Why I Love and HATE the Fitness Industry

I’ve been part of the fitness industry since 2008. 

I naively wandered into this field and never really planned to be any part of it. Though I’m no Alicia Marie or Mike O’Hearn, I have also built a substantial amount of followers on Facebook and attained some accomplishments  I’m quite proud of over the years, with hopes of continuing to build those accolades. My aim has always been to leave a footprint in this field that is of my own making and voice. And that's why this is being posted on my blog and not on that big website my articles go up on. 

That being said, the fitness industry has shifted drastically in the last 3-5 years. There are more and more people getting into competitions and stepping in front of the camera, and everyone has their own purpose.

I fell into fitness because it challenged me to my core, physically and emotionally. I’m naturally introverted (a fact that may surprise some people) and generally like to be a wallflower in a room. I don’t speak much of my fitness career around people who are new to me because, as I’ve blogged about before, I never want to be defined through those things alone in lieu of my heart, mind, and message. Fitness modeling is dress up. Nothing more; nothing less. I know where I came from and anyone who knows me in real life can tell you that nothing about my personality has changed in terms of my ego. The only thing that’s changed about me is my willingness to speak up and my confidence in myself as worthy of being heard.

Seeing transformations is AMAZING. It motivates me. Seeing people get inspired by others MOTIVATES me! This is why I fell in love with it!

I adore the fitness industry with all my heart, but with time, the adoration has begun fading to loathing. What was once a passion for wellness and education has become a superficial smokescreen of nonsense that the average person knows nothing of.

Smoke and Mirrors

People may automatically jump to the conclusion that I’m referring to photoshopped images here, but I’m not. 

Competitions and publication have drastic amounts of politics and string-pulling behind them. Show winners are pre-determined at many famous shows, and it’s all based on which supplement company is pouring the most money into the organization it’s being hosted by. Sorry, but it’s the truth. I know for a fact, out of the mouth of a international level judge himself, if he does not judge shows in the way he is told to, he is stripped of his ability to judge/get paid for it, and will be banned from events. New judges are brought in to oversee and learn how to judge in the same manner, do test judging, and if they do not stay in line with the status quo, they are not allowed to become officials.

Yes, it’s sick. But it’s true.

Some of those pro models and competitors you idolize? You think that just because they’re bikini competitors that they’re not using steroids and saying they’re natural? 

Do you have any idea how many of these famous people use cocaine as a preworkout to curb hunger and keep their energy high?

As a girl from a cornfield in Minnesota, I was completely oblivious and naive to any of this until I witnessed it first hand two years ago.

Steroid use is controversial. I personally don't care if people do it, but they need to know the risks involved. I know people who have died in their 20s because they thought they were too young and healthy to have anything bad happen to them. I know people in their 20s and 30s who had quadruple bypasses. Nobody thinks it'll happen to them. But it can, and it does, and it likely will. It's up to the individual. I'm not anyone's Mom. I can't tell you what to do, but know the RISKS before you get hooked into the world so you have a chance at living a full life.

Additionally, it's disheartening when people aren't up front about what they use or didn't use. You can't give false advertising to your audience who are using you as inspiration, and WAY too many men and women are using things (and yes, people, anavar and winny are mild and in pill form but they're still steroids!) and leaving others feeling like they're doing something wrong or are genetically inferior. 

I'll be honest with you, years ago I had a coach that was pushing me to try these things. I tried one of them for 3 days and quit because I felt so shitty about myself about it. Why was I doing this? To try to get a plastic trophy? Hell no. I stopped right away. If you're going to use, at least be honest about it. I can't bear seeing one more non-natural athlete getting a pro card in a natural federation. It's total bullshit.

Reality check: The fitness industry, especially competing, is filthy dirty with gleaming, shiny photo finish.

Sponsorship Illusion

Ah, the elusive sponsorship. I was told I absolutely had to get one or I'd never have a career in this industry. In fact, we're all told that.

Guess what?

*whispers* Sponsorships don't give you crap.

Unless you personally have stocks in the company or you own it, you're not going to get any money unless you're a major, major, major industry veteran. So if you're new and chasing it in hopes of it launching you into the stratosphere, you are chasing the proverbial carrot on the string. Most are unpaid, or you get very little money. Congrats, you got an advertisement almost no one sees and free products 3 times a year! Maybe $400 a year in pay! This is a MAJOR REASON why, by the way, I ended up in Isagenix. Not only did I stand by the product, they actually pay me to talk to people about it just like anyone else in it. Is this the case with your crap at GNC and all the others? Not so much.

Additionally, some companies treat their sponsored models and athletes like CRAP. Now LUCKILY, both companies I was involved with as a sponsored athlete treated me like gold. BUT... I know many, many women who have not been so lucky. Won't put up with sexual harassment from people within the company? Don't want to dress like a harlot at the Olympia or the Arnold? Aren't down to have people grope you? Cool! They'll just fire you for having principles and find the next fitness new kid who WILL put up with that. Demand to get paid? That's okay, they'll just replace you with someone new with a huge Instagram following who is ALREADY promoting them for free and will continue doing so in the name of getting internet famous.

The rotating door is ever rotating. You are expendable and replaceable in the ever-expanding market of models. There are always newer, better, fancier competitors and models coming through the door behind you. You either get caught up in that, or you're smart and do you own thing/don't play the game. 

If you're smart, loves, you will find a place in the industry that will make you stand out BESIDES photographs.

Pro Card Does Not = Fortune/Fame

Pro cards, for the mostpart, are for marketing purposes. Very, very few people make money as pros. Beyond that, they are handing them out like hotcakes to the point that they are almost meaningless.

For the new people, don't go into your first show expecting to win your pro card. I have the following conversation once every 3 months:

New person: I'm gonna do my first show! I can't wait, I wanna go pro!

