After just three years in the sport, Jason Johnson has become the first Bahamian to earn pro card in two major organizations – the International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness (IFBB) and the World Beauty Fitness and Fashion (WBFF).
He accomplished the latter earlier this year, competing in a show at the Atlantis Resort, and just this past weekend, he entered the IFBB professional ranks, winning the open men’s physique division (up to and including 182 centimeters) at the Miami Grand Prix in Miami, Florida. He was third in overall men’s physique but earned his pro card as a result of winning his division at the three-day event, which was held at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center in Miami this past weekend.
Johnson, who has only been involved in the sport of bodybuilding and fitness for three years, said he feels privileged to be in his current position. A week prior to earning his second pro card in the sport, Johnson returned from the IFBB’s 48th Annual Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships with a silver medal in men’s physique (up to and including 176 centimeters).
The 30-year-old Bahamian athlete said he’s looking forward to competing as a professional athlete, and encourages more young persons to get involved in the sport.
“I feel great. I feel like I’ve achieved a plateau for men’s physique and I just want to be able to continue in the sport and continue to challenge myself,” said Johnson. “This is really great – to be able to achieve this in such a short period of time. I’m really happy with the progression.”
Having competed in four shows this year, Johnson said he will take the rest of the year off and study the calendar for professional shows to compete in, in 2022.
In May of this year, Johnson walked away with the male fitness model title from the Bahamas
International Pro-Am show at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, earning pro status in that category. Now, he’s able to compete professionally in men’s physiques as well.
“When I think about it, it’s really amazing – to be recognized by two federations is a good feeling. It speaks volumes for where I’m at in the sport,” said Johnson. “I felt really confident out there. I feel like I was conditioned from the CACs. I knew that I had it in the bag. I just want to encourage others who are considering to give it a try to go for it. You have nothing to lose. This sport requires a lot of money, effort and time, but once you are committed to putting in the work, you can achieve great things. As athletes in this sport, we need more exposure and more recognition. Bodybuilding is just as hard as track and field and the other sports out there and there is not enough recognition.”
Johnson sends out gratitude to BBFF President Joel Stubbs for the advice that he provided, and also to training partner Lorraine Lafleur for passing on her knowledge of the sport to him and for being by his side.
Johnson works out at Gainz For Life Fitness (G4LF) on East Street and Soldier Road.
“For someone who has been involved in the sport for a short period of time, he really has developed and you could see it,” said BBFF Project Manager and CAC Championships Team Manager Nardo Dean. “I’m glad that athletes like Jason are getting the opportunity to compete and progress in the sport. This puts them on another level and puts The Bahamas on another level. We want to see bodybuilding get back to the level it once was at here in The Bahamas. Results like this could only serve to motivate more young people to get involved in the sport. Hopefully, we could get it stimulated in the schools and continue to get more young people involved.”
Quite a number of Bahamian athletes have attained pro cards in bodybuilding and fitness over the past five years. Dean said this proves that they are headed in the right direction and he looks forward to continued progression.
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source https://thenassauguardian.com/johnson-earns-second-pro-card/
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