Ranked 6th at the Inter Island Bodybuilding, Fitness and Physique Championship of Saint Martin in July, Auriana Annonay is experiencing a meteoric rise in the world of bodybuilding. Let’s discover her unique journey.
Légende : Auriana Annonay
ONAIR – Auriana Annonay, how did you come to practice this sport?
Auriana Annonay – 10 years ago, when I learned that my father was in the terminal phase of cancer, it was like an electric shock. I understood that I had to get back into sport and lead a healthier life. Previously I had tried to go to the gym regularly, but I had quickly given up. This time I was determined. The first step was to regularly take muscle building classes in a well-known club in Jarry, Guadeloupe. Nothing predestined me to become a bodybuilding champion.
OA – Especially since you had and still have another promising career…
AA – Indeed in 2003, at 23, I became the first weather forecaster of the radio station Guadeloupe Première. Until then, there had only been voiceovers. I had been immersed in broadcasting for a long time, acting in commercials since I was 15. I have never stopped practicing in the audiovisual industry. I am a temporary showbusiness worker, often in charge of production for production companies and regularly as an actress.
OA – Why did you leave Guadeloupe?
AA – After my father’s death, I was full of negative emotions and made the decision to settle in La Reunion. I started a radically different life with real food hygiene. Fatigue, nervousness, sadness… going to the gym became my outlet for everything. I decided to take a personal trainer for my first transformation. The experience was conclusive, but there was still no competition in sight in my mind. I experienced a second transformation years later when one of my friends, a masseuse, decided to change career and become a sports coach. She pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I became addicted.
OA – Since then, you have not stopped surpassing yourself…
AA – Yes, since then I have always worked hard. In 2019 I entered into a partnership with a gym and benefited from more in-depth coaching. A coach told me about competition, but the decision came after lockdown. Until then I was into natural food. When I was forced to get vaccinated to keep accessing the gym, I told myself that the time had come, thus lifting the only impediment that still prevented me from taking the plunge. It was in November 2021.
OA – How did your first steps in the world of competition go?
AA – In March 2022 I was on the international scene in Colmar, Alsace, France. I won the top 5 in bikini +1m65 and the top 6 in bikini + 35 years old. I decided to continue. I had the opportunity to represent my island, Guadeloupe, thanks to Maïté Elso who offered me to join her team for the Inter Island Bodybuilding, Fitness and Physique Championship of Saint Martin in July. I ranked 6th. In September, I will participate in the first National Physical Committee (NPC) competition in La Reunion. I also intend to do the amateur Olympia as a bikini athlete, the Holy Grail of bodybuilders.
Propos recueillis par :Agnès Monlouis-Félicité
