Heavyweight champion Dick wants to go bigger

NICKNAMED ‘Big Dick’ in high school because of his name and stature, Duvaughn Dick decided to change his life as an obese person and become a bodybuilder.

Dick has since moved from being 330lb in 2018 to 199lb in 2022 to be crowned champion of the Classic bodybuilding category for seniors and heavyweights at the recently concluded Jamaica Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness (JABBFA) National Championships.

“That (winning) did feel really good because I was working very hard for it; because it’s a great act running my own business as a physical therapist, and I’m in school doing my doctorate now. It’s a great feeling winning something at the national level, while doing all of that at the same time,” he said.

However, the 33-year-old said he sees himself doing bigger things, as he plans to become a professional bodybuilder soon.

“One of my biggest goals is that I definitely want to be a Mr Jamaica one day, because I really want that title. I really want to win Mr Jamaica next year and go pro (to) represent Jamaica at a higher level … so everybody can know about Jamaica and bodybuilding,” he said.

Dick, who has represented Jamaica in men’s bodybuilding, said this was a dream he had since attending Campion College, as it even influenced his career choice as a physical therapist. However, his love for food almost stopped his aspiration from coming true.

“I have always loved bodybuilding and the gym. I have been in the gym since high school, when I used to do shot put for Campion,” he shared. “In 2018 when my younger sister graduated with her master’s in London, we took family and graduation pictures. And I was looking back at the pictures and I was like, ‘It is just too much at this point!’ I said, ‘I really need to look better for my health and for my career.’”

“Exercising and the gym is essential to my life, (and) it’s the reason why I even chose to become a physical therapist. I want to help people, using exercise in a medical way,” Dick noted.

The physical therapist said it has been a joy for him to help people change their unhealthy habits, to better themselves and benefit in similar healthy ways as he does now.

He admitted that if a person wants to lose weight and become fitter, they also must be willing to change.

“I love food, and that’s how I got to 300-and-odd pounds. But being in bodybuilding and the gym, getting more disciplined over diet, exercising and everything, that has changed my life for the better in terms of health,” he said.

“Quite a few of the clients that I’ve had over the years, who also knew me when I was obese, are very surprised and inspired by my weight loss,” said Dick. “A lot of them, and some of my friends, have reached out to me for help with weight loss, so I started doing weight-loss coaching and they pay me to help them with teachable things that I have learned over the years to make it easier for them to lose weight. It’s a really good feeling and it motivates me even more.”