"So
You Wanna Be a Fitness Model"
By Will Brink, author of:
Muscle
Building Nutrition
http://musclebuildingnutrition.com
Muscle Gaining Diet, Training Routines by Charles Poliquin &
Bodybuilding Supplement Review
Diet
Supplements Revealed
http://aboutsupplements.com
Real World Fat Loss Diet & Weight Loss Supplement Review
"So
You Wanna Be a Fitness Model"
People that
follow my stuff know I generally write about nutrition, supplements,
training, and other topics that are more science based than subjective
topics, such as what is covered in this article. I decided to
shuck my science geek persona, and write on a topic I know will
be helpful to thousands of would be and wanna be fitness models.
As well a
known "hard core" science based no BS writer, why I
am writing what some will perceive as a "fluff" article?
Over the years I have gotten hundreds, perhaps thousands, of gals
that ask me via email, letters, or in person "how do I become
a fitness model Will? You have been in the business a long time,
surly you of all people should know." I get this from newbies
and I get this from women that have been at it a while but have
been unable to "break in" effectively.
The fact is,
I have been in the fitness, health, and bodybuilding biz a long
time, and though I am known as a science and nutrition based "guru"
type, I have trained many a fitness athlete, and judged fitness
and figure/bikini shows for the NPC, Fitness America, Fitness
USA, and other federations as well as given marketing and business
advice to all sorts of athletes, including fitness models. So,
it's not as far fetched as it might seem that I am going to use
this space to cover a non scientific topic, which is, how one
goes about being a fitness model.
This article
will be useful to both experienced and novice types looking to
"break in" to the biz. If you are already a professional
and successful fitness model, I am sure you may still glean some
useful information from this article.
First the
bad news, there is no one way to become a successful fitness model.
There is no single path or magic secret. There are however some
key things a person can do to greatly improve their chances of
"making it" in the fitness biz as a model, and perhaps
using that success as a launching pad to greater things, such
as movies, TV, etc.
Several of
the top fitness models (Trish Stratus and Vicki Pratt come to
mind but there are many others) have gone onto careers in entertainment
of all kinds. Bottom line, though there is no magic secret to
being successful as a fitness model, this article will be about
as close to a blueprint for success as you will find.
"Do
I need to compete?"
This is a
question I get asked all the time and it's not an easy one to
answer. In fact, the answer is (drum roll) yes and no. The person
has to deicide why they are competing in the first place to answer
that question. For example, do you need to compete if your goal
is to be a successful fitness model?
The answer
is no. Many of today's well-known fitness models have never competed,
or they competed in a few small shows and it was clearly not part
of their success as fitness models. However, competing does have
its potential uses.
One of them
is exposure. At the upper level shows, there will often be editors,
publishers, photographers, supplement company owners, and other
business people. So, competing can improve your exposure. Also,
competing can make sense if you are trying to build a business
that is related to your competing or will benefit from you winning
a show.
For example,
say you have a private training gym you are trying to build. Sure,
having the title of say Ms Fitness America, or winning the NPC
Nationals and being an IFBB pro, will help your reputation and
the notoriety of your business. There are many scenarios were
it would help to have won a show for a business or other endeavors.
On the other
hand, it must be realized that winning a show does not in any
way guarantee success in the business end (and it really is a
business) of being a fitness model. The phone wont ring off the
hook with big offers for contracts. Also, it's very important
to realize that it's common that the 4th or 6th or 8th place finisher
in a fitness or figure show will get more press than the winner.
Why? Though the winner might have what it took to win that show,
it's often other gals the editor, publishers, supplement companies
etc, feel is more marketable.
I have seen
it many times where the winner was shocked to find she didn't
get nearly the attention she expected and other girls who placed
lower have gotten attention in the form of photos shoots, magazine
coverage, etc. Something to keep in mind when you ask yourself
the important question "do I need to compete and if so, why
am I competing?" Answer that question, and you will know
the answer to the heading of this section. Winning a title of
some sort can be a stepping stone, but it is not in itself any
guarantee of success in the fitness industry. It's like a college
degree; it's what you do with it.
Now. If you
compete for the fun of it, then by all means go for it, but the
above is focusing on competing as it relates to the business aspect
of being a fitness model.
Right
body, wrong federation?
