Clean as water, strong as metal

The proposals of two athletes for our society to be better.

 

Photos and EFX process by Marco Mejía

 

When it’s talking about sports, the consequent linking in Peru is soccer. At the streets as well as the media, this discipline moves crowds or big money amounts and a set of extra-sport situations or those many times contradict the sports spirit, that should be effort, method, and overcoming.

 

Peru got to reach a soccer world championship in 2018 after 36 years absent, and in the case of Piura Department, Atlético Grau as well as Alianza Atlético got back to the professional league each one at its time but taking much hard work. However, Piura has got gold medals in judo, athletics, weightlifting, biking, and even swimming. Also, the flourishing industry of gyms is becoming the bodybuilding as a trending topic.

 

Unlike soccer, these disciplines have no promotion nor sponsorship, and sometimes, despite the government grants, the persons who practice them are who must pay all the expenses. And while the soccer players collect many or few goods, other athletes share what they don’t have for expanding the message behind the sport – personal overcoming.

 

The other dive

Fran Checa has been a swimmers coach and he has contributed to the training of regional and sub-national champions of that sport. Inclusive, one of them got a gold medal in a national competition.

 

Fran himself was fighting to join the Peruvian swimming team not much successfully due to he didn’t have the necessary support, despite his achievements and his inspiration. Instead, he continued to coach champions and he was able to offer the community, more than the secrets of crowls and kicks, the key for the teenagers and the youth to change their attitude to life.

 

“The sport allows your mind sets free from stress, frustration,” he substained. With that premise, Fran wished to start a programme to improve the attitude of people and to reduce crime indexes in Sullana City, his community.

 

Although he didn’t have a clear plan, he felt confident that strategy allowed more teenagers and young adults to get focused on developing their talents instead wasting the time in vain things. It’s right to remember Fran has been one of the best ten swimmers across Peru.

 

The muscle of a community

Chulucanas Downtown is one of the cleanest across the region. It’s relatively one of the safest too. However, Ronald Benites doesn’t want the situation degenerates: “I don’t like the guys seated on the sidewalks wasting the time.”

 

The also lawyer believes the sport can reduce the number of crimes in his community – they’re actually, someway. “I’m also concerned about some teenagers are already making drugs,” he manifests.

 

Ronald specialized in Criminal Law and extrajudicial Conciliation, tried the bodybuilding beyond being a simple fan as much as he contested in Mister Piura between 2012 and 2014 deserving a silver medal in his category at the second and third trial. “I did it to gain experience.” This athlete looks for applying the same crime enforcement methodology through the laws for avoiding their youngest neighbors get in trouble they will mourn in the future. His guns are other laws – sports.

 

At the moment, he has got some impact generating environmental conscience going out to ride his bike through diverse natural zones of the department, especially the Andean zone. During pandemic, he has kept pedaling once the mandatory lockdown was over. In 2018, he had advocating successful cleaning campaigns around Chulucanas City.

 

Anti-oxidant Effect

If Fran and Ronald have the same idea, will it be possible both work together? Both said yes on a radio show, but what about other bodybuilders and athletes who, also highlighting in their disciplines, want to make a positive difference in their communities?

 

A detail with Fran and Ronald is both don’t have sufficient economic and logistic resources to take the first steps so they have requesting relief to public and private organizations for making it possible. Also, each one particularly have needed to highlight in their own disciplines.

 

Fran ever had the need to fundraise travel expenses to participate in national and binational (in Ecuador) events  where he can show his potential. Ronald must implement himself completely for not leaving to train, and, not uncaring his work, for highlighting as much as he can and for showing it’s possible to muscle cleanly.

 

Like those two guys, there are folks who want to work for their community but they wish their community eases them the space, the time, and the trust. Not all is soccer. There are other much more promising choices. It’s not fair continuing to feel sorry of another missing generation. We gotta go to save it.

 

Do you have a similar story? Don’t forget to tell it to us at chulucanasgym@gmail.com or leave us a comment in the box below or on our Twitter account.

 

With information by Paul Suncion in Chulucanas. We thank Marco Mejia and Casa del Maestro in SullanaCity for their collaboration to the graphic production of this story.