Rodney Stevens
It’s been a decade long journey lifting thousands of kilos in the gym and last month Maclean bodybuilder Beccy Pateman achieved her dream when she was crowned overall winner of the Professional Figure category in the Natural Olympia contest, plus overall winner of the Professional Fit Body category at the WNBF Word Championships.
When she first walked into Bodyrock Fitness at Townsend with some friends, Beccy said she was spotted by Bodybuilding Masters World number 1, Brad Clarke, who inspired her fitness journey.
“Brad has been an enormous help, he is actually the one who inspired me to do my first show in 2017…I walked into the gym one day and he said he thought I had potential and could do really well and I’d always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to compete, but I didn’t have that self-belief, and he definitely instilled that in me and gave me the confidence to give it a go,” she said.
“In 2017 I entered my first competition, Muscle Mania on the Gold Coast and I actually won.
“I wasn’t expecting to win my first show and it inspired me to the point that bodybuilding has turned into a lifestyle, I fell in love with it, and I’ve been training to improve myself ever since.”
Training at Bodyrock Fitness Townsend and Rush Fitness in Yamba, coached by Joey Cantlin with weekly personal training sessions with Brad Clark, Beccy said she had also received great support from owners Tom and Regina Griffiths, who held a fundraiser to help her get to the USA.
“Tommy and Reg who own Bodyrock have supported me all through this, Bodyrock was the first gym I ever walked into, and now I can’t imagine my life without going to the gym” she said.
“I’ve been training the whole 10 years without a break to get my current figure and my dream was always to get to the top.”
Between November 9 and 12, 2023, Beccy competed in the INBA PNBA Natural Olympia at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas, a contest she first entered in 2019 when she placed sixth, and with this year’s victory she won $2000 in prize money.
“When it was down to me and two other women, part of me hoped I was going to win but I genuinely thought it wasn’t going to be me, but when they called my number out it was very overwhelming because it’s been a long journey,” she said.
“The thing that got me and tugged on my heart strings was being able to stand on stage and hold the Australian flag, that was the pinnacle, I was there representing Australia, my hometown and everyone who supported me to get there.”
As she had already qualified, coach Joey Cantlin suggested while in the US that she enter the WNBF World Championships in Seattle, on November 18 and 19, where she won the Professional Fit Body class overall.
“I had no expectations and honestly, I was already so proud of myself for how far I’d come, and I was already content, so when I won that it was just a bit of a cherry on top, it was really lovely,” she said.
“After arriving back in Australia, Beccy said she has settled back into her routine of working and training and she is going to take some time to focus on her online coaching and nutrition business, Unrivalled Physiques.”