The Masters Olympia is a really prestigious stage for bodybuilders over 40 years outdated. Opponents that haven’t been on this contest earlier than should qualify by successful a present earlier than they’ll compete. The 2025 Masters Olympia came about 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 mentioned with amusing. Whereas being on the Masters Olympia stage is an honor, Leno is not any stranger to and acting at elite requirements. It has been a lifestyle for the lately retired United States Military Inexperienced Beret.
Service Runs within the Household
Leno’s father served when Leno was a baby. After his father retired, the household settled in Kirby, Texas. Leno’s mother and father each labored, however he acknowledged that something that they had got here to them the old school manner. Leno credited that upbringing as a motive he’s so pleased with his first automobile.
“It was a pink 1987 Honda Excel. I needed to earn each penny to get that.”
Rising up in Texas meant taking part in soccer, which Leno did during faculty as a walk-on at Texas State. He mentioned desirous to play when he was a child was an element that led him to start out coaching.
“My father mentioned 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 onerous 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 baby. His hustle and grind of his youth led him to buying numerous abilities, which helped him present for his new household. As soon as he graduated faculty, he opted for a profession that was extra steady, which led to him becoming a member of the Military.
“I joined the army, went to Officer Candidate College (OCS), and the remainder is historical past.”
Leno finally made his solution to Particular Forces and thought of himself “blessed” to be a Particular Forces officer. Being a Inexperienced Beret meant he needed to maintain himself to the best requirements potential, however he noticed that as a possibility greater than a problem.
Leno mentioned, “I realized 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 coming 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 in the course of 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 whole.
Leno defined, “I used to be so used to being lively, after which impulsively 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 regardless that I couldn’t run, I used to be going to do one thing.”
That one thing turned out to be bodybuilding. He had executed it prior to now however needed to commit himself totally with the intention to change what he noticed in that photograph.
“I regarded again on my first present that I did, which I gained, and determined to do it once more,” Leno acknowledged. “I discovered about Males’s Physique as a result of the legs didn’t need to be that large.”
By 2021, he earned his IFBB Professional League card as a Males’s Physique athlete at that yr’s NPC Nationals, simply his second present since he recommitted to the game. He began competing within the professional stage the next yr and by 2023, he was gracing the stage at that yr’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. Nonetheless, he had executed the work it took to not solely get better however make his decrease physique a powerful part of his physique.
“My legs began rising once more, and folks needed 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 suppose you are able to do or what your thoughts is telling you that you are able to do and what you really can do. Inform your thoughts much less speaking and extra going.”
Retirement From Service and Returning to College
2025 has turned out to be a pivotal yr 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 yr additionally marked the tip of his army profession, having retired throughout his bodybuilding season. In his first interview as a veteran, the daddy of three shared that he has plenty of plans, together with celebrating his twenty first marriage ceremony anniversary along with his spouse in December and going again to highschool to additional his schooling. Leno is trying forward however will make the most of the abilities 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 may observe Leno on Instagram.
M&F Senior Navy Editor Rob Wilkins contributed to this text.
