With an idea and a group of supporters, Mike Leon started “Flexing for a Cause” last spring when he participated in the Mr. EIU competition.

Leon, a senior journalism major, said he started the charity on his own, selling T-shirts and sponsorships with the intent of raising $500 for the Children’s Advocacy Center of East Central Illinois.

After the competition had ended, Leon had achieved a third bantam weight class championship, six sponsors and had sold 80 shirts.

He achieved his goal and more, raising a total of $600 for the charity.

After Leon had collected the T-shirt money, he made a visit to the Children’s Advocacy Group in Charleston to deliver the donation.

“I kind of wanted it to be a surprise,” Leon said. “That’s a rewarding experience to drop off $600.”

Tina Huston, a family advocate at the Children’s Advocacy Center of East Central Illinois, was not at the center when Leon dropped off the check, but has met with him to discuss plans for this spring’s competition.

“It was a much needed and very welcome surprise,” Huston said.

Huston described Leon as a person with “a heart to help organizations.”

She said the best way to help organizations like the Children’s Advocacy Center is to get its message out.

“The only way that we’re going to be able to stop (abuse) is to bring it into daylight,” Huston said. “Events such as ‘Flexing for a Cause’ is a wonderful way to do that.”

Although Leon will be graduating this winter, he said he plans on handing down the charity to his fellow Sigma Phi Epsilon brother Brad Ohlwine.

“Even if I was here in the spring, I wouldn’t compete again; three years is fine,” Leon said.

Leon said he knew Ohlwine was the person to pass the charity down to.

“He spent his spring break in like Honduras building houses, and I’m like ‘that’s the guy,'” Leon said. “I want the charity to keep going.”

Ohlwine, a junior nursing major at Lake Land College, is no stranger to charity work as he has gone on two mission trips in the past to Kentucky and Honduras to build houses.

“It feels good helping people,” Ohlwine said.

Ohlwine said participating in Mr. EIU will be something he can look back on when he is 45 years old.

“My dad’s a farmer and he’s got the old man beer belly, and I figure that’s coming to me sometime soon so I might as well do this while I can,” Ohlwine said.

This spring’s competition will be a first for Ohlwine.

Unlike Ohlwine, Leone has participated in the Mr. EIU competition since his sophomore year.

During his freshman year, Leon said he considered participating in the Mr. EIU contest but chose not to.

“I saw the show and was like ‘man I could win that,'” Leon said.

The following year Leon entered the competition and walked away with a championship in his division.

“It was incredible,” Leon said. “There was so much support, everyone was so proud of me.”

Leon’s interest for bodybuilding began when he joined a gym his junior year of high school. He described the gym as a “hardcore fitness gym” complete with “monstrous guys on steroids.”

Leon said he was immersed in that atmosphere and started reading what he could about bodybuilding in magazines.

“I was a small kid and so obviously you don’t want to be the little kid everyone beats up on in the wrestling room,” Leon said.

After participating in his second show and having a group of supporters in the audience wearing “We love Leon” shirts, Leon said he decided to use the popularity he had gained from the competitions for something good.

Leon came up with the “Flexing for a Cause” charity the summer before the 2010 Mr. EIU competition.

When people asked Leon why he decided to start the charity he said he just wanted to do something nice. While coordinating the charity last semester, Leon said he learned that all you have to do is ask people and they will help out.

“People will hurry up and, you know, take on some stresses for you if you just ask them, and for charity too, that probably helps,” Leon said.

Next semester Leon and Ohlwine said they plan to raise $1,000.

Sam Bohne can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected]