A YEAR ago Rudi Bester of Paarl was literally a party animal, overweight, smoking up to 40 cigarettes a day, and partying hard.

But now he has not only drastically slimmed down, he is on the eve of competing in the national Iron Man competition in two months’ time.

In April last year, Bester (28) topped the scale at 120 kg and was heading for an over-indulgence burn-out.

But Bester was lucky. He started to realise that he was wasting his life away and not getting enough out of it.

“I came to a turning point and knew that I had to do something about my weight and physique, so I started to go to the gym where I got involved especially with spinning classes.”

And once the exercise bug had bitten him, there was no turning back.

“I pushed myself more and started to cycle, swim and run. And with all of this, I knew that I could not get to my ultimate physical point while still smoking.”

So Bester kicked the habit.

Soon casual exercise was no longer enough for him and he started training for the triathlon. And in October last year, he took part in his first triathlon.

“But I was obviously jumping the gun, because I was far from ready for this. I dropped out early in the race and felt terrible.”

Bester realised that he had to lose more weight and went on a controlled diet, watching everything he put into his mouth, keeping in mind that he had to lose weight, but still maintaining enough substance for his stringent exercise programme. Today he tops the scale at barely 80 kilograms.

And then he set his sights on the Iron Man. This is regarded by many as the ultimate challenge to test a sportsman’s stamina.

Iron Man consists of a 3,8 km open water swim, 180 km cycling and thereafter a 42,2 km run.

“This is the ultimate test in human endurance and it is hard training. My day starts at 03:00 when I have breakfast. Then I cycle or run, and then head for the pool.”

And in between all of this, Bester, a trained chef, still runs his own business, R & B Nutritions, where he formulates and sells specialised food ingredients.

When the shot is fired for the start of Iron Man SA 2012 in Port Elizabeth on 22 April, it will be almost a year since Bester started his new life.

“If someone told me a year ago that I would be taking part in Iron Man, I would buy him another tequila and say dream on.

“But my life has changed, I feel great and I am exceeding my own expectations.”

Bester is also setting his sights on the Comrades Marathon and would like to take part in the Texas Triathlon.

Coincidentally, Rudi’s grandfather, Charl Bester of Somerset West completed numerous Comrades marathons.

And when Rudi crosses the finishing line of Iron Man in an expected time of 12 and a half hours, he cannot wait to crack open an ice cold beer.