Lorenzo Sanchez wins classic physique

Lorenzo Sanchez won the men’s classic physique category in the 2021 Dee Clayton Classic last Saturday at the Saipan World Resort. (MICHAEL JORNAL)

Lorenzo Sanchez channeled his inner Eugene Sandow en route to winning the men’s classic physique category in the 2021 Dee Clayton Classic last Saturday at the Saipan World Resort.

Brandishing Sandow’s trademark handlebar moustache, the 25-year-old personal trainer at Latte Built 24-Hour Gym received 8 points from judges Jonas Barcinas, Dan Chase, and Ferdinand Lagmay to beat Jolo Berueco and brother Leonardo, who both got 5 points each.

“My mind was total Zen. I was expecting the worse and willing to accept the loss. The win was a reminder that I still have a lot of things to improve on. I was actually expecting my brother or Jolo to beat me for they do have a little more mass and V taper. But it is what it is and I’m glad to stand with the guys I helped compete,” said Sanchez.

His win in the 2021 Dee Clayton was the fifth overall for Sanchez and he said he went to work preparing for the show as soon as he came back from California.

“Like my boss Derek Cutting said, if I don’t have a goal, I get lazy. So about 6 or 7 weeks out, I started focusing for the show. I just shift the amount of carbs I consume here and there depending on how cut I was getting, and how full my muscles still were.”

He also shared that like other gym rats, he struggled during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The first year was hard, but after it went back to almost normal.”

Sanchez also sees himself as an artists with regards to his bodybuilding passion. “The benefits is the mental strength and the reason is to continue shaping my body as art, like an empty canvas, and I decide how I want to look. Also you get to see your body’s potential before you leave this world.”

Aside from Cutting, the men’s classic physique champion also dedicated his victory to his girlfriend, Mary Joyce Masongsong, his parents, and his fellow competitors.

“I have learned a lot being with them. To my brother and fellow competitor, Leonardo Sanchez, for inspiring me to push hard as a sibling rivalry, and Jolo Buereco, John Jimeno, Jonas Okawa, as I help them prep, their dedication always reminded me to be motivated and push myself further. To Jun (Big Oos), to Derek Cutting who also been giving me advices every now and then, and to everyone else at Latte and Jun Lagmay, thank you,” he said.

Going back to Sandow, Sanchez said his handlebar moustache during the Dee Clayton Classic was an homage to him.

“It is a tribute to the father of bodybuilding in the late 1800s. They named the Mr. Olympia trophy after him.”