Confessions of a Bikini Pro

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Courtney Ustrzycki, a coach, wife, and taco queen. She lives in beautiful Cancun Mexico, where she manages her online coaching team, Courtney For Life. Since 2015 she's helped hundreds of women build more capable and confident bodies, through nutrition, training and mindset. Before she got into bodybuilding, Courtney competed in powerlifting, which was a monumental foun...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Arielle Ann Johnson, a momma of two amazing children and the first IFBB Bikini Pro from North Dakota. Growing up doing pageants and collegiate gymnastics and cheerleader, Arielle is no stranger to the stage. She first competed in 2019 and went on to compete in her first National show where she got second callouts. After taking time off, she came back in 2021 and experie...

Today I speak with Margaret Bialkin, CEO and owner of Toxic Angelz Bikinis . She is a wife and mom of two baby girls and a Frenchie. She are up in Santa Rosa, CA. She competed in her first competition in 2009. When she's not working, she enjoys going out on the boat, going on walks, and cooking. We talk about all things suits and presentation, and common mistakes competitors make. Margaret tells u...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Savannah Watchman, a fitness coach who has been competing since summer of 2019. She did 4 regional shows, 4 national shows and has competing as a Pro! She earned her Pro card at the 2022 USA championships where she earned the overall title. She placed 5th in her Pro Debut as the 2022 Sasquatch Pro and is now in her first full season as a Pro. Savannah tells us about her...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Karene Richards-Wise, a health coach, pro athlete, board member, finance chair and inspirational speaker with 18 years experience in Investment Banking. She is also the former CEO of the Association for Women in Science. After her mom died at age 48 from breast cancer, she decided to live her life differently and practice better self care. After her own health scare, Ka...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Anna Hise, a 27 years old competitor born and raised in Salt Lake City, UT. She turned Pro at her second show ever at 2020 USA's. Her fitness journey began after a 10 year struggle with anorexia. She openly shares her experience with an eating disorder form a young age and tells us how she overcame it. Through fitness, Anna has establish a positive relationship with foo...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Laura Stalinkeviciute, a returning guest on the podcast! I had the chance to do a live recording with Laura in Las Vegas and I jumped on the the opportunity! Having previously competed in the IFBB Elite in Europe, she earned her Pro Card quickly after switching to the NPC. She has been building her physique since ten and hope to make her Pro Debut soon! Laura is a Lithu...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Brandi Shane, an ISSA certified personal trainer, certified nutrition coach, a 3-time top 5 National NPC Bikini Athlete, and now a 3 time overall winner. She woke her Pro card and overall title at NPC Nationals 2022.   Although she has always been an athlete, she didn't get serious about my own fitness goals until 2015 when I discovered the world of bodybuilding and fel...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Megan Long, Health and fitness coach, Raw and Revive athlete, and so much more than bodybuilding. She started competing in 2016 at age 18 and has done 6 regional shows and 5 national shows since then. After coaching changes, long off seasons, and deciding to take bodybuilding seriously she won her Pro card in July 2022 at USAs. Megan talks about her struggles handling p...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Hope Castelli, a lifestyle, prep, and posing coach. As an amateur, she competed in 3 regional and 4 national shows. She won Pro Card at NPC Nationals in 2020, and then made her Pro debut a week later.   She has since competed in 8 pro shows, placing top 10 multiple times, and even placed 4th, earning Olympia points.     Hope talks about what inspired her to become a coa...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Victoria Parella, who began competing at the age of 20, in the OCB. After two shows, she switched to the NPC to take competing more seriosuly. She took a four year hiatus to focus on health and things outside of competing. Then she game back and competed in 12 shows, including 6 national shows, and earned her Pro card at 2022 Nationals. She works as an online coach for...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Marina Maliden. She was born in Ukrainian grew up in Israel, where she served Israeli army. After finishing collage, she moved to the United States where she became a NASM certified nutrition coach and personal trainer, as well real estate professional. She started competing in 2013 at a show Israel. Her first NPC show was in 2016. She then went on to compete in 9 Natio...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Shantal Barros, who turned Pro in 2017 at USAs. After winning her Pro card, she took 5 years off and made her Pro debut in 2022, where she placed as high as second. She lives in New York City and is a marine and owns her own business. Her passion for bodybuilding started when she lived in California and needed to lose weight to join the Marines. She started competing in...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro MadelynTaylor. She first started competing in the NPC in 2017 and turned Pro in 2022 at North Americans after 16 total shows. As a new IFBB Pro, competing has been a BIG part of her life. She is happily married with 4 cats and 10 chickens. She and her husband have spent the last year flipping their home and focusing on prep, hoping to start a family in 2023 as she grows...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Samantha Beauvis, a life-long athlete, who spent years in dance and theatre. She first competed in 2016 where she won the overall. After another regional show, she competed at her first National show in Miami where she got last callouts. Samantha went on to compete in more regional and National shows, but finally earned her Pro card at 2022 Junior Nationals. She finishe...

