After three years overseas, Luzviminda Longabila of Zamboanga (now Mrs. Leeric McClinton), returned to the Philippines in 2006. She promptly started entering and winning various fitness and bodybuilding competitions, to her own surprise. She had only been training for a couple of years, and not even purposely for competing. But the effects of heavy lifting of huge containers of hot rice porridge for 12 years of her childhood and adolescence that helped her survive poverty had imbued her with an inner resilience and outward musculature that was her main advantage.
?Whenever I lift weights, I recall all the years of lifting vats of goto during my childhood,? she reveals. ?That?s in my memory. I don?t even know how heavy those things were. I can say it gave me a natural strength. Even without supplements, I?m really strong.?
Upon winning the Miss Philippine Fitness title, Luisa was named to the Philippine bodybuilding team, and the Philippine Sports Commission funded her trip to Singapore for her first international competition.
She placed fifth, much to her amazement. She wasn?t even bulky, just toned with sculpted abdominal muscles. When she came back, there was no media coverage, and she was never contacted to represent the country again. She started joining all the local fitness and bodybuilding competitions in the country. All told, she piled up more than 20 trophies and dozens of plaques. Though the prizes were small, Leeric was gladly financing her passion, to the tune of more than P100,000 a month in food and supplements. She also spent six months studying to be a certified fitness trainer.
The list of international awards started expanding dramatically, as well. Since 2006, she has been a runner-up in the NABBO Universe competition overseas and topped the Fitness and Modeling Entertainment (FAME) Philippines competition. She joined the national championships in Cebu and the Iron Pinoy, racking up seven straight titles before leaving for the FAME World Tour in Las Vegas last month.
?I was really at my peak in Las Vegas,? she explains. ?My depletion was gradually over six months, so even though I was cut, I still had a glow. And I felt that this was going to be special for me. If I just made the top three, I would be very happy.?
After the mandatory drug test, one by one the contestants were asked to strip for the pre-judging, from tallest to smallest, making tiny Luisa last, of course.
?I saw their team uniforms: Australia, Canada, USA, and so on. I didn?t have any. It was like I was just a civilian,? she laughs. ?I didn?t have a manager or an organizer with me. I felt sorry for myself. I went there to win for my country.?
She hadn?t had a drop of water in over 40 hours to maximize her cuts, and was getting dizzy. Her husband was concerned, and pleaded with her to drink something.
?I didn?t want to take the chance,? Luisa explains. ?Whatever the result, I didn?t want to have any regrets. I didn?t want to cheat. I knew I had a winning factor. I could feel it. And I felt it.?
Out of 62 contestants, only 10 were chosen on Nov. 13, the day before the finals. Luisa waited until everyone has stripped, and noticed that they didn?t have definition in their legs, which was her forte. Leeric had to hire a stylist for her hair and make-up, and bought her spray tanning and posing outfits worth tens of thousands of pesos. Out of their own pockets, they had spent about $6,000 for those two weeks, but he said it would be worth it if it would help her win.
?When I finally took off my clothes, the other contestans stopped what they were doing, and looked. They stopped coloring themselves and some just gave up. Some tried to keep pumping themselves up, but I knew it wouldn?t work, especially with the legs.?
From her shoulders to her arms, her clean, ripped abs and superbly cut legs, Luisa was superior. Her routine was also spectacular, as it included front and side splits onstage while flexing, and standing on her left foot as she raised her right, held it by the heel, and turned while posing. Jaws dropped. Nobody did those moves in a bodybuilding competition of that magnitude before. She got a standing ovation. The other contestants were calling her ?machine?, ?rubber band?, ?killer? and other good-natured nicknames. Some even called her the little female Manny Pacquiao, because she knocked them all out. The Australians even invited her to compete Down Under.
Backstage, the other participants were already congratulating her, shaking her hand in sincere admiration. They threw their hands up, smiling. They wanted her to win.
In any pageant, judges normally, they call out the fourth runner-up down to the eventual champion. This time, the judges could not contain themselves. In the women?s figure category, they couldn?t wait, breaking protocol and calling the world champion?s name first.
Luzviminda Longabila McClinton.
With photographers flashing videocameras rolling, Leeric ran to the front of the stage, shouting, ?That?s my wife! That?s my wife!? with tears in his eyes.
Luisa is back in the Philippines to share her story and look for sponsors for her competitions next year, the first female world bodybuilding champion of the Philippines. The determined little girl from Zamboanga who worked like a slave as a child and took seven years to finish college is back to set an example for her countrymen, and prepare for all the challenges to come in 2011.
