Built by Latte Built: Kaya Rasa

Welcome to MP’s monthly segment, Built By Latte Built.

This segment highlights athletes and individuals training at Latte Built who are chasing their fitness goals and inspiring others along the way.

This month, we feature Kaya Rasa—an up-and-coming weightlifter already with experience locally and regionally.

The now 20-year-old first competed in the 2023 Marianas Cup and won a silver, then won a bronze in the 2023 Youth, Junior, Senior Championship, then three gold medals in the 2024

Micronesian Games in the Marshall Islands, and recently won gold in the 2026 Marianas Weightlifting Open.

She started with Latte Built after the 2022 Pacific Mini Games and joined the Barbell Club, one of the many fitness groups in the gym. She trains under Barbell Club instructor and weightlifter Antonette Labausa.

Her fitness goal that going to the gym allows her to achieve everyday, is to stay strong and healthy, which, she said. Meanwhile, her future goal is to maintain good technique and get stronger for the upcoming 2027 Tahiti Pacific Games.

Rasa, who also represented the CNMI in the 1st World Indigenous Games in Taiwan last year, said she trains five days a week, with her workout regimen including the snatch, clean and jerk, as well as strength training including back squats, front squats, and deadlifts.

As a weightlifter, she said, her favorite thing about the gym are the weightlifting platforms. “You can slam the bar and throw it as needed. And, it’s very spacious—there’s a lot going on, which is very fun,” she said.