Me: Why do you want your pro card?
Them: Uhhhhhh. I just want it. Don't I get money and stuff?

First of all, it will mainly just give you a title (I am friends with MANY people with pro cards) and it will NOT give you fame and fortune. It gives you a piece of paper that says "pro" on it. Now, depending on how good you are a business, this is something you can work with for promotional purposes. Other than that, it's a piece of paper. For some, it's an ego boost. But that's about it.

I had numerous friends go pro and brace themselves for the tidalwaves of fame, getting out of debt, etc... only to keep on bracing. Because it's exciting to win, but it ultimately doesn't change much in your day to day life.

Pro cards matter as much as you place value on them and as smart as you are to market it. That's about it far as it goes.

Vanity and Illusion

I have seen some of the sweetest people on earth turn into complete ego monsters as a result of stepping on stage or stepping in front of a camera. They lose total sight on what’s important (friends, family, romantic partners) because they become so obsessed with their appearance and appeasing online followers with photographs.

And I’ll be the first to admit, when you’re new to this, it’s hard not to. When you have an amazing transformation and you go from being totally ignored to getting attention, it’s flattering. I get it. But it also doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of life. We don’t need 9 selfies of anyone a day, all from the same angles or in the same room. What are we promoting, here? I can understand the week of a show or a shoot, but otherwise? Do we really care if you’re eating eggs for the 90^th time this year?

To be inspiring is one thing. To want to challenge yourself and motivate people is one thing. For your identity to be completely engrossed, wrapped up in, and defined by how many hearts you get on Instagram or likes on FB means that we are totally losing touch with reality. Social media is wonderful but it’s also the damn devil.

This is half the reason I post boring crap or things making fun of myself. I don’t want to be on a pedestal. I look like crap most of the time. Professional photos are fun, but they’re just that: fun. Keep me off a pedestal, man.

I knew it was a problem, but I didn't realize how bad it was until I spent time with someone in the last year and we were late to something because they had to get the perfect selfie for their Instagram followers and apply the right filters so no lines showed on their face. It was a 15 minute editing ordeal.

Illusions and vanity are eating this industry alive.

Body Dysmorphia, Eating Disorders, and Other Stupid Crap

I was doing a girl's hair for a shoot in Miami in 2011 during Fitness Universe. I offered her some blueberries from my cooler as we were both competitors getting on stage in the next few days.

She looked at me in utter revolt and said, "Um. No. Are you trying to get me fat?"

Not only did it startle me, it hurt my feelings. She looked at me like they needed to get a crane to get me in and out of buildings. 

Blueberries, ladies, will not get you fat. So knock it off. "OMFG MY MACROS THOUGH".

B A L A N C E. Ever heard of it? Since when has a handful of blueberries known to make your ass fat and give you diabetes?

Newsflash: it is not healthy to be stage lean for extended periods of time. Want to kill your joints and hormones? Try to maintain that shit for longer than a few days. Sure! Trash that endocrine systems!

I know, for a FACT, I caused my own hypothyroidism from a combination of  TOO MUCH FASTED CARDIO and going low/no carbs for WAY too long. I had zero thyroid problems until I did an extreme show prep in 2010. I destroyed my body. Permanently. Though it's mild, I still have issues with my thyroid.

I've also seen NUMEROUS men and women develop eating disorders under the guise of "eating clean" and become so obsessed with food and self-image that it effects their day to day life. Their general happiness and welfare are completely effected if they are not at a certain bodyfat percentage or scale weight.

Eating clean is great. Being obsessive about it is not great. If it effects your day to day lifestyle, makes you miserable, or makes you isolate yourself from other people because of it all year round, it's not you controlling your food-- it's your food controlling YOU.

Additionally, body dysmorphia is something every single person struggles with, ESPECIALLY competitors and models. I struggle with it daily, but it's also something I've come to expect. I don't mind myself a little curvier. I dig having bigger boobs, even if it means I don't have ripped abs. There's a fair tradeoff there.

I used to lose my mind if I gained 8 lbs after a show or a shoot. Now I don't care. I know I can get there again and I'm damn well going to enjoy my life in lieu of eating boiled chicken and counting my calories the rest of my life.

Guess what? You're beautiful and amazing and worthy NO MATTER WHAT. Your friends and family will tell you the same thing. If social media disagrees, then it means that the opinions of the internet have become more important than your loved ones. And that, darling, is messed up.

Strangely Written in Love

Though it seems like it's written from an angry place, this isn't. I do love the fitness industry. But when it comes to the new "kids" coming into it all starry eyed, it's like watching puppies wander onto a freeway. My point in writing this is to make people aware and keep it real.

The fitness industry, if you're not grounded, will chew you up and spit you out. It also can feed all the wrong parts of your personality if you allow it to. If you're coming into it for an intrinsic reason (wanting to challenge yourself, better yourself, inspire others), you'll be just fine. If you come into it for an extrinsic reason (validation, getting back at someone, wanting attention, low self esteem, the illusion of acceptance), it is going to enhance those feelings of inadequacy about 30 times worse than they are now.

Know thyself. Love yourself, understand where you're coming from, stick to your guns, be smart, and don't let this machine tear you apart like a woodchipper.

Now... the above being said... I have also met some of the most AMAZING PEOPLE as a result of being a part of this industry. I have life-long friends, business associates, and leaders because I ignored the BS and stuck to who I was. The most AMAZING opportunities have come as a result to turning a blind eye to the stuff I don't want to be a part of. There are diamonds all over this industry who have balancing all of this to an art.

The whole reason you got in this was to make friends and connections, right? Never lose sight of that.

It was meant to be fun, after all. <3