Ok, so after
reading the above you have decided you are going to compete, or
will compete again. If you don't plan to compete, you can skip
this section. The biggest mistake I see here is so many gals have
the right body for the wrong federation. Each federation has its
own judging criteria and a competitor will do poorly simply because
they didn't bother to research which show would be best suited
for them.
I will give
you a perfect real world example of this. Recently I judged a
show whose criteria for the figure round was the women should
be more on the curvy softer side with some tone, vs. being more
muscular and athletic with less bodyfat that other federations
might allow. At this show one of the most beautiful women I have
ever seen came out. She was very proportional, great muscle tone,
lean, and athletically shaped with narrow hips and waist and wider
shoulders. How did she do at this show? She didn't even place
in the top ten!
Why? Because
she was not what we were instructed to look for and didn't fit
the criteria. After the show I informed her that she looked great,
but this may not the federation for her. I told her she had much
more of an NPC type body, where a little more muscle, athletic
build, and less bodyfat is rewarded.
The following
week I was judging an NPC fitness, figure, and bodybuilding show
and there she was. How did she do? She won the entire show with
all judges voting her number one unanimously.
Conversely,
if your body type tends to be more rounded and toned, but with
a little more bodyfat, wider (but not fat!) hips, you may be better
off competing in say the Fitness America Pageants. If you are
going to compete:
(1)
find out exactly what the judging criteria is for that federation
and
(2)
go see those shows as a spectator for several different federations
and see which one your physique, style, etc will fit into best.
(3)
You have to decide if you truly have the athletic abilities to
compete in a fitness competition (which requires a routine) or
a figure/bikini competition.
I often see
women who would do well in a figure show but really don't have
the athletic abilities do the routines required to be competitive
with other athletes in the show. Some shows will allow you to
do both competitions and some wont.
Networking
101: dos and don'ts...
In so many
respects, this is the area that will make or break you in any
business, and yet, people in the fitness industry do an amazingly
poor job at it. If you don't network and market yourself properly,
you can pretty much forget about having any real success as a
fitness model, or a success in virtually any business. For the
sake of space, we will stick to fitness.
When I first
started out, I was a self marketing machine. I could be found
at every show I thought might be an opportunity, walking the isles
of trade shows, bodybuilding, shows, fitness show, and others.
I gave out a zillion cards and I took a million home with me,
and followed up on each and every one. I went to as many industry
related meetings, outings, parties, etc. as I could get into.
I now have the reputation and experience in the industry that
I don't have to go to such a show unless I feel like it, or have
meetings, but they were quite helpful in the beginning.
I am always
amazed at the number of fitness models who contact me who have
never even been to the Arnold Classic Fitness Weekend, or the
Mr. Olympia, or the trade shows like the NNFA Expo West and others.
If you want to make it in the fitness business you sure as hell
had better treat it like a business.
I have seen
many a pretty girl who wants to be a fitness model who thinks
if they stand there looking pretty long enough, someone is going
to offer to put their face on the cover of a magazine. News flash,
there are millions of beautiful women out there and to be noticed,
you have to hussle to get that business like everyone else by
networking your butt off, or having a good agent (if you can afford
such a thing) who is doing it for you.
Pick a few
major industry shows to attend (some of which were mentioned above)
and go to them every year. Have a plan of attack of exactly how
you plan to market yourself and network. Many fitness models,
bodybuilders, etc see a show as one big party. If that's you,
then have fun at the party, but don't think you are really marketing
yourself as a serous business person or athlete.
Another thing
that always amazes me is the number of fitness models who either
have no business cards, or have some cards they printed up on
their bubble jet printer at home! They ask me to help them or
what ever and I say "give me your card" and they look
at me like "I am so pretty I should not need a card you fool."
This attitude turns off editors, photographers, writers, and industry
people faster then if they found out you were really a transvestite.
Don't do it. For every pretty girl out there who thinks the world
owes them a favor, there are 100 who are ready to act like professionals.
Ever wonder
why some fitness model you know is doing better than you are even
though you know you are prettier than her? That may be why…never
ever go to a show to network without good cards, bios, and professionally
done head and body shots you can give to said editors, publishers,
photographers, industry types, etc. Don't stand around looking
pretty assuming they will find you, find them first and introduce
yourself. And of course it should go without saying you should
be in good condition and have something of a tan to look your
best.
