The year was 2007. It would be my last year as a competitive bodybuilder. But as you saw in Part I, Shavis was still racking up win after win and was far from cutting his career anytime soon. It was a bittersweet decision for me. Bitter coming to terms that I was not amongst the one-percenters of the sport, yet sweet because I was extremely satisfied with what I had achieved and learned throughout the journey. Being best friends with Shavis, I knew moving forward I could still be part of the sport, supporting my buddy for the remainder of his career. I just never imagined 14 years later we’d still be at it today…
April 2007, Shavis had just won the overall title at the NPC Stingray Classic in Hawaii. Almost never do you see at any contest, the lightweight beat out all the heavier weight classes to win the overall, yet Shavis has done it three times as an amateur (twice at prestigious California shows). We sat down after that contest and because I knew his plan was to win nationals later that year and turn professional, I suggested an alternative path for his career.
At the time I had noticed Jose Raymond, another great amateur competitor, was foregoing his pro eligibility year after year winning nationals. Instead, he would remain an amateur by choice and would continuously build more muscle to move up weight classes, eventually winning not only the lightweight class at nationals, but eventually winning the welterweight and middleweight classes as well. It took some years for Jose to accomplish such an incredible feat, but as an young bodybuilder at only 5’4”, there was no rush for Jose to turn pro and compete against guys who stood much taller with 50 to 100 pounds more muscle on them.
What Mr. Raymond did is exactly what I challenged Shavis to pursue. He already had a national bantamweight title under his belt, and at 32 years of age, he was in his prime and had plenty of years left to grow into heavier weight classes. I had confidence Shavis would not only win the lightweight class at nationals, but he could eventually win the welterweight, middleweight, and even the lightheavyweight (177-198 lbs) class as well. That is what became the plan.
And so that is what Shavis did. Later that year in 2007, we went to Las Vegas and he took the lightweight title at the USA nationals. And the following year we went back and he won the welterweight class with a perfect score. 2009 was also a great year. Shavis moved up to middleweights in Vegas and came in 3rd place. Coincidentally, that year the professional league announced they would be adding a lighter weight class (under 202 lbs) to accommodate the shorter male professionals. It was a no-brainer for Shavis to finally take his pro card and start competing in the big leagues.
I truly believe, had there not been the creation of the under 202 pound professional division, Shavis would have remained in the NPC amateur league and would have not only won the middleweight class at nationals, but eventually take home a national lightheavyweight crown as well. Regardless, Shavis is inarguably the most successful bodybuilders to have ever graced the NPC league.
Thanks for reading,
Fran Sur