Words: Tina Edward Gunawardhana
Photographs: Charles Lowthian
Bodybuilder Tavisha De Silva’s damascene moment came between the ages of 20 and 21 when he joined a gym to lose weight so that he could be better placed to participate in recreational sport. Continually going to the gym changed Tavi’s outlook on fitness and he soon realised that he enjoyed lifting weights more than playing sport.
Throwing himself into a serious training routine, Tavi soon found that he had shifted the surplus weight and gained a ripped body. After two years of rigorous training, Tavi knew he was ready to take part in bodybuilding competitions and competed in season B 2022 in Australia’s IFBB pro league where he managed to win the overall title within his division for the state of New South Wales where he resides in.
In a climate where rates of obesity are increasing and children especially are reducing their participation in sports and healthy pursuits, it is refreshing to read Tavi’s inspirational story of how a weight loss journey transformed his physique and made him a champion bodybuilder.
When did you discover you had an interest in body building?
I was around 20-21 years old when
I joined the gym primarily with the goal to lose weight so that I could play sport recreationally. As I kept going to the gym, I found that I started to enjoy lifting weights over playing sport.
At what stage did you decide it was time to take your body building to the next level?
A few people who I had met through the gym told me that I had a lot of potential for bodybuilding, especially in the men’s physique category. Therefore, after about two years of lifting weights
I decided that I wanted to compete at some point.
Tell us about your background in body building and the competitions you have taken part in?
I competed in season B 2022 in Australia’s IFBB pro league and managed to win the overall title within my division for my state of New South Wales show.
Are you training for anything right now?
I am planning to compete again in April 2024. I just got back from a long holiday travelling around North America for seven weeks, so I’m in the process of getting back into the routines required to start a competition preparation.
Can you describe your training schedule?
I train five times a week. Tracking and aiming to continuously improve my training performance with weight/reps/sets whilst focusing on standardising good techniques on every rep I perform. For me, using an evidence/research based approach to my overall programming has been a game changer.
