Breaking All Barriers

Obese. Tired. Lacking energy. Depressed. These were the words William Matai once used to describe himself. It was less than a year ago that his self-esteem was at rock bottom. On several occasions he’d tried to get into shape but would end up in worse shape than when he’d started. It got to the stage where he had two options: make a definitive change or continue on his downward spiral. Then when all seemed lost he picked up a copy of Australian Ironman, a move that proved to be his saviour.

Ironman provided William with two invaluable tools: training and nutrition information and the phone number for former Australian natural bodybuilding champion, Brendan Field. It was around May 2002 when Brendan received a call from a softly spoken man who needed some supplementation advice. William was looking to change his lifestyle and eating plan dramatically, and believed with Brendan’s credentials he was the man who could help him. Together they developed a training and eating plan with the goal of changing William’s life forever.

And it has. Since the day William took his before photo to present day having now posed for the cover of Australian Ironman, the 2002 Body Blitz Grand Champion has lost an unbelievable 30 kilos.

William or ‘Willie’, as he is know to his family and friends, is a kind, considerate family man who puts others before himself. All his life his number one priority has been his family – wife Roberta and son Wilbert. But he knew that by taking on a program he would have to sacrifice some aspects of his personal life. It was a tough decision to make, but one he was committed to. For so long he had been unhappy carrying around excess weight – now it was time to lose it.

Willie dug deep inside and confronted the things that made him unhappy. After realising it was predominantly being overweight and lacking energy he knew he had to take responsibility and develop a program. This program wasn’t going to be easy. It required blood, sweat and tears. But Willie knew he had it in him. He knew he could achieve his goals.

Yet, Willie didn’t want to turn his family’s life upside down.

He never stopped his son eating junk food in front of him. Whether Wilbert was munching on KFC’s Popcorn chicken or chocolate Willie wanted his family to maintain the same lifestyle that had made them a happy family, although he admits he couldn’t have achieved his success without Roberta’s constant help and support.

“I couldn’t have done this challenge if it wasn’t for my wife Roberta. Sometimes I would try to get another hour’s sleep before I went to work and when I would wake up my food and all my powders and carbs were packed and ready to go.”

A kind hearted man, it was no wonder when the tables were reversed and Willie needed support to achieve his goals his family and friends stood firmly behind him.  

Despite the support, the challenge was still going to be a tough one. Tipping the scales at almost 120 kilos, Willie knew he had his work cut out for him. Although he had made the commitment to start losing weight he had two major obstacles to overcome: Genetics and a lack of faith.

Hailing from New Zealand and being of Islander heritage, Willie was blessed with being born into a loving, yet ‘big boned’ family who revel in family feasts full of  Islander food including steaks, roast meats and coconut milk. It would be hard to leave behind, but having committed to an eating and training plan these gatherings would have to cease. He had also lost faith in supplementation. He had tried lifting weights before to grow muscles like ‘Arnie and Lee Haney’ and had started taking supplements to aid his progress, but he failed to get the correct advice and what he was given didn’t work for him.

“I had spent a lot of money on supplements that didn’t work and I felt I was just wasting my money. I was getting bloated and adding on kilos and it was destroying my motivation.”

Willie is now a shadow of his former self.

“Thinking back to that day if someone had told me I would have lost 26 kilos by the end of the Body Blitz challenge I would have laughed. My self-esteem was low when I met Brendan, but he said he could help me with the training and nutrition and I thought if someone showed me how to train properly I would be keen, and that’s where it all began.”

Training six days a week, Willie would head to the gym and do 30 minutes on the treadmill and then spend an hour lifting weights working on one body part per day. His diet consisted of six or seven small meals a day without a day off.

“I never had a day off the diet and it was really hard, especially in the first few weeks. I am really used to my Island style of food, steaks and roast meats every day. We have coconut cream on everything which is a custom of ours and it’s so fattening, so the first few weeks were a challenge.”
Willie also had to increase his water intake. During the first week he found it hard to drink even one glass, but by the end he was drinking at least three litres a day.

On a break from the photo shoot, Willie nibbled on rice cakes proving his dedication to maintaining the excellent results he achieved during the 12 weeks. It was the perfect opportunity to ask him what it meant to him to be on the cover of the magazine.

“I know I’m going to be a bit of a role model not only to readers, but also to my family. We have always been a pretty big family when it came to weight and even before I lost the weight I was relatively small compared to them. Getting into shape is harder for us (Islanders), because we’re naturally big.”

Willie has already started motivating his family. His younger brother John has just come over for an extended holiday and after seeing William in the magazine he has begun training and has already lost five kilos.

“John is around 115 kilos so he is starting from where I started from,” says Willie. “He is my training partner until he goes back in a few weeks and I’m really going to miss him.”

Training at the Clayton Fitness Centre with INBA Victorian champion Fraser Te Hiko it seems the pair live and breathe the sport. Fraser has also been an instrumental part in Willie’s success, giving him advice, support, motivation and most importantly, friendship. And with the success that Willie’s been having he’s keen to take his training to another level and grace the stage.

“Over the last month or so the idea of competing has come up in conversations. I was thinking about the Muscle Mania but I’ve decided that I’m still a little small and if I put in the effort to compete I want to do well. I want to come in big, strong and hard.”

With a successful and determined training history now behind him, Willie believes it’s only time before he takes to the stage.

“I believe competing is a great goal for Willie,” says Brendan. “It’s good for him to assess new goals and new aspirations. He achieved what he set out to do with the Body Blitz challenge and competing is the next step. I guess it’s ultimately up to him, but definitely the end of the year is a realistic goal.”

Much like the Body Blitz competition, competing for a title will provide a tough challenge. Willie works night shift as a storeman and to stick to his goals requires commitment. Usually he would work through the night, get home at about 8:00am and get his son Wilbert ready for school. He would then have something small to eat and get a few hours sleep before hitting the gym. William would be back by four for Wilbert, get dinner ready and prepare his meals for the next day. He would eat the majority of his meals throughout the night.  

When Willie began the challenge at 116 kilos he didn’t really know what to expect. Initially he aimed to get to 100 kilos, but reached this at the six week mark. At the end of 12 weeks he tipped the scales at 90 kilos and is now an amazing 86 kilos. Modest and humble Willie admits with the right attitude and support results like his can be achieved.

“If you have the desire to change and the discipline to make changes in your life then you can do it. I never thought I could and  if I can - anyone can! You just have to have the desire, the self-discipline and self-motivation. Leave your KFC and Maccas and follow a proper nutritional diet and good training advice from professionals and you can succeed.”

 And now with a new focus in life and greater motivation there’s no doubt whatever challenge Willie undertakes, he will succeed.