Life, Fitness, and General Sillyness

I began my fitness journey almost 10 years ago. With about 10 shows and around 80 published photos and/or articles under my belt, I feel the need to write a blog that I think could help many people that are currently in or aspiring to be in the fitness industry. One of the most common emails I get (often from parents who have kids who want to get into the fitness modeling industry) is "What do I need to know? How do I go about getting myself/my kid published?" When I began competing in 2008, competing was an underground sport. The only physique categories were fitness, figure, and bodybuilding. Bikini and physique were added a few years later. Since then, everyone and their mom competes. And everyone and their mom wants to get into fitness modeling. And trust me, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But the big thing you need to know is why do you want to compete and model? And equally as important (if not moreso), how are you marketing yourself? ...

"Abby, did you know that you're the 4th person in Google images if you search for 'fitness model'?!" a friend of mine asked in an email. Me: "Whaaaaaat..... No way. That's absurdity you're speaking." And sure enough... This is phenomenon is absolutely bizarre to me. I've never won a show. I haven't done anything. That picture is from 2012. How does this even happen? I don't have a clue. "Modeling" is the most misleading word ever. Anyone can be a model . Every single person of all ages, shapes, and sizes that you see in commercials and print ads are models or talent through an agency. It's a complete misnomer. People hear "model" and assume perfection. I can tell you right now, nobody is perfect. Besides that, it's an illusion and makes people think you're way more interesting than you are. Don't get me wrong. Doing shoots and everything is really fun, but I cringe if people introd...