Heavyweight Champion

Maynor De Leon might not look like an athlete, but he trains like one. Having dropped a colossal 120kg – and with many more to go – That Big Guy’s very public transformation has been as much a fight for survival as a personal challenge. This is how he’s hitting back against all odds. Be inspired.

- Bryan Smith

MH first meets him on a cold Wednesday in January, amid the New Year gym rush. His base of operations for the day is On Your Mark, a training space in Chicago’s East Garfield Park area that served as a bomb shelter during the Second World War. The 1 765m2 site is packed with lifting platforms, heavy bags, and sprint tracks. A dozen or so athletes gather to work with their coaches, moving between stations, their faces masks of determination.

Weighing 195kg, De Leon stands out among them. But watch him for five minutes and you’ll see that this is a man in his element. Dressed in black trackpants, a black velour shirt, and Nike running shoes, he hoists a canvas ball over his head and slams it down with a guttural “Humph!” over and over, the impact echoing through the gym like a cannon blast.

Beside him stands his trainer, David Carson, correcting and motivating him. In between sets with the ball, De Leon steps laterally, up and over, back and forth, between yellow markers, pulling his knees up. “Ten seconds,” says Carson. “Give me 10 more seconds.” His face now shining with sweat, De Leon presses on, Carson helping him maintain balance in what looks like a kind of workout dance. After that, he moves on to the cable machine for a set of biceps curls, Kanye West booming from the gym’s speakers.

And on it goes, for more than an hour. By the end, De Leon is pouring with sweat, as he gulps from his bottle of water. Carson taps his shoulder and says, “Good job.” Smiling through the perspiration, De Leon nods, then claps, then throws back his head and shouts, “Yeeaah!”

Protective Armour