Zhanna Rotar - IFBB Figure Pro

This beautiful young lady is IFBB Figure Pro Zhanna Rotar.
Zhanna is five foot three and weighs 116 pounds.
She was born on August 2, 1980 in Chernivtsi, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union.
(You may be familiar with another Chernivtsi native, Mila Kunis)
When she was 16, Zhanna and her family migrated to the U.S., and they settled in Seattle Washington.
While attending a community college, she joined a gym and tried several programs before deciding on weightlifting.
She really got into it and set a goal of becoming a fitness competitor, however, when the Figure division was created, she saw that as a better fit.
Since 2002, Zhanna has racked up an impressive list of female fitness competitions....

2002 Empire Classic - 1st Place short
2003 Northern Gold's Classic - 1st Place medium and Overall
2003 Evergreen State Championships - 1st Place medium
2003 Washington Ironman - 1st Place tall
2004 Emerald Cup 2004 1st Place medium-short
2004 Los Angeles Championships - 1st Place medium and Overall
2004 Team Universe - 4th Place Class C
2005 Junior Nationals - 2nd Place Class B
2005 The USA's - 3rd Place Class C
2005 Team Universe 2005 1st Place Class C
2006 IFBB California Pro Figure - 10th Place
2006 IFBB Shawn Ray Colorado Pro - 10th Place
2006 IFBB San Francisco Pro - 4th Place
2007 IFBB Jan Tana Women's Bodybuilding And Figure Contest - 10th Place
2007 IFBB Colorado Pro/Am Classic Bodybuilding And Figure Contest - 7th Place
2007 IFBB California Pro Figure Championships - 8th Place
2008 IFBB Tournament of Champions Pro Figure - 9th Place
2008 IFBB California State Pro Figure Championships - 12th Place
2010 IFBB MuscleContest Pro Bikini - 12th Place

Brandy Leaver

This beautiful young lady is Ms. Hawaiian Tropic 2005, FLEX magazine bikini contest winner and amateur figure competitor Brandy Leaver.
Well she WAS an amateur, according to her Twitter, on August 3rd 2010, Brandy became an IFBB Pro.
Brandy was born on March 05, 1983 in Waimanalo, Hawaii.
She's five foot six, 125 pounds and her measurements are 36D-26-36.
Watch yourself around her guys....
Not only is her husband the massive Brandon Curry, but Brandy wrestled for four years in high school and boxed.

Female fitness competitions:
2007 NPC Stingrey Classic Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Contest - 1st Place
2010 NPC Junior National Championships - 10th Place
2010 NPC USA Championships - 1st Place

Veronique Morin - Fitness Beauty

This gorgeous redhead is WBFF (World Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation) Bikini Competitor and fitness model Véronique Morin from Drummondville, QC, Canada.

Female Fitness Competition History:
2010 Canadian Bikini, Figure and Fitness Championships - 4th Place
2010 FCPAQ Quebec Natural Physique Championships and Provincial Championships - 1st Place
2010 Championnat Provincial / Provincial Championships - 1st Place
2009 FCPAQ Espoir Quebec Pro Gym Cup / Figure Overall
2009 FCPAQ Espoir Quebec Pro Gym Cup / Femme Culturiste Légère / Women Bodybuilding Lightweight - 2nd Place
2009 FCPAQ Espoir Quebec Pro Gym Cup / Figure Model Tall - 1st Place
2009 Coupe Pro Gym Espoir Québec FCPAQ - Figure Model Tall - 1st Place

Amanda Latona - IFBB Bikini Pro

This gorgeous young lady is IFBB Bikini Pro Amanda Latona.
I have done a few write ups on her here and here, but she's never graced this blog till now.
Personally, I think Amanda is one of the most beautiful women on the scene today.
She was born on March 24th, 1979 in Pittsburgh, PA, my adopted home state.
Amanda is not only a bikini and fitness model competitor, but also a print model, M.C., spokes model, host, actress, certified personal trainer and a singer!
A long time ago, she was in an all girls singing group called Innosense.
You may not know the name, but one of her fellow group members was Britney Spears.

