Happening Now: Earthwise Summit 2024
The muscle man
Kenya’s Meshak Ochieng goes for the free pose down on his way to victory during the Mr America Bodybuilding Championship on October 8, 2022 in Atlantic City in New Jersey.
What you need to know:
- Born in Kisumu, Meshack started weight training in Otonglo in the year 2000 through the help of his brother Michael ‘Mike’ Otieno.
- “I trained with weights just as a way to keep myself busy as I had dropped out of school due to lack of fees.
- I was also trying to become a sportsman,” says Meshack, whose family moved from Kisumu when he was still young and settled in Homa Bay.
US-based Kenyan professional bodybuilder Meshack Ochieng’ Obuya was recently crowned Mr America in New Jersey, USA after defeating about 100 other musclemen. His journey to the top makes for interesting reading.
Born in Kisumu, Meshack started weight training in Otonglo in the year 2000 through the help of his brother Michael ‘Mike’ Otieno. “I trained with weights just as a way to keep myself busy as I had dropped out of school due to lack of fees. I was also trying to become a sportsman,” says Meshack, whose family moved from Kisumu when he was still young and settled in Homa Bay.
As a teenager, he got attracted to sports after watching other athletes excel in different sports around the country. Meshack picked bodybuilding after trying his hand unsuccessfully in boxing.
“Having the same physique as former Mr Kenya champions Bokassa Onyango, John Oduor, Shem Chweya, Chris Taabu and Mickey Ragos got me even more interested in bodybuilding. I would spend time going through old magazines to find pictures of these champions. I felt like I could relate with their stories,” explains Meshack. His first days in the sport were not easy. Getting a gym to train in was a nightmare.
“We didn’t have an equipped gym like the ones we now have in every estate. The weights we used for training were just ordinary bricks. The squat bars were just wooden rods. It wasn’t easy to know exactly how much weight we were lifting,” he notes.
It is because of this challenge that Meshack began moulding dumbbells, and making benches from timber and wooden rods. After a few years, Meshack and his brother Mike moved to Mumias in Kakamega County.
“Now, in Kakamega, the weights were made of scrap metal. Dumbbells and plates were made from brake pads. Training was not so easy but I can say that that is the gym where my career was built” explains the third born in a family of four.
During his early days in the sport, nutrition did not matter to him. He and his fellow weight lifters didn’t know what to eat to build muscles. Apart from that, they just didn’t have enough money to improve their diet.
“We ate just like any other person walking on the street. We had three meals a day with no special consideration for the different ratios of protein, carbohydrates and fat. We just ate anything that was put on the table that looked like a meal,” he observes.
Even though he and his friends made their training equipment by themselves, they didn’t give up. The energy and passion they had eventually made them champions not just in Kenya but across East Africa.
That small 20x20 gym in Mumias, Ochieng’ notes, produced Mr Kenya through him, his brother Mike and later on his training partner Rashid Issa who lifted the title twice.
After years of competing in Kenya, Meshack moved to the USA in 2012 in search of greener pastures. This move changed his life for the better, as he was able to go back to college and pursue his dream of becoming a personal trainer.
“I was able to take courses on nutrition and general fitness,” says Meshack who likes spending his free time reading and helping out in an orphanage when he can.
He says that the secret to success is to listen to your body. “Stay away from banned substances. Being a natural bodybuilder has healthier benefits than trying to be good by using steroids that will bring health issues later in your life,” observes Ochieng’ who is left with one parent, her mum Margy. His father passed away in 2004.
On his thoughts about bodybuilding in Kenya, Meshack says: “Now, bodybuilding as a sport is big in Kenya. But the problem is, there is no national federation to regulate the sport. The few contests held in Kenya are organised and promoted by individuals.”
He hopes that this situation will change soon and athletes will find opportunities to showcase their talents outside the country.
Ochieng’ is married with two children Dennis (Sergio) and Lynn. His favourite food is sweet potatoes, chicken breast and mixed vegetables.
He won the Missouri State Championship in St Louis on September 3, 2022 before getting the Mr America title on October 8 which came with a prize money of USD 50,000 (Sh6 million). He beat eight competitors in the final of Men’s Bodybuilding A in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to get the prestigious Mr America title.
Meshack’s star started shining in 2003 when he won the Kenya under-21 title. He has won many accolades including Mr Kenya in 2004 and 2012 and Mr Africa in 2010.
