THE LATE Lawrence “The Beast” Marshall will be remembered as a legendary national bodybuilder and the “trainer of trainers”.

The former TT athlete passed away on Saturday night. He was 58. A close family member debunked rumours that Marshall died because of covid19. Relatives are still awaiting the autopsy report.

“I cannot confirm if he died from covid19 at this time because they are still assessing the situation," said his brother Lindsay Marshall. "The death certificate said he had some comorbidities, in terms of his health.

“That would have contributed a lot to him passing away. He would have known that his kidney was failing.”

Born in 1963, Marshall was the second bodybuilder from TT to turn professional. He was one of the prominent names in the sport in the 1990s and early 2000s. Victory after victory at local shows qualified him for Central American and Caribbean (CAC) meets where he represented this country with distinction.

He also competed at the prestigious international Olympia, where he impressively placed 15th. Marshall remained active on the local circuit nurturing the next generation and keeping the sport alive.

Marshall was also an International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness professional trainer. He plied his trade at the “The Bar by the Beast” at Grand Bazaar, Valsayn and D’Dial Fitness Club, which has two locations - Long Circular Mall, St James and Arima.

Zelus Williams, a former student and training partner of “The Beast”, said that Marshall’s contribution to the local and regional bodybuilding fraternity must be recognised.

Marshall was instrumental in wooing Williams to join bodybuilding back in 2006. This move saw the latter go on to dominate the local circuit in the middleweight category.

“I don’t have a dad in Trinidad but he (Marshall) treated me like a father. He always supported and helped me.

“He took me to shows and competitions in Barbados and Antigua. I was the basement champion because he took me from nothing and I went on to win the TT middleweight class for a couple years,” said Williams.

[caption id="attachment_888879" align="alignnone" width="750"] From left, the late Lawrence "The Beast" Marshall assists fellow bodybuilder Zelus Williams with a bench press three weeks ago. -[/caption]

After the birth of his son five years ago, Williams stopped competing. However, he recently reached out to Marshall to help him return to the competitive stage. Marshall welcomed Williams’ return to the circuit but since their conversation, he never did make the time to reconnect with his mentor.

“Up to Monday (May 3), after the gyms were closed (owing to tightened covid19 restrictions), I called him (Marshall) to find out if we could have done a little backyard thing.

“I kept making excuses and now this came and happened. I spoke to him on Wednesday and he was sounding really good.

“He was an icon; a trainer of trainers. He trained a lot of the top bodybuilders in Trinidad, I being one of them. A lot of the gym instructors from central and west Trinidad a