Harsimran Singh has taken the local bodybuilding world by storm.
The Surrey resident won a whopping eight trophies at the Popeye’s Fall Bodybuilding Classic held at Coquitlam’s Hard Rock Casino on Oct. 26.
Just 10 months ago Singh moved to Canada from India, where he’d competed in more than 60 bodybuilding events and won several titles over the previous eight years.
“This was his first event in Canada,” said Dawn Alison, his trainer and coach.
“Everybody was like, ‘Where did this guy come from?,’” Alison added with a laugh. “This was a starter show for him, to qualify him, and he’ll do a pro qualifier next summer, a big one in July. And he just wanted to get out there and do it, and he freakin’ did it.”
Singh, 26, came to Canada to study business management. When not in class, he’s training at Flex Fitness Club Surrey, on Scott Road, not far from where he lives with friends.
“I’m there every single day, a five-hour workout every day – two hours in the morning and three in the evening,” Singh explained.
“Dawn, she really helped me, all the coaching she gave me is great,” he added. “Without her help, I cannot achieve those trophies.”
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At the event in Coquitlam, he won the overall bodybuilding championship and several other titles, including middleweight champion, classic champ, a “True Novice” title and a “Ripped Freak” award.
“I knew he was going to do well,” Alison said, “but you always have to wait and see how someone stacks up against the rest up on stage, and that’s a big thing. Someone can look really good by themselves, but you have to wait until they’re all lined up next to each other.”
Singh said his dream is to become Mr. Olympia one day.
“I really love Canada, and every single person appreciates and supports me,” he told the Now-Leader. “Not a single person was known to me (at the event in Coquitlam), but after the competition everybody was giving me hugs and wanted to say hello. That was very nice.”
Alison called her client “a very coachable athlete, a good listener. That’s an important point to make,” she said.
“He’s such a respectful, soft-spoken and even-keeled guy,” Alison added. “He calls me ma’am, which is hilarious, right.”
Alison has been in the bodybuilding business for 30 years.
“It’s kind of interesting because I’ve (coached) hundreds of athletes, at all levels, from people who’ve never competed before to IFBB pros, and I tell people, you have to start somewhere,” she said. “People think an athlete like that is born that way but they don’t see the years and years of dedication and struggles, everything they’ve gone through to get to this point, and that’s Harsimran. He’s super dedicated and has done years and years of training, and he’s come to Canada and he’s now winning all these trophies.”
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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