[h=1]Darwin's 'Parkinator' muscles in to win at Arnold Schwarzenegger bodybuilding competition[/h]By Nadia Daly and James Dunlevie
Updated about 2 hours ago
PHOTO: Arnold Schwarzenegger, right, holds aloft the hand of Atif Anwar, winner of the over 100kg class at the Arnold Classic.(Getty Images: Vince Caligiuri)
MAP: Darwin 0800
Nobody likes finding a ticket on their car, but you'd best not challenge this parking inspector, who is fast earning himself the nickname "The Parkinator".
Media player: "Space" to play, "M" to mute, "left" and "right" to seek.
VIDEO: Darwin bodybuilder Atif Anwar is awarded his prize by Arnold Schwarzenegger (ABC News)
Atif Anwar, 34, who works as a by-laws officer with the City Of Darwin council by day and nightclub bouncer at night, took out the over 100 kilogram class at the Arnold Classic sports expo in Melbourne on Sunday.
The US event, which was held in Australia for the first time, featured bodybuilding as well as "fight, strength and endurance sports".
It is named in honour of bodybuilding champion, politician and star of the Terminator movie series Arnold Schwarzenegger, who presented an elated Mr Anwar with his medal on Sunday.
"This moment Arnold gave me trophy. I can't explain," said Mr Anwar, who was joined on stage for the medal presentation by his wife Afshan and son Wahaj.
Ms Anwar even scored a kiss from Arnie himself.
"Atif must have hated it! But I was like 'Oh my God! For a second, I forgot about my husband's victory," she said.
PHOTO: Mr Anwar in his early days as a competitive athlete.(Supplied: Facebook)
Mr Anwar, a champion in his native Pakistan, was the first from that country to compete in the prestigious Mr Universe competition, placing fourth.
But bigger dreams beckoned.
The family came to Australia two years ago, with Ms Anwar studying for a Masters Degree in business administration and Mr Anwar taking on two jobs, fitting gruelling weights and cardio sessions in between.
Ms Anwar said it took a lot of patience and sacrifice to support her husband in his quest.
"It's a team effort, all the gym members, his team, his workmates, me, obviously, being his wife," Ms Anwar said.
"We all have to support him and he did it, so we're very proud of him."
Arriving back at work at Darwin council after his win, Mr Anwar received a hero's welcome.
PHOTO: Darwin Lord Mayor Katrina Fong Lim congratulates Mr Anwar on his win. (Supplied: Twitter)
His supervisor, Conneil Brown, said despite his training requirements, Mr Anwar's mind always stayed on the job, despite often training before his 6:00am start.
"He worked right through his training," Mr Brown said. "We did adjust his schedule a bit. But he was available for his shifts.
"I was excited for him, he's very committed. I'm very proud of what he achieved."
His supervisor, Diana Leeder, said Mr Anwar's discipline was contagious.
"We benefit from that. He brings that to his work," she said.
In the lead up to the competition, Mr Anwar's diet consisted of between eight and 12 meals a day of "mostly chicken, turkey and fish, a lot of clean veggies and supplements".
Ms Anwar said three-year-old Wahaj was a "junior Atif" and eats "almost as much" as his dad, protein shakes and all.
But with a victory in the high profile competition under his belt, Mr Anwar was prepared to ease up on the diet discipline momentarily.
The first thing he did after bagging the medal was to terminate a huge slice of mudcake.
PHOTO: Darwin parking inspector Atif Anwar, who won at Arnold Schwarzenegger's Arnold Classic bodybuilding competition.(ABC News: James Dunlevie)
Topics: community-and-society, darwin-0800, melbourne-3000, united-states
Updated about 2 hours ago
PHOTO: Arnold Schwarzenegger, right, holds aloft the hand of Atif Anwar, winner of the over 100kg class at the Arnold Classic.(Getty Images: Vince Caligiuri)MAP: Darwin 0800
Nobody likes finding a ticket on their car, but you'd best not challenge this parking inspector, who is fast earning himself the nickname "The Parkinator".
Media player: "Space" to play, "M" to mute, "left" and "right" to seek.
VIDEO: Darwin bodybuilder Atif Anwar is awarded his prize by Arnold Schwarzenegger (ABC News)
Atif Anwar, 34, who works as a by-laws officer with the City Of Darwin council by day and nightclub bouncer at night, took out the over 100 kilogram class at the Arnold Classic sports expo in Melbourne on Sunday.
The US event, which was held in Australia for the first time, featured bodybuilding as well as "fight, strength and endurance sports".
It is named in honour of bodybuilding champion, politician and star of the Terminator movie series Arnold Schwarzenegger, who presented an elated Mr Anwar with his medal on Sunday.
"This moment Arnold gave me trophy. I can't explain," said Mr Anwar, who was joined on stage for the medal presentation by his wife Afshan and son Wahaj.
Ms Anwar even scored a kiss from Arnie himself.
"Atif must have hated it! But I was like 'Oh my God! For a second, I forgot about my husband's victory," she said.
PHOTO: Mr Anwar in his early days as a competitive athlete.(Supplied: Facebook)Mr Anwar, a champion in his native Pakistan, was the first from that country to compete in the prestigious Mr Universe competition, placing fourth.
But bigger dreams beckoned.
The family came to Australia two years ago, with Ms Anwar studying for a Masters Degree in business administration and Mr Anwar taking on two jobs, fitting gruelling weights and cardio sessions in between.
Ms Anwar said it took a lot of patience and sacrifice to support her husband in his quest.
"It's a team effort, all the gym members, his team, his workmates, me, obviously, being his wife," Ms Anwar said.
"We all have to support him and he did it, so we're very proud of him."
Arriving back at work at Darwin council after his win, Mr Anwar received a hero's welcome.
PHOTO: Darwin Lord Mayor Katrina Fong Lim congratulates Mr Anwar on his win. (Supplied: Twitter)His supervisor, Conneil Brown, said despite his training requirements, Mr Anwar's mind always stayed on the job, despite often training before his 6:00am start.
"He worked right through his training," Mr Brown said. "We did adjust his schedule a bit. But he was available for his shifts.
"I was excited for him, he's very committed. I'm very proud of what he achieved."
His supervisor, Diana Leeder, said Mr Anwar's discipline was contagious.
"We benefit from that. He brings that to his work," she said.
In the lead up to the competition, Mr Anwar's diet consisted of between eight and 12 meals a day of "mostly chicken, turkey and fish, a lot of clean veggies and supplements".
Ms Anwar said three-year-old Wahaj was a "junior Atif" and eats "almost as much" as his dad, protein shakes and all.
But with a victory in the high profile competition under his belt, Mr Anwar was prepared to ease up on the diet discipline momentarily.
The first thing he did after bagging the medal was to terminate a huge slice of mudcake.
PHOTO: Darwin parking inspector Atif Anwar, who won at Arnold Schwarzenegger's Arnold Classic bodybuilding competition.(ABC News: James Dunlevie)Topics: community-and-society, darwin-0800, melbourne-3000, united-states