You want to
go to the shows and party? Fine, but do it in private after the
work is done and don't make a fool out of yourself at some industry
sponsored get together. Hell, I was virtually poured into a cab
at last years Arnold Classic after going to a sushi place with
some well know industry types and companies owners (you know who
you are!) but at least no one saw me! We had our own little private
get together after the show to let loose.
Let me give
you one final real world example of how NOT to market yourself.
Last year I was on retainer as a consultant to a mid sized supplement
company. The owner of the company asked me if I knew a couple
of fitness model types that could work his booth for a trade show.
In fact, he requested "unknowns, some new faces people had
not seen yet but had real potential to grow with the company."
I went and found him two such gals I thought fit the bill.
He offered
to pay their flights, room, and food plus a thousand dollars each
for the days work. The two girls were told to be at the booth
9am sharp. The night before at the hotel, I saw the two girls
getting in a cab at 11pm or so dressed to kill, clearly on their
way out to party. The next day they showed up at the booth an
hour and a half late and hung over! What was the result of this?
(1) it embarrassed me to no end as I had recommended
them to the company owner (2) they would never
get work from that company again (3) they would
never get any work from me again and (4) they would not get a
reference from either of us for other jobs.
I see this
type of thing all the time in the fitness biz, and it's not limited
to fitness models. Amazingly, a few weeks after the show they
emailed me and the company owner wanting to know when their next
job would be! Amazing…
Who
loves you baby?
If there is
one universal truth, it's that the camera either loves you or
it does not. Any professional photographers will tell you this.
For some unknown reason, some people are very photogenic and some
are not. Truth be known, there are some well known fitness models
(who shall remain nameless as they would probably smack me the
next time they saw me) who are not all that attractive in person.
It's just that the camera loves them and they are very photogenic,
but not terribly pretty in person.
Conversely,
I have seen the reverse many times; a girl who is much better
looking in person than in photographs. Such is the fate of the
person who wants to be a model of any kind, including a fitness
model. If you find you are not very photogenic, keep working with
different photographers until you find one that really captures
you well and pay that photographer handsomely!
Now, to be
bluntly honest, there are also some wanna be fitness models who
are not "unphotogenic", they're just "fugly"!
There are some people out there who have no business trying to
be fitness models. It does not make them bad people, it just means
they need to snap out of their delusions and find a profession
they are better suited for, like radio personality….
"How
do I get in the magazines?"
This section
sort of incorporates everything I have covered above, and adds
in a few additional strategies. For example, as I mentioned before,
competing in fitness shows and or figure/bikini shows can increase
your exposure, thus getting the attention of some magazine publisher
or photographer. Networking correctly at the various trade shows
may also have the same effect, and of course having a good portfolio
done by a photographer that really captures your look, a good
web site, etc., will all increase your potential for getting into
the magazines, or getting ad work, and so on.
However, all
of these strategies are still somewhat passive versus active in
my opinion. It's still the fitness model waiting to be "discovered."
As far as I am concerned, waiting is for bus stops and pregnancy
tests. Success waits for no man…or woman as the case me
be. So, after all the above advice is taken into consideration
as having an added effect to getting you magazine coverage, what
else can be done?
For one thing,
you should read and be familiar with all the magazines you want
to be in so you know who is who and what the style of the different
magazines are. I can tell you right now, if say the Editor-in-Chief
of a good sized fitness or bodybuilding publications and says
"hi, I am the Bob Smith what's your name?" and the fitness
model has no idea who Bob Smith is, Bob will not take kindly to
that. Why should he? You should know who the major players are
in the publications you want to be seen in. He is doing you the
favor, not the other way around. You should know who the major
players are and actively seek them out, don't wait for them to
"discover" you.
If you look
at the masthead inside any magazine, it will tell you who the
publisher is, who the Editor-in-Chief is and so forth. The mailing
address for that magazine, and often the web site and email, can
also be found. What is to stop you from looking up those names
and mailing them your pictures and resume directly? Nothing, that's
what. If you see a photo spread you think is really well done,
what is to stop you from finding out who the photographer is and
contacting them directly and sending them your pics? Nothing,
that's what.
