Flex Master Paul Eats two full chickens, six meals per day Sold his car to prepare for Mr Zimbabwe

IN October last year, a virtually unknown Paul Goredema was crowned Mr Zimbabwe at the national bodybuilding contest held at the Harare International School.

What made Goredema’s victory more incredible was that in reality, it was the first time he had entered Mr Zimbabwe. In fact, Goredema had never taken part in any senior bodybuilding show in Zimbabwe. For the overall title Goredema saw off competition from Garikai Mujuru and Nigel Maphosa.

After months of slipping away, Sunday Life finally sat down with Goredema to find out more about him. Born on 29 May 1989 in Gweru, Goredema did his primary school education at Cecil John Rhodes in the Midlands capital as well as Sir John Kennedy in Kadoma. He proceeded to Thornhill High School and Chaplin High School for his secondary school education.

Goredema got employed at Gweru Polytechnic in 2010 as a stores assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering where he still works. He did a transport management national certificate with the same institution but did not stop there. He enrolled for a Bachelor of Commerce in Business Management honours degree with Midlands State University on block release from where he graduated in 2015.

The only child of Ketty Mumbire and Sydney Goredema began having a keen interest in going to the gym after completing his Ordinary Level studies and started competing in bodybiulding 2009.

“I started having interest in going to the gym soon after O-level and then I started bodybuilding in 2009, competing in junior category. My first competition was Muscle and Fitness Classic in Gweru, in 2009 I competed in Under-23 where I finished third. In 2010 I entered Mr Botswana, came second in juniors and that same year I took part Mr Ironman Botswana junior and came second,’’ said Goredema.

The pressure which came with studying for his degree saw him stop training completely in 2014 until he graduated in 2015. He returned to the gym in 2016 and won two big titles that same year. First it was the Mr Boksburg heavyweight title in South Africa in August where he was the best in the over 95 kilograms category. From there Goredema set his eyes on the Mr Zimbabwe accolade.

All went well for Goredema when he came out the best from the over 85kgs section. His challenge for the overall title came from Mujuru and Maphosa but Goredema prevailed over the two. Goredema feels that his body was more balanced and he had dried out before the competition.

“I felt bad because Maphosa had more input than I did, we used to train together in Gweru. My body had more balance, I was looking drier than the other competitors, though Nigel looked much better that day. I started preparing from August after the Boksburg competition and went to Harare on the Thursday before the show,’’ said Goredema.

He took the title that had been won in 2015 by Botswana-based Champion Chienderamwano. Goredema became the second bodybuilder from Gweru to bring a national title to the Midlands after Isaac Chimuchenga who has previously won Mr Ironman.

Goredema entered Mr Zimbabwe under the Nathan Greenland-owned Body Works Gym in Bulawayo where he has been training since August. In Gweru, he does his workout at Barbeton having started off at Muscle and Fitness.

Prior to winning Mr Zimbabwe, his mother who lives in Harare had wondered why her son keeps competing when he keeps being a runner up but he was determined to prove her wrong.

“My mother said to me, why do you keep competing when you never win anything, my response was I have come here to win. To my surprise I went home with the title. She was happy, she is now accepting it,’’ Goredema said.

Winning Mr Zimbabwe has qualified Goredema for the Arnold Classic Africa to be held at the Sandton Conventional Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Goredema, who had already sealed his place at the biggest bodybuilding show in Africa after lifting the heavyweight title at Mr Boksburg had to enter Mr Zimbabwe so that he heads to Arnold Classic under the Zimbabwe banner.

His preparations for Arnold Classic started at the beginning of this month. For now he is training to bulk up which means no more junk food for him with his diet consi s t ing of eating c omp l e x carbohydrates food like sweet potatoes, brown rice oats, egg whites, lean beef and chicken breasts. His wish is to be placed in the top six in his category. Many would be wondering what really does Goredema who weighs 105kg consume on a daily basis.

“I eat a lot but there is a certain diet that I follow, I have to eat two whole chickens a day, six meals a day. It is very expensive, I have support from my whole family, they even encourage me to keep on training. Hopefully if all goes well with my preparations, I hope to be placed well, top six in my category since it’s my first big stage,’’ Goredema said.

Bodybuilding has come at a huge cost for Goredema who spent $2 500 on fine tuning for Mr Zimbabwe where his total prize money only came to $1 300. He even sold his car, a Toyota Camry in order to prepare for the biggest bodybuilding show in the country.

“To do Mr Zimbabwe I spent more e than $2 500 from diet to supplementss

eeee but only won $1 300. I don’t do it for the income, it’s my passion, I do it for the outcome, not the money. There is more to it than receiving cash prize. I evenn sold my car, a Toyota Camry to preparee for competitions,’’ said Goredema.

A member of the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe, Goredema lost track at some stage when he was not training which meant he had to find a passion. He used to be a bouncer at Gweru u nightclubs but has lost interest in that.. His most profile job as a bouncer wass when they he was engaged togetherr with Chimuchenga and Simbarashee Ferro as bodyguards for the 2012 ZAR Fest in Harare when American musicians Ciara, Lil Kim andd Timbaland came to Zimbabwe.

“I used to drink Black Label and Twoo Keys during those years that I was not training. I don’t drink at all now but I am outgoing. I am a member of the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe, a few people in church know that I compete in bodybuilding. I used to be a bouncer at Gweru nightclubs, I did it for fun, I no longer do it. I lost interest. I was hired to be a bodyguard at the ZAR Fest with Isaac and Simbarashe Ferro,’’ Goredema said. His dream is to become a professional bodybuilder in future if the opportunity does present itself. Goredema has vowed to defend his Mr Zimbabwe title this year, no matter who he is competing against. The 27-yearold also plans to start a family of his own within a year. “I aim become to a professional one day, if an opportunity comes I can always then search for greener pastures. I want to have a family of my own in a year from now. I am definitely defending my Mr Zimbabwe title no matter who I am competing against. I would like to retain my title and reign for a couple of more years to come,’’ said Goredema. His words of encouragement to up and coming bodybuilders is for them to be focused, prioritise their education because it is key and have discipline which will go a long way in their career prospects. He also urged them to believe in themselves and work towards achieving their goals because nothing comes easy. As Goredema works hard at the gym, he would be hoping that 2017 brings with it even more success than he achieved in 2016. @Mdawini_29