of November DJ will be travelling to Spain with the SA Team as team mananger and international judge at the Men’s World Body Building Championship.
- This report was first published in the November 1, 2017 edition of Vaalweekblad.
