Dongo brothers

       Keeping up with the Dongo Brothers!

                                       On the road towards W.W.E

Hello Storytime readers, I am back with another update from the Dongo brothers. It's been a while since we spoke to Leandro and Donovan Dongo. The Surinamese local boys on a mission to make their country proud while they are chasing their dream of becoming Wrestle Mania athletes.  I decided it was time to keep up with the Dongo Brothers. They were kind enough to send in some video material. For my non-Dutch readers as usual I'll add an English translation in the text. Because this blog is after all Storytime! And you need to hit that subscribe button right now if you want to keep following updates from the Dongo Brothers. I send them some questions and they responded in the following videos. I now take you to Storytime keeping up with the Dongo's. Make sure you keep scrolling down so you don't miss  any of the videos:

Donovan Dongo: Fawaka (greeting in Sranang tongo, a native language each Surinamese person understands) Suriname! Donovan Dongo" 

Leandro Dongo: "Leandro Dongo "

 Donovan Dongo: "we're here today to answer a couple of questions. So we're going to start. Question number one: What is next for the Dongo brothers? So when it comes to our career we are a bit on hold because of the COVID pandemic. As you all know it's impacting the entire world right now. Next year in 2021 we will be going back to the United States to start working on our careers."

Donovan Dongo:" Question number 2: What motivates us? "

Leandro Dongo: " My family is the first thing to motivate me, that is for sure. My family motivates me and of course the goals I wish to achieve."

Donovan Dongo: " I am motivated by the exact same thing" Question number 3: Who is your trainer and how did you get to know each other? So trainer, right now we don't have a permanent trainer. We train ourselves but when it comes to our freestyle wrestling, that career we have had Iwan Muntslag as our trainer, our wrestling trainer. We got to know him through the wrestling sport and since 2008 we have trained with him in freestyle wrestling. Question number 4: What would you advise Surinamese wrestlers to look out for in a trainer? I will answer a part and my little brother will fill in on the rest. To Surinamese athletes whether you are upcoming are at the top I would advise you to be hungry for knowledge don't act like a know it all. You always have to stay humble because you can learn from everyone and just listen. Be obedient."

Donovan Dongo regarding Question number 4: "If you as an athlete that wants to go viral Internationally or nationally it doesn't matter if you want to practice your sport on a top-level and present it to society to watch out for a good trainer it actually depends on yourself as a good athlete. Your motivation, your discipline that comes along from home, and if you have that it doesn't matter who trains you. The person will just be supplementing and improving what you are lacking. Because a trainer sees what you're doing wrong and he is going to improve and upgrade your skills.  A trainer is going to be there for you through every storm and struggle to say it that way. But you can't just say that this or that person is a good trainer."

Leandro Dongo: "No you can't"

Donovan Dongo: " It all just starts with yourself "

Donovan Dongo: "Question number 5: What advice do you have for upcoming Surinamese athletes?"

Leandro Dongo: " Hard work beats talent, that is certainly 1. 2 Discipline over motivation because you won't always have the motivation to go to the gym or to train, do you understand? So discipline will have to jump in so that you can keep doing it constantly.  So discipline over motivation should be a standard."

Donovan Dongo: " Question number 6: Do you maintain a certain diet if the answer is yes, how does your daily menu look like. I don't really keep to a certain diet But I do try to daily have a 6 colored meal and I do eat fruit in between. I try to eat and drink as little fast food as I can throughout the week. During the weekend I do try to snack a little bit, that's it."

Leandro Dongo: "I eat normal, I don't have a diet I just eat and train hard and burn all those calories you know."

Donovan Dongo: " Question number 7: Do you have a favorite work out routine? So at this moment I don't I train balanced and my little brother does so as well. We have a split routine that consists of condition, strength, and flexibility. So sometimes we train in the gym, sometimes we do outdoor workouts, sometimes strength training especially outdoors like pulling cars and trucks a little bit Crossfit directed. Yes, so strength and condition, mobility and flexibility that's how our training is divided weekly."

Donovan Dongo: " Question number 8: Do you have a cheat day and what is your favorite cheat day snack? So my little brother and I don't really have cheat days. We just eat what we want but we work with one rule! Everything in proportions, what is too much is unhealthy."

Leandro Dongo: "Too much is unhealthy"

Donovan Dongo: " That is what we work with and we don't have a cheat day, we love Surinamese food, we love pizza, we love burgers, etc. But it's not that we eat pizza in the morning, burgers in the afternoon and Tjauw min in the night and that kind of stuff. No there is a balance, when we crave it we eat it." 

Leandro Dongo:" Simple"

Donovan Dongo: " Question number 9:  With which W.W.E superstar would you really want to be in the ring with? The opponent that I would want would be someone like Batista or Brock Lesnar maybe a Kurt Angle. I don't know they seem to be very competitive athletes in and outside the ring, especially Brock and Kurt Angle."

Donovan Dongo:  " And Leandro which W.W.E star would you like to have as an opponent?"

Leandro Dongo: " For sure Booker T"

Donovan Dongo: " Oh yeah Mark Henry, sorry yeah! 

Leandro Dongo: " I would show him who could do the best spinaroonie"

Donovan Dongo: "Question number 11: Have you guys already met famous W.W.E superstars?

Leandro and Donovan Dongo at the same time: "Yeah a lot of them"

Donovan Dongo: " On social media from Mark Henry, Booker T, Matt Bloom a.k.a Albert. Umh William Regal, Aleister Black, Shinsuke Nakamura, what's one of the guy's name with the kind of brown hair? Sami Zayn, Santino Marella, I don't know but a lot of them."

