Costa Rican Classic!
Former 212 Champ Alex Cambronero Is Killing It In Classic Physique

By Ron Harris

Prologue

I first met Alex Cambronero and his wife Maggy back in February of 2005, out in Arlington, Texas, where we were part of the Ronnie Coleman weekend. Ronnie used to host about 20 to 25 people for a weekend none of us would ever forget. We trained with him at both Metroflex Gym and his incredible home gym, we ate at his favorite spots with him, he took us to a Dallas Mavericks game, and heck, he even took us to his church Sunday morning! I can’t say Alex stood out in any way. At the time, he was all of 134 pounds and just getting started in bodybuilding. Had you told me that someday this quiet kid who barely spoke English at the time would be a future pro, I would have rolled my eyes. If you told me he would go on to win four shows as a 212 pro before switching to another division that wouldn’t even exist for another 11 years and would win the Arnold Classic on his first attempt, I would have asked you what are you smoking, and can you give me some for later? But seriously, there are some guys whose genetic potential is glaringly obvious from day one, while it doesn’t start to make itself apparent for others until at least several years of hard work are put in. Alex is one of those. Here is his story.

Hell on 2 Wheels

Alejandro (his actual name) was born in the city of Puerto Limón, to a single mother with three other children to care for. His nickname, “Fello,” came from his younger sister, unable to pronounce his full name. At 9, the family moved to the Costa Rican capital of San Jose. “My mom was a very strict disciplinarian, like a general,” he tells us. She kept him active in karate, swimming and Tae Kwan Do, but shortly after moving to San Jose, he became enthralled with the sport of BMX racing. Determined to get started, he made his way to a distant racing track. He had no money for a bike or the rest of the necessary gear, but young Alex had something equally valuable to work with. “I was a cute kid, and I knew I was cute,” he laughs. Spying a group of obviously well-to-do racing patrons, he broke into tears and cried out for all to hear, “I want to race so much, but I have no money!” A woman approached and asked where he’d come from. Shocked that the kid had walked many miles to the track, she ultimately offered to sponsor him. “I knew I would not let her down,” he says, “and I didn’t. I won every race I entered for the next 10 years, unless someone had crashed into me.” By 16, he had graduated to motocross, racing a 125cc bike. Around the same time, he and his friends started lifting weights with the hope of putting some muscle on their skinny frames to get the attention of the girls. One day in the gym, he picked up a magazine and saw images of the reigning Mr. Olympia at the time, Ronnie Coleman. “I was in awe,” he says. “I said to myself, if I can even get 20 percent of that size someday, I will be very satisfied.”

When Alex Met Maggy

Some wives of the pros are rarely seen, to the point where you are often surprised to even know they have a wife. Not so with Alex. Maggy, a now-retired IFBB Pro League Figure pro, is always by his side and an integral component of his success in this sport. Miami is a magnet for Latin American immigrants, mainly due to its huge Latin population and thriving Latino culture. In 2003, Alex was a new transplant from Costa Rica, and Maggie had emigrated from Cuba. They met on South Beach, sparks flew, and in two months they were married. “We were young and didn’t know each other very long, but here we are. It can work,” Alex said. The two had a love for lifting and a burning desire to build their bodies. She would end up turning pro a year before he did and scored several top-five finishes before deciding to retire and help Alex focus on his own career. “We are a team, and there is no way I could do this without her,” he tells us.

The Head Tilt

Before going any further, let me explain the head tilt that most people notice almost as much as Alex’s beautiful shape, flawless symmetry, and crisp condition. You can’t help but notice it, and I had mistakenly assumed it was the result of a spinal injury, since I knew he had raced motocross in his youth. I was off, but not entirely. “It was before motocross, when I was still racing BMX,” he reveals. “I did a backflip on my bike and landed hard on my head.” Unfortunately, he was not wearing his helmet, and he broke his collarbone and fractured his skull. One of his optic nerves was permanently damaged in the process. “If I keep my head straight, that eye moves to the side, like a lazy eye and I can’t focus my vision,” he explains. “When I tilt my head to the side, everything is OK.” So, while it may be a bit distracting to those of us watching him when he competes, it’s better than him seeing double or blurry.

Eager to Hit the Stage

That Ronnie Coleman weekend lit a fire under Alex to pursue bodybuilding at the highest possible level. There, he had met and befriended Ronnie’s brother, also named Alex. When Alex visited Miami for a vacation a few years later, he was shocked at the gains Cambronero had made since he’d last seen him. “He told me my shape was excellent, and I had to compete,” says Alex. Where better to take to the stage for the first time than the Ronnie Coleman Classic back in Texas in 2010? “I thought I was big,” he laughs, “but I got my butt kicked badly.” He placed 24^th out of 28 middleweights but was not discouraged. “I said there’s no way that will be my only contest, I am coming back next year and winning that show.”

True to his word, he returned exactly one year later but had to concede the light-heavyweight class win to Cory Matthews, who went on to earn his pro card at the 2012 NPC Nationals before launching a successful career in the 212 division. “That whole top five was awesome,” Alex informs us. “Lorenzo Jones was in there too, and all five of us are pros now.”

Cambronero competed next in his native Florida and nabbed his first overall win at the Dayana Cadeau. The next few years saw him climb the ladder up the national ranks until he earned his pro card at the 2013 IFBB North American, winning the light-heavies and losing the overall to a little fella named Akim Williams.

