As a teen I was a skinny runway model living in Los Angeles. I was a graduate of The Carol Crawford Modeling School where I spent the same three years I spent in high school going to modeling school at night to learn the tricks of the trade of the modeling business. When I graduated, I was awarded runway model of the year and I was busy after that working the ramp and enjoying every minute of it. I always loved modeling, but my 5'9" 105 pound body, I was not happy with. I was not anorexic or bulimic, I was just very skinny with an extremely high metabolism. I was also a swimmer and swam and played water polo during high school. It was there that I learned how to discipline my mind and body. It was during my training sessions for swimming that I learned how to visualize and to excel in athletics. I got a membership at a local gym at the age of 16 and started working as an aerobics instructor and personal trainer, mostly so I could learn myself how to workout. Within one year I had put on about 30 pounds of much needed muscle and naturally my high fashion modeling career was over. I was no longer the skinny tall girl they loved and I was perfectly happy to hang up my heels for the gym. I had modeled for many years and enjoyed all of those experiences and now it was time to challenge myself in a new way.

I started competing in Fitness in 1989 at the first Fitness America Pageant ever. I remember when I was working at the gym, seeing a poster of Cameo Knuer as Ms. National Fitness and I thought she was gorgeous and naturally wanted to compete right away. What a great way to mesh my athletic background with my passion for modeling. And so I began training.

I trained very hard for the next several years with the goal of competing always on my mind. In 1991 I won the Ms. Fitness USA and Ms. National Fitness title in the same year. I was ecstatic and those titles allowed me opportunities to travel all over the world including Poland, Italy, France, and Germany speaking about fitness and helping inspiring other people interested in living a more fit lifestyle. After traveling and wondering what was next I took a much needed sabbatical from fitness to evaluate my life, my direction and who I was.

After my sabbatical, I decided to come back to compete again, I really missed it. With the evening gown round gone now and forced to rely on 50% physique and 50% routine, from a non gymnast/dancer/cheer background, placing high in fitness was difficult. I was always in the top 3 in the physique round and somehow my routines managed to be in the bottom of the barrel. I kept competing anyway, mostly because I loved two things, working out and walking in heels.

After spending an entire year working on a routine only to completely mess up and place last in the routine round yet again, I decided that I needed to focus my energy on something more productive where I could get better results. This was right around the same time that figure started to emerge.

I started competing in NPC Figure in 2005 in an effort to challenge myself to the next level. The judging afforded me the feedback I had been longing for, for many years. I diet and trained hard for every show. I always listen to the judges feedback and balanced that with what I personally want to do with my physique. I always come in with a different "look" and I have liked every look I have presented so far.

2007 was a wonderful year for me, on my birthday and the last National show of the season, in my third year as an NPC Figure athlete, I earned my IFBB Pro Card. Words cannot describe the feeling that went on that day. I can only say this, what took 3 years to accomplish would have been worth 10 years. Thank goodness it did not take that long.

I am thrilled to now be an IFBB Figure Pro and cannot wait for my next competitive adventure. There is nothing quite like this hobby. Where else can you get all made up in gorgeous makeup, wear beautifully stoned swimsuits, be tan and have body fat in the single digits and make new friends that have similar interests all the while inspiring and educating the newbies on what is possible when you put your mind and your heart to work for a goal. I have no doubt that my next competition will be as rewarding as my last and that I will learn something of great value, as I do with every show.

I think the most amazing thing about my story is that I feel more energetic and passionate than I did when I was 20. It is almost hard for me to believe it myself. I really feel I am just scratching the surface of what I can achieve with my body and my mind. I am a wellspring of energy, waiting to abound on my next fitness adventure. I am truly blessed to have been given such high levels of energy and enthusiasm, and I intend on competing for as long as my mind and body choose to cooperate.