My point being,
you want a get a break in the business, make the break, don't
sit there thinking it's looking for you, because it's not. Be
proactive, not reactive! Luck is the residue of design. Be successful
by design. As my older brother used to say to me as a kid when
I told him I was too scared to ask out a pretty girl "what's
the worst that can happen Will? All she can say is no." That's
the worst that can happen to you also.
Beware of
web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleazoids!
This part
is sort of self-explanatory but worth mentioning. As with all
industries that deal in entertainment based media (e.g., television,
theater, modeling, etc.), the fitness industry attracts its far
share of web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and
sleazoids, to name just a few.
There is also
the class of person known as the schmoe, but we will leave that
for another place and time. Point is you want to meet the right
people while not getting involved with that group of worthless
types who will only drag you down, delay you, or just flat out
screw you up and over.
For example,
a guy comes up and says he wants to "shoot you" for
the magazines, but what do you really know of this guy? He has
a camera and some business cards, so that makes him a photographer
right? Wrong! If someone want to shoot you and they are not a
well-known name (and you should know who the well known photographers
are because you researched that already!), find out who they are.
Do they have references you can call? Girls you can contact he
has shot before and were happy with the work? What magazines has
he published in? Does he do it professionally or as a hobby? That
type of thing.
Another thing
I see is the big web scam. I'm amazed how many girls get scammed
by these web idiots. Lesson here is you get what you pay for,
so when some person wants to build you a web site for free, you
are getting what you pay for. Yes, there is good money to be made
on the 'net, and the net can be great for marketing yourself and
making contacts, but most of it's a scam.
You are better
off paying a good web designer and web master who has experience
with other fitness model types and has references you can talk
to. I can't tell you the number of girls who have been screwed
over by some internet thing that went to hell, like the "fan"
who volunteers to build a free web site and either runs off with
any money made from the site or puts their picks on porn sites
and any number of other things that made them regret like hell
ever agreeing to the site in the first place.
Clearly, I
can't go down the list of all the possible pitfalls of the web
idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleazoids out
there to be found in the entertainment business, but you get the
idea. Be careful!
Conclusion.
Well that
pretty much concludes my down and dirty guide to the basics of
"making it" as a fitness model. Of course there are
tons of business related issues I could cover and tricks I could
give, but the above is the best advice you are going to find in
s small space and will do more for you-if properly followed-than
you may realize.
Now, if you
want to know my opinions on the best ways to lose fat by diet,
training, and exercise, so you can look your best as a fitness
model, you may want to read my ebook Diet Supplements Revealed.
If you are
looking to add lean mass with a minimum of bodyfat via diet, training,
and supplements, then consider reading my ebook Muscle Building
Nutrition.
Good luck
and see you in the magazines!
About
the Author - William D. Brink
Will Brink is a columnist, contributing consultant, and writer
for various health/fitness, medical, and bodybuilding publications.
His articles relating to nutrition, supplements, weight loss,
exercise and medicine can be found in such publications as Lets
Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension
Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only,
Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World
and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
He is the
author of Priming The Anabolic Environment and Weight Loss Nutrients
Revealed. He is the Consulting Sports Nutrition Editor and a monthly
columnist for Physical magazine and an Editor at Large for Power
magazine. Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration
in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement,
dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
He has been
co author of several studies relating to sports nutrition and
health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as having
commentary published in JAMA. He runs the highly popular web site
BrinkZone.com which is strategically positioned to fulfill the
needs and interests of people with diverse backgrounds and knowledge.
The BrinkZone site has a following with many sports nutrition
enthusiasts, athletes, fitness professionals, scientists, medical
doctors, nutritionists, and interested lay people. William has
been invited to lecture on the benefits of weight training and
nutrition at conventions and symposiums around the U.S. and Canada,
and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs.
William has
worked with athletes ranging from professional bodybuilders, golfers,
fitness contestants, to police and military personnel.
See Will's
ebooks online here:
Muscle
Building Nutrition
A complete guide bodybuilding supplements and eating to gain lean
muscle
Diet
Supplements Revealed
A review of diet supplements and guide to eating for maximum fat
loss
He can be contacted at: PO Box 812430
Wellesley MA. 02482.
BrinkZone.com
Email: will@brinkzone.com
..................................
Gain
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