By R. Vincent Tupaz
For Variety

“I’M ready to represent Guam. I’ve trained hard, I’ve been disciplined and I’m going in with the mindset that I’ll place at the top,” stated bodybuilder Dan Munoz as he talked about his upcoming entrance into the national stage of bodybuilding competition. On Friday, March 23, Munoz will compete in the Stingrey Classic-Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure competition at the Pacific Beach Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Stingrey competition is a National Qualifier and placing at the top is critical for Munoz as he sets his sights on a professional Bodybuilding career. “I want to go pro,” affirmed Munoz in an interview with Variety. Munoz won the Guam National Bodybuilding Championship last November. Now, the 28-year-old feels he’s ready for bigger and better things in the bodybuilding arena.
Success in the Hawaii competition will allow Munoz an opportunity to compete in the American National Bodybuilding Championships or the Junior National Bodybuilding Championships, either, a precursor to turning pro and allowing for entry into the ultimate bodybuilding competition such as Mr. Olympia.
Variety caught up with Munoz at Paradise Fitness Center in Dededo. He was, as they say in sports - “in the zone” - rotating from one station to another, focused - lifting weights with the concentrated intensity of an athlete serious about his regimen. Munoz’s trainer and nutritionist Tony Morrison looked on satisfied with the output from the islands 2006 ‘Mr. Guam.’ “He’s the real thing,” stated Morrison who won the South Pacific Regional a few years back and few other bodybuilding contests.
“I’ve stuck to my diet, I’ve busted my (butt) and there’s really no reason that I should lose,” offered Munoz. “That’s my mentality right now. I’m not going in there for the experience of the competition or training. The things I’m doing now, everything is to win, why do it to go just halfway,” stated Munoz.
Morrison shared Munoz’s sentiment. “He’s put a really good physique together on his own. He has the natural talent of a bodybuilder. He’s got good symmetry, he’s smart and he’s very disciplined,” stated Morrison. “He’s by far the best bodybuilder we’ve put out.”
The current Mr. Guam starts his daily routine at about 4:30 a.m. with a daily cardio and weight training regimen. Afterwards, Munoz treks home to prep his daily meals. Then around noon and whenever he can Munoz returns to the gym for more weightlifting. At 9 p.m. it’s straight to bed. “Bodybuilding is a lifestyle. It’s a 24/7 routine,” explained Munoz. “The partying and clubbing kind of goes out the door.”
With a positive outlook, upbeat attitude, and disciplined training; Morrison at his side, a host of support from family members and the island’s bodybuilding community; it may be a safe bet for prognosticators that Munoz - today’s Mr. Guam, will be tomorrow’s Mr. Olympia. Munoz believes with a few more years, that goal will be just a stretch, lift and a couple of poses away.