Debutant grabs three titles

After stunning the Perth fitness scene during his debut performance at the ICN Perth Classic on May 13, Rockingham’s Nathaniel Smiler is to test his mettle against some of Australia’s best body builders this Saturday at the ICN Nationals in Sydney.

The 24-year-old CrossFit enthusiast, who only decided to enter his first body building show eight weeks before the competition, won the first-time fitness, novice fitness and all-rounder fitness physique categories at the ICN Perth Classic last month.

Speaking to the Telegraph before flying to Sydney for the big event, Smiler said he was shocked to win so many awards in his first show.

“I didn’t expect to take it out at all,” Smiler said. “I was surprised because when I looked around at everybody else I was competing against I thought I was just around their level but I talked to some of the judges and a couple of coaches and they said I’d probably win.”

Smiler trained six days a week, twice a day, for the show.

With an athletic family background, including brother Jordan, who plays for the ACT Brumbies, and cousins who have played for the New Zealand All Blacks, Smiler said he was keen to see where his fitness journey would take him.

“If I do well over in Sydney I’ll definitely stick to it (body building),” he said. “But at the same time CrossFit is my passion, so I’ll make sure to stick to that too.”

To support his fitness journey, visit gofundme.com/help-nate-get- to-the-icn-nationals.