Humans Of The Islands - Myra Rogers

Myra Rogers

Fijian / Welsh, 31-years-old

International Professional Bodybuilding Athlete - IFBB Pro

I'm half Fijian, half European - my Dad was Welsh. He passed away when I was 4 years old and I was raised by Mum so I had a great Fijian influence growing up. I have 2 sisters and one older brother and we basically grew up on a farm up north in Kaukapakapa. I went to a little rural school and played sport my whole life. I never really touched the weights until I watched my partner at a bodybuilding competition and I realized it was something that I could get in to. So I went to see a nutritionist and 6 weeks later I ended up on stage in my first competition. I've been hooked ever since. 

So you do this with your partner as well, does that help?

Yes, definitely. He's Samoan, he's got a Gridiron background and is fully into weight training. He's the one that first started training me. He took me on and we’d get in to arguments all the time but I'd have to just shut up because I knew that if he didn't train me, I wouldn't get better. 

Can you talk about your journey so far since your first competition?

I've been competing for almost 4 years now. My first year as an amateur, I won the South Island champs and then I went to Tahiti and won the South Pacific champs. And then I won the Auckland champs and then I went to Nationals and won the Overall Miss NZ figure title.

That was all in your first year?

Yeah. I think it's to do with genetics. I have really good Fijian genetics. Islanders can get really muscular and lean and with discipline and genetics - you just have such a good chance in this sport. The first year as a Pro I competed and the second year I did two comps in America and placed 4th in my second comp. In that second year I got invited to the Arnold Sports Festival in Ohio then I also did the Arnold Classic in Australia and placed 6th. Last year I went to Italy and placed 2nd in the San Marino Pro. 

The Arnold Ohio competition - you were one of only 15 females around the world to be selected, personally invited by Arnold himself. You're the only pro-athlete ever to be invited from New Zealand. How did that feel?

It was overwhelming. My friend texted me when she saw the list go up online. And when I saw my name on that list, it just didn't sink in. It was such a surreal experience going on the Arnold stage - when I was standing at the edge of the stage about to go on, I was like "Oh my gosh...this is what I've watched my idols do, and now I'm here." It was just surreal.

Being a professional bodybuilder in the Figure category - it’s not normally the kind of aesthetic that most Pacific Island women aim towards. Has the sport changed the way you appreciate beauty in a woman?

Yes definitely. I was always small and skinny growing up. I didn't actually like my body so I used to wear a lot of baggy clothes to cover up. I remember going swimming when I was back at school and I put my swimming togs on and one of my friends was like "oh my god Myra, you're so small!" I think not liking my body stemmed from being an islander. You know, everyone’s like "you gotta eat, you don't eat enough" "You're so skinny!". It meant that I grew up always wanting to be a little bit bigger. The sport is good for me in the way that it pushed me to grow a little bit more. And now, being a strong woman empowers me. Especially being in the gym and being able to lift some of the same weights as the boys - it's empowering.

As a young child, did you ever envision doing what you're doing now?

No. I always wanted to be a silver fern, I was really in to netball - I played club, school, rep teams growing up. It was all about netball. I never ever thought I'd do bodybuilding because my perception was that all the girls that do bodybuilding look like men and I used to think - I never want to do that.  But you know, it’s not about women having massive muscles. When people meet me they see that I'm quite small and it's more about the symmetry of my physique rather than being really big and muscly. 

What does your family think about your career?

When I first started my Mum didn't like it (laughs) she was always like “Why do you want to look like a man? You shouldn't be putting on muscles!” Then when I started dropping weight for competition she would come over and be like “You need to eat! You look sick!" It was non-stop and it wasn't until I competed in the Nationals, she came to the show and when I won and I saw her afterwards she was crying. She gave me a big hug and was like "oh I'm so proud of you" and now she loves it. But before that, she was terrified.

Was there much of a Fijian or Pacific Island community up in rural North Island where you grew up?

No. My mum would drive down to Auckland every Sunday and we would go to our Fijian church. My cousins used to come up to the farm every weekend because they loved the bush and we had a massive swimming hole. So they would spend school holidays and weekends at mine and we'd all travel down to church together every Sunday and participate in Youth. So even though I lived up north, I was always around my Fijian community.

What are you training for right now? 

I've got the NZ PRO-AM competition on the 12th March and then the following week I have the Arnold Classics in Melbourne which I'm really looking forward to. Six weeks after that I am going over to Pittsburgh to do the Pittsburgh Pro competition.

Is it hard dieting and training for competions, with your Island upbringing and background?

Definitely! (laughs) that's why I don't see my family a lot because everything usually revolves around food and if you don't eat - it's rude! and everyone's like "why aren't you eating?" It's just better to stay away. And they don't understand why I would need to diet more - they're like "how much skinnier do you want to get?" Once I finish a competition I make sure I go and see my family and catch up with everyone and go to church and have a good feast at church and just do the normal things. And that's really important to me when I'm not prepping for competition.

By Indira Moala