Endless energy powers Preston
By Seabrook Mow
Special to the Advertiser
Even at age 57, Hau'ula's Robert Vance "Toe" Preston probably can outlast the Energizer Bunny.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser
While most people recharge themselves sleeping at night, Preston works out at a gym from 2 to 8 in the morning six days a week, just so he can avoid the crowd.
After a six-hour workout starting at 2 a.m., Robert Preston returns to Hau'ula to do work around his house and his neighbors' homes as well.
When he returns home, Preston keeps busy by repairing the house or cleaning the yard.
If he's done with that, he finds work at other people's homes.
Finally, by the end of an exhausting day, Preston sleeps — for about 2-3 hours.
"I'm always doing something, always moving," Preston said.
"The longest he'll stay in front of the TV is for 30 minutes; it's one good show, then it's over he has to get up and go," said son Robert Preston III.
So unlike most people his age, Preston, a retired construction worker, refuses to let age — or sleep — get in the way of his endeavors.
Recently, Preston entered the Hawaiian Islands Bodybuilding Championships, competing against contestants decades younger.
"I think he does it because of the young guns (athletes), to show that he can still hang with the young guns," said Preston III, a Windward Community College student.
Said Preston: "I just do it (bodybuilding) to motivate the younger guys, and to set an example that people my age can do it too ... (and) because most guys think I'm an old man; I can't do it."
Preston has been proving he can do it. He has won three heavyweight and overall titles each in the Masters (35-older) division.
"I'm also the first person to win three (bodybuilding contests) in a row," Preston said.
Not bad for someone who just started bodybuilding three years ago, but also, not surprising when you consider Preston's background.
Preston's athletic feats date to the 1960s while playing for Kahuku High School, Preston would kick 50-yard field goals — all bare foot, hence his nickname "Toe."
And before bodybuilding, Preston was an accomplished powerlifter.
Preston says he holds several world and 25 state records in different age and weight classes.
He once squatted 710 pounds when he weighed 242 pounds.
Then bodybuilding caught his attention.
"I remembered I told (powerlifter) Paula Suzuki and (husband) John Kaiser that I was going to try bodybuilding. I just wanted to see what bodybuilding was like, now I got the bug for it," Preston recalled. "She (Suzuki) thought I had the frame for it (bodybuilding)."
That has proven to be true.
Preston presented a youthful 5-foot-11, 200-pound package of muscle mass and definition in the recent Hawaiian Islands.
Along with his ageless body, Preston keeps a trendy blond look by bleaching his light gray hairs.
"It's great that he looks younger than the other competitors on stage," said wife Bobbies Preston, 47.
So where does all this energy coming from?
"It's in my blood," he said.
According to Preston, ever since childhood, his mother worked him hard.
She would have Preston fill her orchids with sand. Filling the garden wasn't the hard part, but getting the sand was.
Preston would have to walk with a wheel barrow down to the nearby beach, a mile away, fill the wheel barrow up and wheel it back home.
This continued until her orchids were filled.
Preston's life has been on the go since.
Even when he worked, Preston would either run 10 miles or bike from Hau'ula to Kane'ohe and back. "I used to look forward to doing that after work.
If I missed a day I would get all frustrated," Preston expressed.
Robert finds inspiration from his father's energy level.
"When you see your dad always out there cleaning yard or fixing the car, it rubs off on you; like you better get off your butt and do something," he said.
