Without their older brothers, neither would be as fit as they are today, and they certainly wouldn't be stepping up on the Blaisdell Concert Hall stage to compete this weekend.

Bumanglag, 22, of Salt Lake, described how he began lifting weights at age 13 because his older brother, Argyle, started hitting the gym on a regular basis.

"(My brother) is one of my biggest fans, I think," Bumanglag said. "He was supportive of everything."

Argyle is flying in from Arizona just to watch his younger brother compete.

"Him and my whole family were the ones urging me even more (to excel)," Bumanglag said. "They're always the ones in the front row making the most noise."

Bumanglag is aiming to compete in the middleweight division this weekend, though he still needed to drop five pounds by tomorrow to reach the required weight of 176. Last year, the 2000 Damien graduate finished third in the light heavyweight division.

Vedder, 35, of Waipahu, will compete in the Women's Figure Contest.

She also found herself emulating her elder sibling, Garrett, when she was a teenager. When Garrett began working out about 18 years ago, Ku'ulei found herself hitting the gym just as regularly as he did. Now, she goes to 24 Hour Fitness six days a week, sometimes twice a day.

"My brother was my motivator to begin working out," Vedder said. "I always wanted to do what my brother did."

Both brothers are four years older than the two competitors.

More recently, Garrett has been into racing motorcycles, and — surprise — Ku'ulei now owns one, too.

Ultimately, her motivation is completely on herself. She said the hardest part is sticking to a diet, which she altered eight weeks ago.

No junk or fast foods are allowed in the six meals Vedder eats each day. It's especially difficult for her because she works as a retail supervisor at the Navy Exchange, where food is a mainstay.

"The discipline is in the dieting," Vedder said. "That takes a lot of effort. It's hard because everyone walks by with cookies and brownies (at work)."

KU'ULEI VEDDER

Bumanglag watched his first Hawaiian Isles contest at age 15.

"This is what I wanted to be," said Bumanglag, who aspires to be a physical therapist. He won the Junior Hawaiian Islands Championship at 19, so he's already proved he has the ability.

According to promoter Mits Kawashima, there will be a total of six bodybuilders in the primary bodybuilding division, and 12 competitors in the Women's Figure Contest.

Vedder, who expects to have about 35 friends and family members in the audience, has never entered this competition.

"I'm not nervous, but I probably will be (on stage)" she said. "But showing up in itself, I commend everybody up on that stage."

Meanwhile, she's already ticking off the kinds of foods she'll get to eat after Saturday.