It was a competition full of fabulous, well-oiled bodies, defined abs, lean biceps, rock solid calf muscles and not-too-shabby faces.

What started off with hundreds of contestants ended up being a showdown between five of the top contenders, vying for a chance to become the 2015 BodySpace spokesmodels.

Only two slots were open— one male and one female.

And while everyone was getting into the Super Bowl hype that came and went, not too many were aware that American Samoa was not only represented in the Bodybuilding.com competition, the tiny little island in the South Pacific produced this year’s winner: Raynor Whitcombe who ousted scores of other competitors on his way to the top.

In an email to Samoa News yesterday, Whitcombe wrote, “Just want to give God all the glory for this blessing, and to extend my sincere appreciation to the community, my home, Amerika Samoa for their full support!”

Whitcombe emerged as the winner after he made the cut for a spot in the Top 5 late last year.

From there, he entered the competition at the LA Fit Expo, which was held earlier this month in Los Angeles, CA.

Raynor, tagged as “Kingaden” is a native of American Samoa.

“A very special thank-you to my Bodybuilding.com team for this amazing opportunity to be a part of such a great and awesome group of individuals, to help inspire and motivate others to live a healthy and fit lifestyle,” Whitcombe wrote.

“It was such an amazing experience being here with all the other contestants who had such great personalities! I would like to dedicate this win to my late grandparents. My granddad Reverend Tulaga Peleti and my late grandmother Malaga Peleti, and also to my dearest mother Ruta Thompson and dad Wallace Thompson who molded and shaped me into the man that I am today! Thank you to my family for their continuous support, especially to my brothers Tulaga and Terrence Whitcombe who kept pushing me to do what I do.”

Whitcombe also thanked his ‘gym buddies’ at TJ’s Gym where he said, “it all started.”

Samoa News joins the rest of the Samoan community here and around the world in congratulating Raynor Whitcombe and we wish him the best of luck!