Jake Naquin and Drew Favre place 1st in Southern Muscle competition
Some time ago, Bayou Gauche’s Jake Naquin and Drew Favre earned the playful nickname “The BG Buff Bodies” from friends of theirs, referencing the two’s penchant for hitting the gym.
The nickname proved prophetic for the local duo, who have taken their interest in building their physiques to the competitive level in recent months — and have shown to be absolute naturals in the process.
Each recently captured first place finishes at the National Physique Committee’s Southern Muscle bodybuilding competition, Naquin doing so in just his second competition ever, and Favre in his debut performance.
Naquin earned first place in Men’s Physique Class B, while Favre took first in the Men’s Physique Teen classification and second in the novice Class B division.
Naquin’s victory qualifies him for the NPC National Bodybuilding Championship in Las Vegas for each of the next two years, though he plans to sit out this year’s event in order to train for a full year for 2016.
He said that while he’s been interested in fitness his entire life, he got serious about ramping up his training a year ago.
“In college, trying to save money, I didn’t eat very much,” Naquin said. “I’d go to the gym and I’d push myself. I was hearing it about how skinny I was, and at that point I wanted to do something about that.”
While admitting there were some butterflies before competing, the Hahnville alumnus said those were calmed significantly before taking the stage.
“You know, you get the image in your mind that you’re going to this competition with all these bodybuilders and they’re going to be narcissistic and just into themselves,” Naquin said. “That wasn’t the case. Everyone was real cool. Guys would give tips and advice to one another, to me … it was a lot different than I expected.”
The win at the Southern Muscle competition came as a surprise.
“Especially competing against guys who had been doing this awhile, a lot longer than I have, I was really surprised and excited to win,” he said.
Favre’s training intensified, he said, about six months ago, and the decision to compete was made just three months ago. “I really dedicated myself,” he said. “I turned myself into a loner, really. When they called my name, it made it all worth it.”
He said you can’t be halfway into competitive bodybuilding and expect to have success.
“Bodybuilding’s a lifestyle,” said Favre, also a Hahnville grad. “It’s a 24/7 occupation that you have to commit yourself fully to. Every day, you eat your meals, you train at the gym, and there are no off days.”
He credited friends and mentors for advising him before the competition, and said he felt his conditioning was the major key to his win.
“A lot comes down to how lean and vascular you are,” Favre said. “That was something I felt was a difference in my favor.”
Naquin concurred with Favre’s assessment that competition takes full commitment; he noted that he fasted for two days before his win, drinking no water and limiting himself to only a few meals—though those meals may have been more gratifying as one would assume.
“You’ve gotta load up on carbs,” he said. “I’d eat a double cheeseburger … fat and carbs have a lot to do with how you ultimately look.”
Favre said the success he and Naquin found has led to others from their hometown joining them in training, and the two have put together a motivational Instagram page under the banner of “BG Buff Boddys,” bringing an old moniker full circle.
“(The BG Buff Bodies nickname) started off as a joke, but after we competed, a few others got involved,” Favre said. “And now there’s a few of us from (Bayou Gauche), and we’ll see where this ends up.”
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