By Desiree Williams
With less than two years of experience in the bodybuilding world, Michael LeSure has already become a champion.
The Carmel resident competed at the National Physique Committee Teen Collegiate & Masters National Championships in July 2017 and won first place in the over-40 category.
“It was a relief and really rewarding because you had done so much to get to where you were, and I felt good for everybody involved,” LeSure said.
LeSure, 48, grew up in South Bend and participated in basketball, football and track during high school. He was a wide receiver for the Ball State University football team and graduated with a degree in finance. He worked as a financial advisor in South Bend before moving to Carmel in 1995 for opportunities in a larger market.
He said he was always interested in fitness because of his athletic background but hadn’t thought much about bodybuilding until his nutritionist suggested he try it. He had sought help from a nutritionist to become more defined, and he noticed results within a month. He entered his first bodybuilding competition in June 2016.
When he realized how he could push his body and see results quickly, LeSure said bodybuilding became his passion. He left financial advising to focus on fitness and his real estate investment company, ML Enterprises, which he opened in 1998.
LeSure wanted to compete on a national level, so he assembled a team consisting of a strength coach, posing coach and nutritionist.
“I feel like my greatest attribute in this whole process is that I’m really coachable,” LeSure said. “I feel like I have great people around me, and if they design what I can do, I’ll just attack it with as much fervor and 100 percent as I possibly can.”
His nutrionist, Austin Dossey, agrees. Dossey and LeSure started working together in January 2017 and have been meeting once a week since then. Dossey determines LeSure’s body fat percentage and weight to develop a food plan for that week.
“Based on that, I just kind of tell him how many grams of carbohydrates, proteins and fats he needs to eat with the intent of putting on lean muscle and maintaining or losing body fat,” he said.
LeSure went from 191 pounds of lean muscle to 219 pounds in seven months.
“He responded really well,” Dossey said. “Not everybody responds that well. He was diligent and did his homework and saw pretty crazy results.”
In July 2017, LeSure competed at the Masters National Championships and won. He said that in selecting a champion, judges look for the ‘V-shape’ of a wide back and smaller waist as well as good vascularity. Those who place first or second at Masters Nationals receive a pro card, which allows them participant to compete in bigger shows and for money.
“I could hardly contain myself,” said LeSure’s mother, Diane Jackson. “I was so overjoyed because Michael had finally reached the ultimate goal.”
LeSure might compete in professional shows in the next year, but his immediate goal is to qualify for Joe Weider’s Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend, which he said is the Super Bowl of bodybuilding competitions.
Olympia takes place in Las Vegas in September. Before that, he will make his pro debut in August in Tampa, Fla., and compete in three other events after that, with the goal of qualifying for Olympia.
MEET MICHAEL LESURE
Favorite hobby: Movies
Favorite local restaurant: Bub’s Burgers & Ice Cream
Favorite vacation spot: Florida
Favorite exercise: Landmines
Best advice: Go beyond, don’t set limits on what your capabilities are
Inspiring others
Besides fitness and real estate, LeSure has been writing a book, “Fit to Great.” He wants to use it to show others how to apply the principles of fitness to everyday life to be successful. It will include motivational quotes and stories of how he got to where he wanted to be.
The book is expected to be published this summer.
