Hidekazu Taba is a champion bodybuilder. Several years ago I saw him compete at the Pacific Muscle Classic on Camp Foster. He won his weight class, he won his age group, he won overall. In other competitions, he’s repeated the feat. He dominates Okinawan body building, and he does it at age 67.

For a long time I’ve been hoping to photograph Taba-san and yesterday I visited his home to take a few pics.

Taba-san began bodybuilding around 40 years ago after seeing a Tarzan movie. He hits the gym for a couple of hours, 5 days a week. Unlike many bodybuilders who bulk up and then cut weight (shred?) for competitions he stay lean all year. The reason is that he’s not trying to peak for a single event, but has to be ready for local competitions or festivals all year. He’s very happy that his grandchildren are proud to have a super cool oji-chan.

I’m looking forward to shooting more photos of Taba-san training at the gym and at competitions.

Images shot with the Pentax 645Z and the 25mm lens. Lighting from a Profoto B1 with softlight reflector white and grid.