Since then, this five foot five, 120 pound fitness beauty has gone on to make quite a name for herself in fitness, as you can see from this list.

2003 Miss Bikini Florida - 1st
2007 MuscleMania Miss Bikini Las Vegas - 1st
2007 MuscleMania Model America Championships - 1st
2007 MuscleMania Model Las Vegas - 1st
2008 MuscleMania Fitness America Weekend - 1st
2008 MuscleMania Model America Championships - 1st
2009 IFBB Olympia - 1st
2009 NPC USA Bodybuilding & Figure Championships - 1st
2009 NPC Los Angeles Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Championships - 1st
2009 NPC California State Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Championships - 1st
2010 IFBB Olympia - 5th
2010 IFBB Europa Super Show - 1st
2010 IFBB MuscleContest Pro Bikini - 3rd

Lori Harder - Ms. Bikini Universe 2010

I know I keep saying this, but again, we have one of the most beautiful women I think I have ever profiled here.
Lori Harder is a fitness competitor, fitness model, and fitness trainer and she is Ms. Bikini Universe 2010.
By the way, Lori didn't only win the Ms. Bikini America title, but also the Figure America Championship, at the same contest!
That was the first time that had happened in 21 years.
No small feat.
This five foot eight, 135 pound, fitness beauty has participated in Figure and Bikini competitions in both the Fitness America Federation, and the NPC.
And you may have seen one of her several appearances in Oxygen Magazine.

Female Fitness Competitions:
2007 Fitness America, Bikini - 3rd place
2007 Fitness America, Figure - 4th place
2008 MuscleMania Fitness America Weekend - 2nd Place
2008 Fitness Universe, Figure - 3rd place
2008 Fitness Atlantic Natural Bodybuilding, Fitness, Bikini, Figure & Model Competition -1st Place - Tall class
2009 Figure Universe, Figure - 2nd place
2009 Fitness Universe Bikini - 3rd place
2009 Jay Cutler NPC, Bikini - 2nd place
2009 Fitness America, Bikini - 6th place
2009 Fitness America, Figure - 2nd place
2010 Fitness America Figure Tall Class - 3rd place
Ms. Bikini Universe 2010

Gal Ferreira (Glauce Ferreira) - Brazilian Fitness Model

This beautiful and built young lady is Brazilian IFBB Pro Gal Ferreira.
Gal started out at the age of six in ballet, then moved into gymnastics.

She graduated in 1998 from the Federal University of Minas Gerais with a degree in Physical Education, and works as a personal trainer.
Her hobbies include ballet, soccer, African dance, gymnastics and aerobics.

Gal is also married to legendary bodybuilder Dorian Yates.

I know she has been in competitions in other countries (she won the IFBB South American Bodyfitness and IFBB World Bodyfitness Championships), but the only US competition I can find is the 2008 IFBB Arnold Classic Bodybuilding, Fitness And Figure Contest where she came in 9th place.

Andressa Vieira - Brazilian Fitness Beauty

This is stunning Brazilian figure competitor and fitness model Eva Andressa Vieira.
I think she is absolutely gorgeous and she reminds me of a cross between Danica Patrick and TNA Knockout Sarita (Sarah Stock or Dark Angel for all you lucha libre fans out there).
I've read that she competes in figure, but it looks like with just a bit more mass, she could do bodybuilding easy.
But why mess with a good thing right?
This five foot nine fitness beauty started lifting weights because she felt she was too thin and wanted to improve her figure.
I think it worked!

