Tauranga tertiary student Maloni Latailakepa hasn't been bodybuilding for long, but he's already claimed his first title.

On October 29, he went up to Glenfield College in Auckland to compete in his first competition against ten others, which he won, making him ‘Mr North Harbour'.

Maloni's thrilled with the win, and thinks he impressed some of the competition veterans, who told him he should start calling himself Mr North Harbour.

'I was speaking to a lot of experienced bodybuilders up there, and they said I should just claim it, even though I live in the Bay of Plenty.”

He says he's always been into rugby, fitness, and an active life in general.

Maloni is currently studying a Level 4 Certificate in Fitness at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, which helps, since he doesn't have a personal trainer or nutritionist.

'I'm a student, so I can't really afford it.

'For my nutrition I just lived off a ‘caveman' diet – no processed foods, just whole foods like meat and veges. It wasn't a hard diet to adopt, because I was already into those sort of foods.”

Gym dedication is part of any bodybuilder's routine, and Maloni is no different.

'My gym routine was just training early in the morning. I would wake up at about 4.30am, and make sure I was at the gym 10 minutes before it even opened.

'It was a way of showing my dedication and proving to myself I could do well. I would also train after classes as well.”

Maloni's lived in the Bay for 10 years, and says it's definitely his home now.

His recent win means he'll be representing our region in March next year at the nationals. So he won't be slacking off this summer.

'I don't really get into the binge-eating that a lot of bodybuilders do after a competition.

'I just believe in keeping true to my hustle and myself.”