212 Success, But Classic Beckoned

Alex only competed once in his rookie year, failing to place at the 2014 Tampa Pro. Just as he had with his first NPC show, the Ronnie Coleman Classic, he vowed to work hard and return to win it. Again, he fell short by just one spot, as Al Auguste claimed the 212 win. Still, Cambronero did quite well in the division over the next few years, winning four pro shows and placing progressively better at all three Mr. Olympia contests he entered: 12^th, 10^th, and finally seventh place. Yet he knew it was unlikely he would ever finish much higher.

“It was just a matter of being outmuscled,” he explains. “I had nice shape and my condition was right on, but they were just bigger. I was competing at 193 pounds without struggling to make weight, while they were all killing themselves to get down to 212.” Feedback from judges urged Alex to gain more mass, particularly in his legs. “I didn’t want to do that, because I knew there was a very real possibility that I would lose my tiny waist in the process.”

The Classic Physique division came along in 2016, but Alex never even considered switching over at the time. But as time wore on, many of his fans messaged him and practically begged him to make the move. It wasn’t until the 2018 Olympia that he finally gave it some real thought. “Shawn Ray and Dan Solomon were doing the commentating on the live stream,” he says. “Both of them talked about how I was hitting Classic poses, and what a great fit I would be in that division. That’s when it began to sound like a good idea.”

Like Luke Skywalker, He Has His Yoda

You are probably familiar with Neil “Yoda” Hill, so named due to his Jedi-like mastery of all matters related to training, nutrition and supplementation. He’s best known as being Flex Lewis’ coach from day one as a teenage amateur in Wales, and is also renowned for helping men like William Bonac, Jonathan De La Rosa, and Steve Laureus reach new pinnacles in their physiques and contest placings. It was through Flex that Alex met Neil. “At the 2016 Olympia, Flex invited me to come up and train with him at his Dragon’s Lair gym in Boca Raton, 90 minutes north of Miami,” he begins. “I was working with another coach at the time, and I was not happy with the arrangement. He wasn’t bringing me into shows at my best, and my body wasn’t even responding right anymore.” 

Alex kept driving up to train with Flex, and one day asked the now seven-time 212 Olympia champ for his honest appraisal. “He said I hate to tell you this because you’re my friend, but that’s why I have to tell you that you look like shit.” Flex suggested that Cambronero think about working with Neil. Having nothing to lose, Alex reached out to him, and they hit it off immediately. “The very first thing he changed was my nutrition,” he tells us. “He told me I was eating like a Bikini girl, and it was time to start packing in the food like a real bodybuilder has to.” Neil prepped Alex for three show in 2017, and he earned enough points to qualify for the Olympia. But Neil knows the human body and refused to prep him for that prestigious event. “He told me my body needed to rest and recover, and if I did the Olympia, I would end up looking terrible. It was very tough to accept that, but I knew he was right.” Their next run together was 2018. Alex won the Dallas Europa and placed seventh at the Olympia. It would be his final contest in the 212 division.

Now He Calls Classic Home

Switching divisions always carries some degree of risk, but Alex was a natural fit from the get-go. He won his debut in Pittsburgh, was narrowly edged out by Keone Pearson a week later in New York (who ironically moved to the 212 division after the 2019 season ended) and placed in the top six at the Olympia for the first time. Most recently, he beat out fellow Neil Hill client Steve Laureus to win the Arnold Classic, a show Laureus was so heavily favored to win that most of us on the media side saw it as a foregone conclusion.

“My ultimate goal is to win the Olympia,” he states. “And I will not stop working until I get there.”

In the meantime, Alex has a successful private training studio in the Miami neighborhood of Pinecrest, and ample support from both Maggy and his sponsor, RedCon1. He and Maggy also promote the Latin American Championships in his native Costa Rica, a pro qualifier to provide opportunities for those athletes to realize their full potential.

“All these things were just a dream years ago when I was that skinny kid looking at the magazines and wishing I could have some muscles myself,” he says, “but dreams come true if you believe in yourself and work hard for as long as it takes.”

IG: fello_cambronero and latin_american_championships

Alex’s RedCon1 Stack

Pre-workout:

Big Noise

Tango

Breach

Post-workout:

Isotope

Tango

Breach

For more information, visit redcon1.com

Contest History

2011 NPC Nationals

10^th, Light Heavyweight

2012 USA Championships

Ninth, Light Heavyweight

2012 NPC Nationals

Seventh, Light Heavyweight      

2013 IFBB North American

Light Heavyweight Winner (earned pro card)

2014 Tampa Pro

212, Did not place

2015 Texas Pro

212 Winner

2015 Tampa Pro

Second, 212

2015 212 Olympia

12^th Place

2016 Toronto Pro

212 Winner

2016 Puerto Rico Pro

212 Winner

2016 212 Olympia

10^th Place

2017 New York Pro

Fifth Place, 212

2017 Vancouver Pro

Seventh Place, 212

2017 Chicago Pro

Second Place, 212

2018 Dallas Europa

212 Winner

2018 212 Olympia

Seventh Place

2019 Pittsburgh Pro      

Classic Physique Winner

2019 New York Pro

Second Place, Classic Physique

2019 Classic Physique Olympia

Sixth Place

2019 Yamamoto Cup Italy

Second Place

2020 Arnold Classic

Classic Physique Winner

Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram

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