Australian Men’s Fitness – September 2019

56 MEN’S FITNESS SEPTEMBER 2019

● Cover guy Transformation

MOTIVATION TO CHANGE

You’ll know Uli Latukefu from Netflix shows

such as Marco Polo and the new movie

Danger Close, but for his latest role in action

flick The Legend of Baron To’a, Latukefu

had to undergo a serious transformation

to reinvent both body and mind.

“I had just finished shooting Danger

Close: The Battle of Long Tan, and at the time

I was pretty heavy,” Latukefu says. “My next

role was the lead in The Legend of Baron

To’a, and the character was meant to be

extremely athletic – not only in appearance,

but also in the way he moved. I needed

to learn over a dozen fight sequences

and prepare for rooftop-to-rooftop chase

Theexpertstrategy

◆ “Uli wanted an action hero physique in

eight weeks, but also needed the athleticism

that matched the aesthetic,” explains Chief

Brabon, head coach at the SKWOD – Sweat

and Social Club (8weekstowow.com.au).

“To achieve rapid fat loss while building lean,

athletic muscle, we put Uli on a signature

DARC™ Protocol that combines high-

intensity interval training with athletic-

based resistance training.”

These 45-minute workouts were done five

times a week. Three weeks of this was done

face-to-face, while the remaining five were

coached remotely.

“In the final weeks, we used ultra-high

intensity interval training and low-intensity

steady state training,” Brabon says. “I focused

on exercises that challenged both mobility

and stability while targeting strength and

hypertrophy because these drastically

enhance athleticism. This meant traditional

exercises that used benches or machines

gave way to ones incorporating kettlebells,

battling ropes and the landmine.”

sequences that included dodging cars and

scaling tall fences. As the lead actor on

this movie, I had a responsibility to leave

no stone unturned. It was essential that

I brought a strong physicality to the role.”

With only a few weeks left in the

pre-production process, Latukefu

knew this couldn’t be any normal

transformation, so he sought out the

best in the business.

“My good mate and co-star on the TV

series Doctor Doctor, Rodger Corser,

had been through his own jaw-dropping

transformation under the guidance of

Chief and Emilie Brabon, and fortunately

they agreed to take me on as a client,”

Latukefu says.

CHALLENGING TIMES

Being an actor may look like a glamorous

job, but that’s not always the case.

“It’s possible to go a long time without

an acting gig, which makes it hard to stay

hopeful and committed to what’s in your

heart,” Latukefu says. “This becomes

substantially more difficult if you have

a family to provide for. I had projects and

roles fall through, some on the day I was

due to fly out, so I went back to digging

ditches or painting houses. The acting

business can be tough, so when I got this

chance with The Legend of Baron To'a,

I was just grateful and wanted to get to

work and show up in the best mental

and physical state possible.”

CALLING IN THE EXPERTS

“Chief and Emilie Brabon have decades

of experience achieving aesthetic

transformations like Latukefu’s, so they

also understood his need to be as strong

and athletic as possible for the film. Chief ’s

DARC™ (dynamic aerobic resistance

conditioning) based program combines

functional weight training with power-

building exercises and a high-intensity

interval training-style cardio.

“The sessions were intense, yet efficient,

but only lasted around 45 minutes,”

Latukefu says. “We used equipment that

I hadn’t really used before, such as the

landmine, which was great for explosive,

multi-directional exercises.”

Healthyhacks

◆ “I drank black coffee first

thing in the morning, as it set

me up with low-calorie energy,

and I set a goal to drink at least

three litres of water each day.”

◆ “I really make my training

time count. Finding the balance

between being social and

training during sessions is

important to stay enthusiastic,

but if you set a deadline, you

will always get the job done.”

◆ “Get creative with cooking.

Finding seasoning and cooking

method combinations kept

me interested. My new

favourite is a fish curry

with no coconut cream.”

“The refining of yourself and

whatever you're working on in

life is a constant process."