The best of amatuer bodybuilders in Canada gathered in Toronto on Friday, October 19, for the Canaidian National Pro Qualifier. One of Estevan's own was not only there, he was among the cream of the crop.

Chad Kerr, 43, competed in the master's category and earned a bronze medal for his efforts. For Kerr, who hadn't competed since 2016 prior to this, the extra weeks of training paid off as he earned the third place finish and, in the eyes of many of the attendees, deserved even better than that.

"It's a great feeling to know that all the hard work I put and to be top three in Canada, it's pretty good for me," he said. "It's been a lot of years trying to get here but I'm very happy with the way things turned out." 

Though only the first place winner moves on to the pro circuit, Kerr was nonetheless happy with both his placing and the effort that led to it. The 20-year veteran of the sport (Kerr competed in his first show in 1999) felt he was in the best shape of his life for the contest.

"It was so close," he said. "I was told by many people after that I was definitely the most conditioned guy in my class and that I got robbed and should've won. But that's bodybuilding, that's the way it is. The pictures don't lie. I'm happy with placing third but I'll be back next year for first. I"m already motivated to come back next year and claim my title."

So there will be no three year hiatus for Kerr this time as he plans to get right back to work in preparation for next year's event. But after 22 weeks of strict dieting and two-a-day workouts, Kerr had some things on his mind before getting back to the grind.

"I've been eating cheat meals since the show was done on Saturday night," he said with a laugh. "I had a pretty big cheat meal then and I don't even know how many things I had. I've been enjoying food, and I'll take this next week off of the gym just to rest my body and enjoy some good food, then I'll get back to work next week and start working on next year."

Kerr also has a vacation planned for the immediate future, but the goal of being one of the top bodybuilders in Canada and joining the professional ranks has never been closer for him.

"This is the best I've ever done," he said. "I went to nationals in 2016 and I placed ninth. I definitely deserved ninth because I didn't really look that great. Placing in the top three in Canada is my best to date for sure."