Photo: Contributed

Andrew Mortensen competing at the Canadian Powerlifting League Championships.

His strict diet and devotion to the gym has paid off, Penticton's Andrew Mortensen has earned a spot at the IPL World Powerlifting Championships in Las Vegas this November.

Mortensen, 31, has had a passion for weightlifting since he was 13-years-old, but never had the chance to compete until more recently.

"I've always wanted to compete and I never really did until the last couple years," he said. "I've always worked out of town and never had a job that I would actually be able to commit to competing and training until the last few years since I started working at Valley."

The owners of Kelowna’s Valley Curbing Ltd., Jesse Oliver, Chad Valentino and Gary Brandner, are the main reason Mortensen is able to pursue his dreams.

"They have sponsored every one of my trips, there is no way I would be able to do this without these guys helping me," he said. "I wasn’t even going to ask for time off, and they offered to sponsor my trips.”

Mortensen might look intimidating, but he has a heart of gold, according to Brandner.

"He is one of the best workers we have, just a terrific guy," he said. "He is about 5’9”, 200 pounds and all tattooed up and you know you would think he is a badass biker but in actual fact he is just the nicest guy in the world."

Capturing a spot at the IPL World Powerlifting Championships is not an easy task. Mortensen's diet consists of mostly chicken and rice, with only one "cheat" day a week.

Mortensen trains at the GYM Eternal in Penticton.

"I usually workout five days a week and my workout lasts about 2.5 to 3 hours," he said. "It’s a 20-minute warm up and then 2.5 hours of lifting as heavy as I can."

The IPL World Powerlifting Championships will be held Nov. 2 to 5 at the Golden Nugget Hotel Casino.