From brawn to beauty: Mark Banta on how he became a trainer of queens

The Philippines has become a mainstay in the international pageant scene. In the last 10 years, the country has annually seized a top 10 spot in Miss Universe, winning the top prize two times – one in 2015 with Pia Wurtzbach, and another, 3 years later with Catriona Gray.

With this consistency, pageantry in the Philippines has become somewhat part of the culture.

However, before contestants begin their journeys abroad, they first have to undergo a very tedious training process here at home. 

Before the competition, their days would include practicing their walk, preparing their look, and maintaining their physique through diet and exercise.

Luckily, contestants are supported by trainers like coach Mark Banta who go along the journey with them.

Life before pageants

Coach Mark is an Australia-certified fitness trainer and was the former head personal trainer at Anytime Fitness Bonifacio High Street. He has become best known as Pia Wurtzbach’s personal fitness trainer, thus becoming one of the go-to of pageant candidates here in the country.

However, the limelight of pageantry was not always his focus.

“Before I met Pia, before Anytime Fitness, I was already running my own gym. I was already passionate with training, not just training clients,” said Mark.

Early in his career, Mark opened a gym in Guadalupe, Makati, named Gymbassy. He wanted to create a space that incorporated the “lights out” vibe of parties into a place to work out and get fit. (And this was before it became a trend in the Philippines.) 

This idea came from his love of going to bars and other party places meshed with his dream of creating a career out of fitness.

For 5 years, Mark built a clientele that was extremely loyal to him and his services as a personal trainer. Soon after, a different opportunity came knocking on his door. He was invited to join Anytime Fitness Bonifacio High Street, one of the franchise’s first branches locally.

Most of his clients were office workers who worked desk jobs from 8 am-5 pm. Occasionally, he would get to train alongside different athletes, and he took this as an opportunity to exchange notes.

But by sheer prominence of location, it was inevitable that he would soon cross paths with celebrities – training the likes of Nadine Lustre and Lauren Reid, and local athletes like Simon Atkins, Willie Miller, and Mikee Reyes.

But it was really after he met Carla Lizardo, a courtside reporter and former Binibining Pilipinas candidate, that his career turned even better.

A shift to pageantry

One day, Carla decided to introduce Mark to one of her friends interested in becoming his client. 

She brought along a tall, slender woman who Mark described as “seemingly the most determined person in the room.”

She was adamant about training furiously, letting the coach know that she was preparing for something big. Being someone more interested in sports than pageants, he had no idea that he just talked to then Bb Pilipinas winner and Ms Universe hopeful Pia Wurtzbach.

Mark entertained his new client like any other newbie at the gym. It took some time before he realized who Pia was. It was here that he understood the stakes were a lot higher than he had initially thought.

With extremely limited knowledge of the competition and the industry as a whole, Mark knew one thing: this lady will be representing the Philippines in an international competition. He decided to kick training up a notch.

Moreover, he knew that the expectations will be a stark contrast to the regular performance-based athletes he was so used to entertaining.

These queens were different, “they have to look good – leaning towards aesthetics [versus conditioning],” said Mark. 

However, behind the “barbie-doll” physique, something that a lot of people tend to overlook is the preparation involved.

Before her rise to fame, Pia worked day and night to compete at the highest standard. She would attend tapings, press interviews, and other events during the day, then pick up her running shoes and gym bag for a night workout.

In fact, some days were so hectic that then Ms Universe candidate would ask Mark to wait until midnight, way beyond his working hours, to sneak in a workout. 

Instead of leaving Pia to do whatever workout she had to do on her own, Mark decided to prioritize her training the same way she was giving it importance. Besides, for him, this was a small sacrifice he was willing to provide for the success she was dead set on bringing home.

“I saw it as an opportunity not only for my own personal growth, but more importantly, it was my little contribution for my country to win a Ms Universe crown once again,” Mark stated.

A trainer of queens

A few months and a historic win later, Mark has found himself with a unique selling point. He is now a go-to fitness trainer for beauty queens and pageant hopefuls.

After training these ladies, Mark has learned to appreciate the queens’ extreme dedication and persistence to master their craft. 

The competition, being mainly once-in-a-lifetime, helps create a deadline. Mark knows how long he has before he can mold a strong competitor. Thus, there is a greater sense of urgency to optimize their time and preparation.

However, once the competition is over, Mark encourages his trainees to maintain that healthier lifestyle. And part of his advocacy is teaching them how to keep fit via more natural ways than the extremes many resort to due to competition stress.

Mark believes in the importance of sustainability and unobtrusively incorporating fitness in your regular life.

Now Melbourne-based, Mark is continuing his business, transitioning to digital via his online app Gymbassy (a name which he resurrected). This allows him to continuously oversee his clients all over the world, without sacrificing the quality they receive in personal training.

Additionally, Mark is currently creating programs and other engaging materials to train protegés – young trainers to follow in his footsteps or build their own business in fitness.

“I feel that this is my way of giving back to the industry that gave me so many opportunities.” – Rappler.com