Sam Belkin is a hulk of a man.
The 25-year-old has the tell-tale broad shoulders and barrel chest you would expect of a wrestler.
He is good, too. He placed fourth in his class at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010 and hopes to qualify for next year's Games in Glasgow.
An injury derailed his bid to qualify for the Olympics, but he is back at the top of his game, having recently returned from a 10-week stint training in Russia - the spiritual home of wrestling, and the only place in the world where they grapple with a bear every morning before breakfast.
You would not guess that Belkin used to be ''a fatty'' - his words, or rather his mother's.
''My mum said I was fat, to be honest with you,'' he replied when asked how he got into wrestling.
Belkin is in Dunedin contesting the New Zealand championships and made a good start yesterday, overpowering local hope Logan Evans.
He was born in England but moved with his family to New Zealand when he was 12. He lives in Christchurch, where he works in security.
Belkin prefers the Greco-Roman style of wrestling to freestyle. In Greco, wrestlers are not allowed to tackle the legs of an opponent or use their legs to throw an opponent. It is a style which suits his build but, unfortunately, Greco wrestling has been left out of the Commonwealth Games.
''I'm going to have to try to qualify in freestyle, instead. I think my chances are quite high. I'll just have to keep training overseas like I am and get to all the tournaments.
''Wrestling is quite a small sport and funding is always hard to find.''
He spent 10 weeks living and training in Vladikavkaz, in southern Russia, earlier this year.
''It was a good trip. We left in May and we got back about a month ago.
''It is the birthplace of wrestling kind of thing. You'll have 200 people on the mat every day, twice a day, just wrestling. They breed wrestlers over there. From the age of 5 to 35 they just wrestle and nothing else.
''We lived wrestling over there. When we weren't wrestling, we were either eating or sleeping.''
New Zealand wrestling president Andy Roche believes Belkin could win a medal at the Commonwealth Games.
''He really is a good prospect,'' Roche said.
''He has a good chance of certainly representing us well and even medalling.''
The Commonwealth championships are in South Africa in December. Belkin will need to place in at least the top half of the competition to convince selectors he is worth sending to Glasgow next year.
The Oceania championships next April are another opportunity for wrestlers to impress.
''I'd be very surprised if he didn't make it,'' Roche said.
