The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
Indeed, the journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step. For Nunurai Masosonere (Pictured), the journey to the Marume Classic Senior Open title began some 20 years ago.
Still just some scrawny little kid back then, Masosonere took a long look at himself in the mirror and did not like what he saw.
He decided to do something about it.
“It’s quite a funny story. I first got into bodybuilding in the early 2000s after looking at myself in the mirror,” said the Marume Classic winner.
“I was a skinny tall kid. I remember I weighed somewhere in the regions of 60kg.
“I did like being that skinny and wanted to look good,” he said.
It did not help matters that he was Walter Munyikwa’s friend. Munyikwa is a seasoned bodybuilder who was Mr Zimbabwe in 2004.
“Walter is a close friend, brother and an inspiration.
“We stayed in the same neighborhood and I admired his looks. I would imagine having his muscular tone.
“So upon some reflection and contemplation, I decided to do something about it and joined a local gym in Warren Park,” he said.
At first, bodybuilding was his hobby. Masosonere was planning to take the business world by storm.
The 32-year-old has managed to attain his goals in business and currently holds a marketing diploma. He owns and runs his own gym – Family Fitness.
He even took a two-year hiatus from competitive bodybuilding to focus on the gym.
But for Masosonere, bodybuilding is like a calling.
He stormed into competitive bodybuilding in 2012 after being encouraged by a friend.
He took part in the Mr Novicee 2012 and won the competition. That same year, he contested in the Mr Harare middleweight category and was placed second.
Masosonere tried his luck again in the Mr Kadoma 2013 contest. He finished in the Top 10.
He went on to scoop the 2016 Ironman title.
That was roughly around the time he decided to take a break. He opened his business, took some young aspiring bodybuilders under his wing and has been grooming them. However, the bodybuilding champion decided to make a come back.
“Competitive bodybuilding is a form of art, it is about eating right, being muscular, balanced and dedicated.
“It is easy to lecture these kids and tell them what to do but I decided to go a step further and practice my own teaching.
“These guys look up to me as a mentor and they are the reason I broke my two-year hiatus from the sport,” he said.
Since his return, Masosonere has taken part in the ZITF and Muscle & Fitness competitions. In both instances, he came second.
He finally struck gold at last weekend’s Marume Classic.
