Lindsay Campbell
Mackenzie Caul has been an athlete all of her life.
But at age 27, the Devlin native decided she would take on a whole new physical challenge.
It all paid off back on May 9 when Caul captured the 2015 Fitness Star Model Search held in Winnipeg.
Caul, who now lives in Kenora, said she began competing in bodybuilding (or “fitness competitions” as she calls it) just a few months ago when she found she was getting bored in the gym and lacking motivation.
“I’ve had a few friends who have done [bodybuilding] in the past and I’ve always floated in that circle,” she noted.
“It’s something I’ve always been interested in,” Caul added. “But I got to the point where I was always in the gym and I kind of hit a plateau.
“I wanted to set myself a new goal.
“So I called up some of my old girlfriends that I used to go to school with and I said, ‘I’m going to bite the bullet . . . and if I’m going to do this, I need to do this now.’
“I’m not getting any younger.’”
Caul said her friends pointed her in the right direction of a personal trainer they thought would best suit her. That was how she found her current trainer, Grant Reid of G-Fit in Winnipeg.
“I e-mailed him and we kind of talked back and forth for a little while,” she recalled.
“There were some girls that I was competing against that started training in September or October, and when I called him [Reid], it was the end of January. . . .
“He said, ‘Okay, yep, if we’re going to do this, let’s start tomorrow.’”
Caul then trained her hardest for two months, spending five-six days a week in the gym so she could compete in the Manitoba Amateur Bodybuilding Association provincials (MABBA) on March 28.
After placing sixth out of 21 contestants in the provincial competition, she attracted the attention of Fitness Star CEO Michael Ryan, who personally called her to ask if she would compete in the May competition.
Caul, who did not know much about the organization before she entered the competition, said she would give it a try when Ryan swayed her with its perks.
She noted the organization promotes its competitors to bigger companies or corporations by creating individual profiles, where the competitors can highlight their future goals related to fitness modelling.
“For example, say that it’s Lululemon,” said Caul. “They would say they we want to do a spring photo shoot or that they’ve got a new promo line coming out and they need some models.
“So basically [Fitness Star] says, ‘Well, we have 30 some models,’ and what they do is they take you and promote you as a fitness model from the profile you have made with them,” she explained.
“When I heard about this, I said, ‘Well, God, that kind of sounds awesome!’”
Because Caul won in her category and had a score over 80 percent, she will be featured in an eight-by-11 spread of Fitness Star Magazine, which launches this July.
Reid said the five months he has known Caul have been enjoyable.
“[Mackenzie] had a great attitude and tremendous work ethic through the entire process,” he remarked.
“It’s always incredibly rewarding to see one of your athletes do well or win because I know first-hand how much hard work, sacrifice, and dedication is involved in preparation.
“I was proud of Mackenzie and still am,” Reid added.
“I see a bright future in competition or fitness modelling for her.”
Caul calls winning the title a “great accomplishment,” but said she hopes to compete and do better next year in the provincials and Fitness Star 2016.
“I will get back into it come July and then train and prep and then hopefully do everything over,” she noted.
“I know this time that it’s more about having to know where to develop things, and where you personally have muscle and how to develop that.”
Caul added that since she started competing, the training process has become something she really loves doing.
“I never thought I would be able to do something like this and now this is something that has become a part of my daily routine,” she enthused.
“When you start seeing results, it’s like, ‘Oh my god, I’ve never looked this good before.’
“I haven’t been playing hockey for the last couple years and I really needed something like this where I could be competitive,” Caul reasoned.
“And the best thing is that it’s a competition with yourself.”