Today I speak with Canadian IFBB Pro Tessa Baresssi, She won her pro card at age 20, and placed 4th in Pro debut at Vancouver Pro Show. Tessa is a huge advocate for mental health in sports. She works as a posing and lifestyle coach for her company Rzlnt Fitness. Tessa shares how the sudden loss of her father when she was 18 years old shopped the way she views life and how she approaches her goals....

Today I speak with IFBB Pro An Salles, a mom, wife, personal trainer with a masters degree in Political Science. She moved from Brazil to the US in 2011 and earned her certification in Sports Nutritionist and Personal Trainer through NASM. She started coaching athletes for competitions before she stepped on stage myself. She and her husband work together doing online and in person coaching. With h...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Anna Faltova, an online coach and posing coach, who started competing in 2016 in IFBB Elite. She rode horses and did show jumping for 15 years and then transitioned to gym, fitness. She switched to an NPC in 2022, where she placed first in every competition, and earned her Pro card at her third attempt. She is now getting ready for her Pro debut in 2023. Anna is also on...

A reflection on the podcast party this past weekend with thank yous, reading of people's confessions, a recap, and random announcements :O HUGE Thank you to Sponsors: Posing by A & Jewelry by A: use code Confession for 15% off your jewelry purchase. Visit: https://linktr.ee/PosingbyA Competition prep & Lifestyle coaching company Team Fflex: https://www.instagram.com/teamfflex/ Photographer & Video...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Yurika Shigemoto, a posing coach and a full time registered nurse at an acute care hospital. She started competing in 2015 and then took time off to complete nursing school. She returned to the stage in 2018 at the Hawaii Pro/NPC Pacific Islands where she won the Overall. In 2020, she competed at North Americans where she won her class and her Pro Card! She has since co...

Today I speak with Haitian IFBB Pro Sophia Bernard, a transportation litigation/ regulatory lawyer, an avid blogger, traveler, and former NCAA Division 2 track athlete. She started competing in 2019, in the NGA. In November of 2020, she did her first NPC show at The Klash where I placed 1st in Novice and 3rd in open. After taking some time to grow, she returned to the National circuit. She finally...

Are you interested in making connections with other like minded women in the "Prep Life"? Are you wanting to get your season started on the right foot with posing and training techniques? Do you want to work on the mental side of prep and your mental fortitude when it comes to reaching and setting your fitness goals? If so, tune in as @celestial_fit and @glamgirlbikini coaches @amyehinger @chrisni...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Brittany Carbullido, a mother to a 3 year old boy, a fiancée, and a personal trainer for online lifestyle clients. She also runs a home staging business and is a Real Estate Broker in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. She started her competition journey in the middle of the pandemic while working from home. She was inspired by her mom who is also a bikini competitor! She earned...

Today I speak with IFBB Pro Iulia Baba, the first Romania IFBB Bikini Pro. She began her journey in 2019, after following WBFF and IFBB on social media. She has been involved in fitness for years and is a Certified Trainer in Europe. She won her Pro card at 2021 North Americans where she won her class and was runner up in the Overall. She then competed in her Pro debut at the Powerhouse Classic wh...