Last week’s Australian pro show though won by Shawn Rhoden may have been an even bigger win for William Bonac and his rising star in the IFBB. Though he is being credited as a product of the Netherlands due to his current living circumstances, William Bonac originally migrated from the African country of Ghana. William comes from a long line of successful African to Europe transplant bodybuilders, and for those who have been in the sport for a few years, many have seen this story play out before in both the cases of Lionel Beyeke and Shawn Rhoden. Two bodybuilders who also had all the genetic potential in the world and once they got the right look from the judges, their careers and physiques exploded along with their name and status in the industry. In just a few short years these men went from rounding out the bottom of the first callout at Tier-III shows to competing for some of the most prestigious titles in the sport, and in Bonac’s case it feels like Deja Vu.
So how could such a talented and gifted athlete have gone so overlooked for so long?! Well for starters as an international competitor who didn’t come up through the standard feeder systems, coming into the pro league William’s hype was already limited. William also had a significant hernia that was not addressed until this year, though maybe not a big deal to most, just look at Rhoden’s placings after getting the same issues fixed. It also did William no favors entering what was the still relatively new but highly competitive 212 class at the time. Not only did he get limited credit for competing because of the 212 status of the events, but he entered the division at possibly it’s most competitive phase ever, as at the time it was still up for debate who was going to be the next great champion and run the class, with a bunch of guys neck and neck for the status. Heck it was during this period that Flex Lewis placed in the Open Division, and he was not even the 212lb champion yet.
It is because of this depth in the 212 class that William almost got Trey Brewer’d. What this means is that on paper and based on placings alone it would seem he has had a less than phenomenal bodybuilding career, when in actuality if you look at the people who were beating him at the time it was pretty clear he was already on a path for a moderate level of success. This is the Trey Brewer effect because that is exactly what happened to Trey at his last national competition. Trey’s placings and standing at the national level super-heavyweight class had improved every year, until one year when it would seem he hit a large speed hump and stalled his progress and career potentially forever. It was this drop in placings that is cited as the nail in the coffin for Trey’s career, but when you really look at who he lost to at that show and what they are up to now, the placing almost becomes impressive, this is because every single person that Trey lost to at the national level has gone on to become an IFBB professional
This is the same issue that Bonac faced with the 212 division. His highest placing at a Tier-III 212 show was third, nothing to write home about, but when you really look at the people he lost to at the time, every single one of them was in contention for the 212 title. The short list of people who beat him included Jose Raymond, Flex Lewis, Ed Correa, Dave Henry, and even then as a rookie who was too big for the division William was still able to hold his own. By the end of the season William was already working his way up the ladder by pushing guys such as Masoom Butt down the ranks who had beat him earlier in the year. The switch to the Open Division right at the time as he was gaining momentum in the 212 was possibly one of the most daring decisions he could have made, but was potentially a milestone in his career that we will look back on. Fortunately for us as fans where Brewer stopped on the brink of success, Bonac persevered and worked through this phase and as a result is now reaping the reward in placings.
I’m not saying we are witnessing history, but sit back and enjoy the show because, well, we’re witnessing history