102 MD musculardevelopment.com July 2019
BY RON HARRIS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SALOMON URRACADe La Rosa:
The NexT ChapTeR
“Victory does not always lay on a number or a trophy. Some victories are won long before the competition ever
started. although I didn’t place where I had hoped, I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish. Last year on
this very stage I was broken. Broken in every way. I had lost everything seemingly overnight, and this Saturday I hadit all back and then some. Not the material things, but myself! My heart, my passion, my desires, my dreams! The grind
doesn’t stop here though. We keep working. The Olympia stage will see me this year!”
–posted by Jonathan De La Rosa, the day after the 2019 New York proVictory comes in
many Forms
One of the greatest feel-good
movies of all time was “Rocky” in
- Sylvester Stallone played the
title character of Rocky Balboa, a
washed-up palooka from the mean
streets of Philly who had squandered
his talent as a boxer and scraped by
as a low-level enforcer/debt collector
for a local mobster. Then somehow,
he got his shot, a surprise invitation
to challenge the world heavyweight
boxing champion, Apollo Creed, in a
special bicentennial title match on live
television. Rocky rose to the occasion,
training like a man possessed,
relishing this second chance at the
life he was supposed to live, and
managed to go the distance against
Creed. He did not beat the champ or
win the title, yet there is no question
he was victorious. Balboa had
triumphed over his own doubts and
lack of self-esteem, as well as the
legions who had counted him out and
written him off.
Jonathan De La Rosa was training
to win the New York Pro on May 18 in
his native New York. 2018 had been
the hardest year of his 35 years on
this earth. Just as he was about to
start the first of four contests he would
compete in from early March to late
July, his wife Swann broadsided him
with her intentions to divorce him. As
any loving husband in this situation
would be, De La Rosa was stunned
and devastated. Ejected from his own home and relegated to
the corner of his parents’ basement, Jon struggled to figure
out what path to take next. He decided to make a clean break
and move to Florida, away from his family and friends— all
except one critical friend. Seven-time 212 Olympia champion
Flex Lewis invited him not only to come train at his private
facility, The Dragon’s Lair, but to become his training partner.
Not long after, Jonathan began working under the coaching
guidance of the man who took Flex from an unknown regional
junior champion to the greatest 212 bodybuilder of all time,
Neil “Yoda” Hill. Jonathan retooled his training and nutrition
approach and took to his contest prep with a renewed energy
and purpose.The New York Pro turned out to be
extremely competitive, as it usually is.
2015 winner and recent Arnold Classic
South America champion Juan Morel
had decided to hang on to his diet for
five more weeks after Brazil, due to
popular demand of his legions of local
fans in New York. Another New York
heavy hitter, Akim Williams, had been
competing since the Arnold Classic at
the start of March, but he too could
not resist battling it out for his devoted
hometown fans and supporters. Yet
another big and bad New Yorker, Justin
Rodriguez, was in the fight. The lineup
was packed with further top-notch
talent in the form of Europeans James
Hollingshead, Milan Sadek and Tim
Budesheim. Jonathan was ready to
take on anyone, including his good
friend Juan. He displayed his trademark
blend of full, round muscle bellies,
ideal structure and shape, and cuts to
spare. Admittedly, he could have been
harder from the front, but it was still a
tremendous improvement over his look
at the 2018 shows.
In the end, Jonathan placed fourth. It
wasn’t what he had trained for or hoped
to score, but he put it all into perspective.
Considering the downward spiral his life
had been tumbling down just last year,
De La Rosa was a winner that night. The
best part was that he understood this
and relished just how far he had come
from the last time he had stood on that
stage. Here is how he put it shortly after
the contest was over.