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Ecalnea aims to turn pro
Tristan Ecalnea poses for the judges during the 2014 Mariana Islands Bodybuilding Dee Clayton Classic held at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe in September. (Jon Perez)
Ecalnea was supposed to join last month’s 2014 Michelob Ultra Bodybuilding & Body Fitness Championship and International Invitational in Guam but decided to leave Saipan to join his family in the mainland and continue training. He said he will bulk up and at the same time compete in various bodybuilding tournaments there.
“I want to push myself more. I want to compete, be the best that I can be and accomplish other things,” said Ecalnea in an interview after his daily workout at Gold’s Gym. “I just started joining in local competitions but someday I want to compete internationally. My main goal and dream is to become a professional bodybuilder and represent the CNMI.”
Ecalnea, who topped the light middleweight division and placed second overall to Aaron Tomokane in the 2014 Dee Clayton Clayton Classic in September, said that most Americans he talked to in the mainland don’t know where Saipan or the CNMI is.
“Most people in the mainland don’t know where Saipan is. I want to let them know where it is in the Pacific and one way of doing it is to join competitions and represent the CNMI.”
The Saipan Southern High School graduate also revealed he got into bodybuilding after his girlfriend broke up with him “because he was too skinny.”
“That’s why when I went to college I started working out but I was doing it wrong since some say that you also need to eat a lot in order for you to get bigger. I gained so much weight that when I slimmed down, I got stretch marks. When I came back on Saipan, I got more serious and with a little research and help from my friends, I slowly learn the proper way.”
He added that working out has slowly become his life and passion. “I always look forward to working out. I want to give everything I got and I want to show to a lot of people that with hard work you can achieve a lot of things.”
Ecalnea said there’s a lot to bodybuilding than just lifting weights. “It is all about research and finding other ways to improve and get bigger.” (Jon Perez)
