Ric Soriano - December 2002

Sun, 01 Dec 2002 00:00:00 +0800

Ric Soriano is a big man with big dreams. Fortunately, he's not just a dreamer but he works hard to attain these dreams. Having recently won the prestigious Over-all award of the annual Mr. Santa Claus 2002 December 8, Ric is now ready to go professional.

Ric started out in the sport of Karate martial arts before going into bodybuilding. From 1986 thru 1990 he was a martial arts instructor 1st Done Black Belt in Karate. He got into bodybuilding because Mr. Abu Bakr, a former Mr. Philippines (ca.1967-1971) saw a potential in him and influenced him to start training with weights. Only 2 months after he started training, Ric joined Mr. Adonis/Mr. Luzon 1993 and won 3rd place.

In 1996, he was accidentally shot in the abdominal area and had to lay off from training for a few years. While contemplating on his next move whether to continue in the sport, he decided to start a gym in his house at 147 G. Araneta Ave., Tatalon, Quezon City in October 2000 and named it Kym Muscle Haus Gym. He bought used equipment and machines from friends to furnish the gym. He finally resigned from his day job as Parts manager of a truck and bus Company in September 2001 to concentrate on his thriving business and to get back into competition full time. He has recently expanded the gym on the first floor in the back to accommodate more machines and members.

Ric recently found out the joy of pre-contest dieting having dieted 3 weeks before the Mr. Santa Claus 2002. He never had to diet in competitions prior to Mr. Santa Claus 2002 because amazingly, he is genetically gifted especially his abs and has the fastest metabolism ever recorded. He sweats continuously during and after training and after each meal. Wow! As a matter of fact, he ate a big meal of spaghetti, chicken and iced tea with sugar before the competition for Mr. Physique Boracay 2002 and still won 1st place. Even Mr. Erwin Tiongson, the organizer was amazed. Anyway, he knows now that there is an advantage for him to diet because he can feel the muscles are more ripped and they come out more when he poses on stage during the show. I guess we're all created unequal. Some are lucky, some are not!

Ric's best assets or his best body parts are his abdominal muscles (thanks to genetics) and his shoulders. Just because they are his best doesn't mean he doesn't do much on it. It's just the opposite. He trains his shoulders more than anything else sometimes sacrificing his legs making them his weakest body part. It started out that way according to him but now his legs caught up with the rest of his upper body giving him a symmetrical figure. During his martial art days, he had to have skinnier legs for flexibility in kicking. He's also working on his lower back to get the "Christmas tree" look. However, he gets cramps and pain on his lower back especially during competition posing doing back lateral spread. He thinks it could be arthritis because during his early days in martial arts, he would take off his karate top outfit during and after training and sweat would just run down his lower back leaving it unattended.

Ric also is into pistol firing sport. He has a BS degree in Criminology from the Philippine College of Criminology so pistol firing is second nature to him. If he did not get into bodybuilding, he would have been a policeman with the Philippine National Police or something like that. But thanks to twist of fate, the bodybuilding world has a new idol. We welcome guys like Ric to be role models in this sport, to promote health and fitness the proper way and give guidance and encouragement to younger athletes which he's willing to take on.

Ironically, we asked him what his major accomplishment is in his bodybuilding career and he said "NONE". None yet because his dream is to win the coveted Mr. Philippines title in the near future and represent the country in international events in Asia, Europe and the USA. That to him would be the major achievement in his career. All the competitions he has won are merely stepping stones to this big dream. Sweet dreams are made of these, don't you think? He believes that to succeed in this sport, a balance in training, diet and supplementation should be achieved. Ric's philosophy is to put your heart, mind and soul 101% into the sport and your dreams will come true. Sounds like a Disneyland tune, yeah? but hey! Walt Disney dreamed of his big theme park before he actually built it. Go to Disneyland and you'll know what we mean.

Awards

• 1994 February, Mr. Valentine - 3rd place lightweight
• 1994 December, Mr. Santa Claus - 1st place lightweight
• 2001 February, Mr. Valentine - 2nd place heavyweight
• 2001 May, Ginoong Rizal - 4th place heavyweight
• 2001 May, Muscleman Tutuban - 4th place heavyweight
• 2001 June, Ginoong Pasig - 2nd place heavyweight
• 2001 December, Mr. Santa Claus - 1st place heavyweight
• 2002 February, Mr. Valentine - Over-all champion and 1st place heavyweight
• 2002 May, Alaxan Muscle Man Mr. Pistay Dayet Dagupan City - 1st place heavyweight
• 2002 May, Mr./Ms. Physique Philippines Boracay - 1st place heavyweight, Most Muscular award
• 2002 May, Ginoong Luzon, Tayabas, Quezon - Over-all champion and 1st place heavyweight
• 2002 May, Ginoong Cavite - 2nd place no category National invitation
• 2002 June, Ginoong Pasig - Over-all champion and 1st place heavyweight
• 2002 October, Musclemania Philippines - 3rd place Tall division
• 2002 November, Barangay Onse Ginoong San Juan - 1st place heavyweight
• 2002 December, Mr. Santa Claus - Over-all champion and 1st place heavyweight