User:Celiaellis/sandbox

Carlos G. Duque (born June 13, 1973 in Cali, Colombia) is an actively competing International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness(IFBB) professional bodybuilder.

Background
Carlos was born in Cali, Colombia, and moved to the United States when he was 19 years old. He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia. Carlos is currently competing in the IFBB's Men’s Physique Bodybuilding Division.

Early Soccer Career
Carlos began lifting weights at the age of fifteen to increase his strength and performance for the game of soccer. Carlos gained muscle incredibly fast and excelled in sports. He started his athletic career with the Colombian Soccer League / Santa Fe Club – U15, U16 Divisions (1987 - 1988) and Colombian Soccer League / Millionaires Club – U17 Division (1990 - 1991). He moved on to the professional level soccer after moving to the United States with the North American Soccer League / Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1993 - 1999) and was later recruited by a Swiss League - the Young Boyz (2000)

During this time he worked with 100’s of full time professional-level International athletes. This experience is what led him to win countless regional and divisional professional-level major league championships for Switzerland, Colombia, the United States, as well as minor league championships in other countries. After retiring from soccer, he continued to train hard and switched his energy to focus on the art of bodybuilding.

Beginnings of Body Building Career
He entered his first bodybuilding competition, the Arnold Amateur in Columbus, OH in 2012. He has enjoyed competing in numerous regional and national amateur and professional champion level competitions; Notable amateur regionals and nationals include the National Physique Committee (NPC) East Coast Championships (2014), NPC Teen Collegiate & Masters National Championships (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), NPC Coastal USA (2015), NPC Eastern Seaboard Classic (2016), NPC Charlotte Cup (2016),  NPC Junior Nationals Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure Championships (2016), and the Olympia Amateur (2017).

Turning Pro
After 10 years of focused weight training he was able to achieve professional status by winning the Nspire Sports League (NSL) Atlanta South East Open in 2016. His first professional appearance was in 2016 when he competed in the NSL Fit Sport World Championships. He then earned his IFBB pro card by placing 1st in the NPC Teen Collegiate & Masters National Championships professional qualifier in Pittsburgh 2019. His first PRO debut as an IFBB was when he competed in the IFBB Hurricane Pro competition in 2019. As of November 2019, his Professional Championship competitions include the Fit Sport World Championships (2016), IFBB Pro Hurricane (2019), and the IFBB Classic Masters Pro (2019).

Carlos has been featured in many fitness websites including Muscular Development and NPCnewsonline.com. He is married and has three children.