The Masters Olympia is a really prestigious stage for bodybuilders over 40 years outdated. Rivals that haven’t been on this contest earlier than should qualify by successful a present earlier than they will compete. The 2025 Masters Olympia passed off in Tokyo, Japan in August and featured 10 professional divisions, together with Basic Physique, which included fourth-year professional Kenyon Leno, who was making his second profession look. He didn’t win the title however validated that he belonged on that stage along with his displaying.
“I’m not further superior but. I’m simply common superior,” he stated with amusing. Whereas being on the Masters Olympia stage is an honor, Leno isn’t any stranger to and acting at elite requirements. It has been a lifestyle for the just lately retired United States Military Inexperienced Beret.
Service Runs within the Household
Leno’s father served when Leno was a toddler. After his father retired, the household settled in Kirby, Texas. Leno’s mother and father each labored, however he acknowledged that something they’d got here to them the old style manner. Leno credited that upbringing as a cause he’s so happy with his first automobile.
“It was a purple 1987 Honda Excel. I needed to earn each penny to get that.”
Rising up in Texas meant enjoying soccer, which Leno did right through faculty as a walk-on at Texas State. He stated eager to play when he was a child was an element that led him to start out coaching.
“My father stated I couldn’t play as a result of I used to be too little. That lit a hearth in me,” he recalled. The dedication he made to himself to play was what caught with him essentially the most, and he feels that has been part of his life since.
“I’ve labored exhausting for every thing I’ve. I simply work my ass off.”
His entry into service got here when he and his girlfriend – now spouse – have been anticipating their first youngster. His hustle and grind of his youth led him to buying varied abilities, which helped him present for his new household. As soon as he graduated faculty, he opted for a profession that was extra secure, which led to him becoming a member of the Military.
“I joined the navy, went to Officer Candidate Faculty (OCS), and the remainder is historical past.”
Leno ultimately made his technique to Particular Forces and regarded himself “blessed” to be a Particular Forces officer. Being a Inexperienced Beret meant he needed to maintain himself to the very best requirements potential, however he noticed that as a chance greater than a problem.
Leno stated, “I discovered different languages, went to different nations, and made essentially the most of involving myself in that tradition. It has been a spotlight of my life.”
His Resilence Was Examined and He Handed
Leno’s profession has seen its fair proportion of adversity. Upon getting back from a mission in Afghanistan in 2019, Leno was doing bodily coaching when he felt a pop in his left knee that resulted in extreme swelling. He thought the swelling would secede however was nonetheless there after two weeks, which led to him getting an MRI.
“I had a partial ACL tear, partial meniscus tear, and throughout the surgical procedure, the medical doctors discovered I had no extra cartilage in my knee and bone fragments. It was principally a catastrophe.”
This was Leno’s first surgical procedure, and the restoration took longer than anticipated. It additionally led to him having one other surgical procedure. All in all, it was three years with restricted bodily exercise in complete.
Leno defined, “I used to be so used to being lively, after which abruptly I wasn’t.”
The inactivity led to him gaining weight and his physique altering. When he noticed a photograph of himself from an Easter Sunday gathering, he didn’t acknowledge himself.
“That day, I made a decision that though I couldn’t run, I used to be going to do one thing.”
That one thing turned out to be bodybuilding. He had performed it up to now however needed to commit himself totally with the intention to change what he noticed in that picture.
“I appeared again on my first present that I did, which I received, and determined to do it once more,” Leno said. “I came upon about Males’s Physique as a result of the legs didn’t must be that large.”
By 2021, he earned his IFBB Professional League card as a Males’s Physique athlete at that 12 months’s NPC Nationals, simply his second present since he recommitted to the game. He began competing within the professional stage the next 12 months and by 2023, he was gracing the stage at that 12 months’s Masters Olympia. In 2024, he shifted his focus to Basic Physique. The importance of that call was that his new class requires extra leg visibility. Nevertheless, he had performed the work it took to not solely get better however make his decrease physique a robust part of his physique.
“My legs began rising once more, and other people wished to see me do it. Now I’m in Basic and successful reveals as an over 40 athlete.”
Leno credited his time in Ranger faculty for serving to him fulfill his potential as a world-class bodybuilder and pushing himself past perceived limitations.
“That have confirmed me the variations between what you assume you are able to do or what your thoughts is telling you that you are able to do and what you truly can do. Inform your thoughts much less speaking and extra going.”
Retirement From Service and Returning to Faculty
2025 has turned out to be a pivotal 12 months for Leno each professionally and personally. Wins on the 2025 Indy Supershow Professional and 2025 Tampa Professional as a Masters Basic Physique athlete earned him a second Masters Olympia qualification.
The 12 months additionally marked the top of his navy profession, having retired throughout his bodybuilding season. In his first interview as a veteran, the daddy of three shared that he has quite a lot of plans, together with celebrating his twenty first wedding ceremony anniversary along with his spouse in December and going again to highschool to additional his training. Leno is trying forward however will make the most of the talents and his items from the previous to maneuver himself ahead.
“Resiliency, teamwork, and actually making use of one of the best of your self has actually gotten me so far and can proceed to assist me do much more sooner or later. I’m enthusiastic about what’s forward.”
You’ll be able to observe Leno on Instagram.
M&F Senior Army Editor Rob Wilkins contributed to this text.