Andressa Vieira's Female Fitness Competitions
2005 - Champion Paranaense Figure - NABBA
2006 - Brazilian Champion Figure - NABBA
2006 - Champion Paranaense Figure - NABBA
2008 - Champion Brazilian Body Fitness - IFBB
2009 - Overall Champion Brazilian Body Fitness - IFBB
2009 - South American Body Fitness - 3rd Place - IFBB

Miriam Sanchez - Spain Body Fitness Champion

This beautiful young lady is Miriam Sanchez.
Miriam is a fitness trainer from San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain, and besides fitness, she's into Flamenco dancing and Harley Davidson riding.
She was the Spain Bodyfitness Champion in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Miriam came in 5th at the IFBB European Womens Bodybuilding, Fitness and Body Fitness in Cacak, Serbia in 2007 and 5th at the 2007 IFBB World Womens Championships in Santa Susanna Spain.
Miriam also came in 1st place at the Princess Kalina Fitness Cup on March 14th, 2008 in Sophia, Bulgaria.
She also came in 13th in NPC Figure Class E at the 2009 Arnold Classic.

Oksana Grishina - Russian Fitness Beauty

It's been quite awhile since I have done anything on Russian fitness beauty Oksana Grishina, back in 2009 actually.
But I think this may be Oksana's year in fitness, so here's a quick update.
This five foot four, 116 pound fitness competitor was born on March 25th, 1978 in Kaliningrad Russia.
Oksana started gymnastics at the age of seven which from what I understand, is kinda late in Russia.

Oksana recently joined Team Gaspari and her teammates include fitness beauties Krissy Chin, Ava Cowan, Stacey Oster Thompson, Marzia Prince and Trish Warren.
She has also appeared in Flex, IronMan and other fitness magazines.
Oksana is married, and her husband's (who is also her coach) name is Boris.

Oksana's Fitness Contest History:
2007 IFBB Europa Super Show - NP
2007 IFBB All Star Pro Fitness Championships - 3rd Place
2007 IFBB Olympia - 7th Place
2008 IFBB New York Pro Fitness - 7th Place
2008 IFBB Arnold Classic Bodybuilding, Fitness And Figure Contest - 10th Place
2009 IFBB Arnold Classic - 9th Place
2010 IFBB Olympia - 5th Place
2010 IFBB Arnold Classic, Ms. International, Fitness International & Figure International - 5th Place
2010 IFBB Phoenix Pro - 4th Place

Here is Oksana's Fitness Routine at the 2010 Arnold Classic...

Kristina Baskett and Nina Kim, The Gymnast Girls

Mari Kudla - Women Bodybuilder Picture

Gina Aliotti Fitness Models Female

Gina Aliotti Fitness Models Female

GLAMOUR GAL: Emily Skye

Emily Skye

March 2012 Glamour Gal 

DREAM. BELIEVE. COMMIT. ACHIEVE. 

Our featured Glamour Gal this month is Australian Fitness Model Miss Emily Skye. We have admired Emily for many years - her passion for fitness and dedication to inspiring others by completing her goals and always pushing herself. She connects with her fans daily through Facebook, twitter and instagram encourages others with her anything is possible, never give up positive attitude. In this exclusive interview with Eco Glamazine Emily talks about how she stays motivated everyday and shares her childhood dream of being a photographer.

DREAM. 

Thank you Emily for being our featured Glamour Gal this month. We have admired you for many years, so tell us who do you admire & why? 
"Thank you for having me, I am honoured! I admire anyone who pushes to overcome something, anyone who shows dedication and puts in hard work to achieve their goals! I admire Jamie Eason, Lindy Olsen, Erin Stern, Kristen Mathers and Zoe Dally to name a few - they are all fitness fanatics, successful, determined, down to earth, kind and giving! They are always happy to help others which is so lovely to see."

"Don't ever let someone tell you that you can't do something. If you've got a dream, you've gotta go for it, believe in yourself and know that you can and will do it! When people tell you that you can't do something it's because they couldn't do it themselves. If you really want something, You've gotta do everything possible to get it!" 

BELIEVE.

They say beauty comes from within - What does beauty mean to you Emily? 

"Beauty to me is being able to see something in another person that I admire - something deeper than what meets the eye. It may be a characteristic, intelligence, being creative, or showing genuine care for people. Being beautiful on the outside is not enough and doesn't last."

