Building Muscles And Confidence
Drug-free bodybuilder and personal trainer Kevin Jones of Lihu'e won the men's masters title at the Hawaiian Islands Bodybuilding Championships June 18. Photo courtesy Kevin Jones
Sometimes you’re just in the right place at the right time. For Lihue’s Kevin Jones, he was in the right gym at the right time.
The 48-year-old bodybuilder met his inspiration while training at a gym in his hometown of Boston. He was just 20 years old when he bumped into former Mr. Massachusetts Steve Pignato.
“I was amazed that he got paid for bodybuilding,” Jones says. “I wanted to get paid for that too, so after meeting him, I just got into fitness full time.”
And now, his bodybuilding career is reaching new heights. On June 18, Jones flexed his way to the title in the men’s masters division at the Hawaiian Islands Bodybuilding Championships on Oahu.
The win qualified him to compete in the Natural Mr. Olympia contest in November in Reno. This competition includes 50 countries and more than 2,000 athletes and is widely known in the fitness world as the pinnacle of natural bodybuilding.
“It’s my life, my passion and I never want to quit doing this,” Jones says.
And doing it the right way is very important to him, which means no drugs whatsoever. He even joked that he doesn’t even take aspirin.
Jones only competes in the International Natural Bodybuilding Association and the Professional Natural Bodybuilding Association. Both organizations promote natural bodybuilding worldwide, testing by International Olympic Committee standards using World AntiDoping Agency labs.
Jones even attributes his longevity in the sport to remaining steroidand drug-free.
As a personal trainer, Jones also wants to teach others, especially youths, about the dangers of drugs and steroids.
“I want to share my knowledge with the local kids,” he says. “Steroids and drugs are the easy way out and it just destroys your body, so there’s absolutely nothing good that comes out of it.”
Thanks much in part to Jones, Kaua’i will host its first bodybuilding competition in December.
“We’re going to bring in some fitness models, and it’s people ranging in age from 7 to 80 years old,” Jones says.
By bringing the sport to the Garden Isle, Jones hopes more people will get involved.
“It builds confidence,” he says. “People who look good usually feel good about themselves.”
Jones’ confidence has led him to the top of his sport in the state and now he’s ready to make his mark at the national level.
His five months of training to get ready for the competition includes a very strict diet that should take him down to just 4 percent body fat. He competed at 174 pounds at the state level, but wants to get up to 208 pounds at the national contest.
“It may sound conceited, but I never compete to lose, so I’m not going up to Reno to just compete, I’m going there to win,” he says.
With his confidence and tremendous work ethic, there’s little doubt Jones will succeed.
