It was still morning in a school auditorium in Surrey, B.C. and things weren’t going well for Ben Wondga.

The 39-year-old Yukon bodybuilder was competing in the pre-judging round of his first contest in more than a year.

During the seven-pose pre-judging round, the five men competing in the light heavyweight division lined up on the stage.

“The judges call out a pose and everybody hits it,” says Wondga.

They moved the men around, comparing physiques and getting a sense of their strengths and weaknesses.

But throughout the whole process, Wondga remained at the periphery.

It wasn’t the spot he wanted to be. Normally, the judges move the top contender into the middle.

The round ended and everyone walked off the stage.

Since there were only five men competing, everyone would advance to the final round later that night.

“I thought to myself, I wasn’t moved into the middle. They’re not looking to compare me,” says Wondga. “My self-confidence went down.”

Wondga began his bodybuilding journey about three years ago. He had already been living a clean lifestyle, eating better and lifting weights.

His transition began in earnest five years ago, when he left a partying lifestyle behind.

“When I was younger, I just feel like I wasn’t the best person I could be,” he says. “I really wanted to be a good role model to my two girls and have them look up to me as what a man should be.”

Wondga’s first competition was the Knight of Champions in 2015.

At the time he had no idea what to expect.

“I feel like I matched up pretty good against the guys I was up against,” he told the Star after the competition, where he finished third and qualified for the B.C. Championships.

In 2016 he attended those and was unhappy with the results.

He finished sixth out of 12 and was one point away from qualifying for nationals.

“I wasn’t happy with the package I brought to the stage,” he says. “I knew what I had to do to get better.”

Wondga dedicated his off-season training for the next year to improving his areas of weakness – his calves, back and latissimus dorsi muscles.

During the off-season, he trained six times a week for a minimum of two hours a day. He was less strict with his nutrition, but still watched what he was eating. And he got himself a coach. Not just any coach, but 22-year-old Canadian pro bodybuilder Chris Bumstead.

The duo started the preparation phase of training 15 weeks out of the Knight of Champions.

Wondga was going back to the last contest he found success.

“I wanted to go back to the show where it all started,” he says.

Wondga put his full faith in Bumstead.

“Whatever he said, I did. I didn’t waver from any part of the plan. I did not cheat. I did not do any of my own thinking,” he says.

Every Sunday Wondga would take photos of his body and send them to Bumstead.

The plan would be adjusted and he would follow it to a T for the next seven days. Photos. And repeat.

He had a strict diet that involved eating clean and weighing everything that went into his body.

A typical day would involve five meals.

For breakfast, he would measure out 80g of oats, 75g of blueberries, two whole eggs and one cup of egg whites.

Meal two involved 160g of chicken breast, 200g of rice, serving of broccoli and 32g of blanched almonds.

Meal three would be a repeat of protein with 160g of chicken breast, 250g of sweet potato, a serving of broccoli and one tablespoon of peanut butter.

After his third meal, Wondga, who teaches Grade 4 at Jack Hulland Elementary School, would work out.

Then he’d have a post-workout shake with a banana and two rice cakes.

His final meal of the day was 200g of lean ground beef, 300g of sweet potato and a serving of broccoli.

He used Pam spray to prepare his meals and up until the week before the show, he could season them however he wanted.

Wondga prepared all his meals at one time and would have them waiting in containers to be eaten cold. He also prepared food for his family, his wife Shawna and their two daughters who are eight and six.

“I just felt like changing my life in a more healthier and positive way would only have benefits and it has,” says Wondga. “I’m the kind of guy that when I do something I sink my teeth into it so hard that it almost becomes an obsession.”

As a kid, Wondga says he was scrawny and would get bullied because of his size. He idolized cartoon characters with big muscles like He-Man and at 13, would buy bodybuilding magazines. He always thought it would be cool to have big muscles.

“I’ve been a fan of the sport forever,” he says. “The passion was there. It completely hooked me.”

When Wondga took the stage for the light heavyweight final at Knight of Champions last Saturday, the judges placed him in the middle of the stage and he wasn’t moved.

At the end of the round, the judges started awarding places in reverse.

First they called out fifth and fourth.

“And I was like, I’m not fifth, I’m not fourth, that’s respectable,” says Wondga. “I made top three, I made my goal. I was elated.”

They awarded third.

“It wasn’t me again,” he says. “I was starting to be shocked.”

Then they called out second and it still wasn’t Wondga. He’d won.

“When they called his name and not mine, I can’t even put into words how I felt,” he says. “I was surprised. I was shocked. I almost started crying. It was surreal.”

His trophy now sits in the kitchen.

“It still hasn’t sunk in. I’m still on cloud nine,” he says. “Every time I look at my trophy, I can’t believe it.”

With his win, Wondga has once again qualified for the B.C. Championships – in 2018 and 2019.

Wondga knows that if he attended the contest next year with what he brought last weekend, he would do well.

But he doesn’t just want to do well.

“I want to go and really push for one of those top three spots,” he says.

To do that, he believes he needs to put on an additional 20 lbs of muscle. It’s achievable – he put on 15 lbs of muscle last year, but if he gave himself an extra year and aimed at 2019, he would guarantee himself the time to prepare.

He would also get to spend more time with his family nest summer.

“My kids are only little once,” he says. “I really cherish any time I get with them.”

If he waited until 2019, he would also be in the masters division, one he believes he could handily win.

Wondga says he’s been blessed with two families – his blood family, which includes his wife and “rock” Shawna and his gym family.

Cliff and Erin Schultz of Peak Fitness began sponsoring him years ago.

“They’ve gone above and beyond just being gym owners,” says Wondga. “They’ve really taken care of me and been a huge help, huge support.”

The gym is also where he met Matthew Johnson, who competed in his first contest last weekend as well.

Competing in bodybuilding had been a life-long goal for Johnson and after he met Wondga, he began training with the goal of standing on the stage at the Knight of Champions.

“I’m more of an introverted person,” he says. “As soon as I hit the stage, I had no hesitation. I wasn’t actually nervous at all.”

Johnson, 46, realized his goal last weekend and came home with a masters third-place and an invitation to attend provincials next summer.

“It was the thrill of a lifetime,” says Johnson. “I could foresee this being my future for quite some time.”