Bodybuilding went under military command when rugged Coast Guard officer Stevenson Belle, swept aside all and sundry with shredded eye-popping muscle to seize the coveted Mr Barbados title at the Plantation Garden Theatre on Saturday night.
Before an audience that included Governor of the Central Bank, Dr Delisle Worrell, singer Anderson Blood Armstrong and former Mr World Short Class, Loftus Roach, Belle on his first appearance at the nationals, took the light heavyweight class en route to taking the grand posedown of overall divisional winners.
It was a night of the Bs with Belle sharing the spotlight with impressive 20-year-old Ramon Broomes, who won the juniors category and the super middleweight division, while vivacious Vickie Borman, was queen of the figure competition.
The other major winner was Julia Davis. Cheered on every step of the way by Brute Force gymmate Sam Skeete, the former Barbados fast bowler, Davis became the new Miss Barbados after completing a convincing victory over pre-contest favourite Deidre Archer.
Davis’ huge shoulders and defined legs set her apart from the 6ft, 1 in. Archer, who was smooth and nowhere near the form she presented back in April at the Miss Bridgetown contest.
Paula Boyce of Body By Kirk gym, was third with Burnelle Hunte of Stadium gym, fourth.
Borman, all grace and poise, took the figure contest but it was not a slam dunk by any means with the stylish Ramona Morgan giving a good account of herself. Kathy Ann Greenidge was third.
However, the night belonged to the dynamic Belle, who was brimming with confidence from the time he stepped on stage to showcase his 195 pounds of chiselled muscle. He struck a double-biceps pose, as the fans frothed, and paraded his sliced hamstrings and striated quads to send the crowd wild.
This was only the third contest for the 30-year-old, a product of Ellerton, St George.
The showdown with the experienced Ricardo “Cou Cou” Bascombe, never materialised as he pulled out at the last minute after a bout of gastro, but there could be no denying that Belle would have been hard to beat in this form.
“I feel wonderful. I?owe all of this to Aereal Johnson, Roger Boyce and Darcy Beckles. These men helped me through some rigorous training sessions at the Stadium gym.
I feel on top of the world,”?Belle said.
Rene Griffith of J?&?S?Health and Fitness Academy, was second in the light heavyweight class and Dave Archer of Dane Rovers, third.
Belle’s stiffest challenge in the final posedown came from the fast rising Broomes, who was the class of the juniors in which he won a compelling duel with the ever improving Dario Bryan, a former Mr Teenager who looks one for the future.
Broomes, a first-year physical education student of the Barbados Community College, was hard, cut and well prepared.
Matthew Watson, a little flat and nowhere as full as at the Mr Bridgetown, was a distant third.
Broomes and Bryan were first and second as well in the super middleweight class where 26-year-old Hugo Greaves made his mark with a satisfying third.
Dynamite in a small package, Samuel Eastmond ruled the bantamweight/lightweight class with Mike Worrell a solid second, while rookie Nicholas Harris defeated a below par Richard Waterman in a weak heavyweight class.