 Donovan Dongo: " Question number 12: Are you guys planning to place Suriname onto the world map?  Of course, that's logic we are Surinamese"

Donovan Dongo: " Question number 13:  What can the fans expect from you guys? "

Leandro Dongo: " So what they may expect from us, from me that is"

Leandro and Donovan Dongo at the same time: " Fireworks"

Leandro Dongo: "Represents Su"

Donovan Dongo: " Fireworks, explosions, firecrackers"

Donovan Dongo: " We'll explode the place"

Leandro Dongo: " Ie sabi tog ( expression in sranang tongo that means to know) we do it the                                     Surinamese way"

Donovan Dongo: " The entire stadium, you guys will...wait! We won't talk too much"

Donovan Dongo: " Question number 14: Do you guys already feel the warmth and support from the Surinamese fans? A lot!"

Leandro Dongo: " Yes indeed"

Donovan Dongo:" Certainly a lot, we have heard it during tons of interviews from journalists interviewing us. They say hey the Surinamese community is standing behind you guys. On social media positive support also de negative support! We love it, everything feeds us! We don't care"

Leandro Dongo: " Feed me more"

Donovan Dongo: " Yes, feed me more, so we have felt that warmth since the beginning"

Leandro Dongo: " Negative support is more energy for me!"

Donovan Dongo:  " For us, because it helps us more because then we are even more motivated. For example, where you have to wake up at 6 am in the morning to run you can look back and say hey this guy said they are lying they won't make it, or he said Big show is going to beat up Dongo. So I already wake up at 6:30 am, 5:30 am and I go running because someone bluffed me. That's the way I am! The positive energy is of course welcome, great but the negative that triggers us!"

Leandro Dongo: " I would rather say give me the negative energy, then I can train harder on you! "

Donovan Dongo: " That triggers us so I can train harder on you! The more you wish ill, the harder we will train! 

Leandro Dongo: " I'm already getting mad! I am already getting mad!"

Donovan Dongo: " Don't make us mad!"

Donovan Dongo: " Question number 15: Most W.W.E stars start an acting career, would you later also start one? "

Leandro Dongo: " Yeah, certainly"

Donovan Dongo: " Everything that comes on our path it's going to have a certain impact. It will be to our advantage and to Suriname's advantage. Let's be a bit serious, Hollywood star? Surinamese origin? ey, ey, ey?" 

Leandro Dongo: "Of course, Black panther!" 

Donovan Dongo: " Oh yes, a new black panther for example or they put me as Hulk in avengers. "

Leandro Dongo: " The black Hulk"

Donovan Dongo: " The black Hulk"

Donovan Dongo: " Question number 16: Who inspires your wrestling style? I have different ones, my little brother as well. One of them is Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle a little bit, Tripple H especially. His psychology, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, let's see. Batista a little bit, Undertaker, Mick Foley."

Leandro Dongo: "316"

Donovan Dongo: " Of course Stone Cold Steve Austin"

Leandro Dongo: " Stone Cold Austin"

Donovan Dongo: "And you? Booker T, sorry"

Leandro Dongo: " So until now I have an entire mix. Of course, I'll start with the rock. His electrifying."

Donovan Dongo: "Oh my gosh I forgot him, him as well"

Leandro Dongo: " Electrifying you know and I am electrified by him so the current will continue and yeah"

Donovan Dongo: " You only mentioned one! You said it was an entire mix. Come on, younger ones"

Leandro Dongo: " But the Rock is one of the best, you know and after that, I shall put my own mix into it."

Donovan Dongo: " Oke, oke"

Donovan Dongo: " Question number 18: Are you guys planning on participating in Surinamese competitions again in the future? Actually no, this is another step that we've already made. International it's on a higher level. Local competitions, there are upcoming athletes who I do want to support. So if there are athletes who want to do strongman, powerlifting, and things like that and they want to have advice, they can reach out to me. And freestyle wrestling as well but I am no longer interested. There is no competition for us here in Suriname when it comes to the national standard. It doesn't trigger us anymore to you know like what we said waking up angry to train early. Right now we are focused on WWE America. So that is it we are totally not going to compete again in local sports in Suriname. Everything is America right now. U.S.A. there we will go to participate in competitions"

Donovan Dongo: " The last question: What kind of advice do you have for the young people of Suriname? It's very easy they hear it very often. But they don't do it, they don't listen. One of the points is to go to school, stay away from friends or circles where you know and see, don't play dumb. You see that they are wrong, just leave. Go your own way, don't listen to peer pressure that says you're a wuss because you can't do this and that. Belief me, leave. It will do you well later. How should I say it? If you are motivated or you like something, you have a certain talent like drawing or coloring, you want to do something graphic! I don't know dancing, singing go for your dream, go for it. Do your thing, don't listen to people. I have a mindset and that is the more negative reactions you get from the outside that you won't be able to do something, it means you are on the right path to reach your goal. Do you have something for the Surinamese young people?"

Leandro Dongo:  " I'll say it again discipline, motivation. The discipline you will need everywhere"

Donovan Dongo:  " Everywhere, work"

Leandro Dongo: " Work, school"

Donovan Dongo: " Home everywhere"

Leandro Dongo: " Work, home wherever you name it you are always going to need it. Try to keep yourself busy on your daily schedule. For example, this and that is what I need to do and stay positive! And then it will certainly work out"

Donovan Dongo: " And another thing, the most important one is listening to your parents or else this guy and I will come to beat you up!"

Wise and inspiring words from the Dongo brothers. I hope you guys can take away something from Storytime with the Dongo Brothers. Be sure to subscribe in order to stay updated. Until the next edition of Storytime...