Obviously being a model beauty & fashion is important to you. What's your favourite eco beauty secret? 

"I make a face mask made of ground organic coffee and organic honey mixed together - it's full of antioxidants and is amazing for your skin."

  

Apart from being an international model you obviously love being behind the camera with your role as a photographer. What inspired you make the switch? 

"I have actually always wanted to be a photographer, ever since I was a kid. I used to develop my own photos while I was at school. I loved art and photography and always excelled at them. I love anything creative and I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to be creative in all different ways for my job!" 

COMMIT. 

We know you are currently preparing your body again for an upcoming fitness photo shoot, how do you stay on track & motivated? 

"I have a clear picture of my goal - it's nearly impossible to achieve something if you don't even know what it is you actually want. I look at photos of the body I want everyday, every time I feel unmotivated I look at the photos and remind myself of what I want and why I want it! If I feel like eating something naughty I look at the photos. I do allow myself some cheat meals every now and then though. This is the MOST important thing to remember: Staying motivated is a constant day to day thing! You don't just become motivated and that's it you are forever motivated! You have to work on it every day. It's the same with everything in life. If you want to change something that you're unhappy about you have to make an effort everyday. Whether it's smoking, drinking, eating unhealthy food, being a doormat - whatever it is - the same rule applies! You're reprogramming yourself to think and act differently to how you were previously. It takes time and it won't happen instantly and the beginning is the hardest part, but if you keep at it, it will get easier every day and eventually it will become part of who you are. The good news is, if you stick to it you will never have to go back to where you started ever again!

"If you want something bad enough you 

will work hard to get it."

Emily is wearing Bonita Fitness Wear

Being so positive and motivated we know you love staying active - what are your hobbies/interests when your not working?

"I love spending time with my family and friends, going to the beach, travelling and doing anything active."

Being a professional model you always need to stay in shape. We know you rarely eat sugar - Can you tell us your 5 favourite foods for losing weight? 
"Turkey, asparagus, spinach, sweet potato and eggs. I love eating clean and lean. I don't eat food that contains gluten or lactose as they upset my stomach. I have spent a long time working out what foods work best for me. One mistake I think a lot of people make is following "Fad Diets". I get a lot of emails from people asking for advice because they have followed a new diet and become quite sick. Everyone is different and what works for one person might not work for another. Research what foods are good for you. It's all trial and error."

Photography by Adam Watson

ACHIEVE.

Last year you competed and WON the titled of Miss USA Fit Body & Miss USA Figure. Congratulations Emily. What inspired your journey to this amazing achievement? 

"Thank you! I have always admired strong, fit women with muscle definition and I have always been very athletic but wanted to push myself further just to see what I was capable of. I wanted to do something that would take hard work and dedication and it was something a lot of people said I couldn't do, or that I was silly for wanting to do it. I proved a lot of people wrong."

Emily, we love that you are always so positive and down to earth. What's your motto? 
"NEVER let what someone thinks or says about you define you. You know who you are better than anyone! Completely remove the negative and poisonous people from your life - to do that means to cut all ties with them physically and mentally. Make a conscious effort to not allow them to affect you in any way. Forgive these types of people for the person they choose to be and let them go. Holding onto hate and anger is not healthy and will only bring YOU down and subsequently makes you unhappy! Take control of yourself, your actions, feeling and your life. NOBODY can take away your happiness without your consent!" 

Special thank you to Emily for being our featured Glamour Gal this month. She truly inspires us to push ourselves, showing that through drive and determination anything is possible. The spark inside her shines through. Her beautiful dream, believe, commit, achieve life motto is one we truly admire and respect. We hope this interview inspired you to stay motivated. Follow Emily's social profiles for more daily motivation and inspiration. 

official: emilyskye.com 

twitter: twitter.com/missemilyskye 

instagram: @missemilyskye 

Facebook: facebook.com/emilyskyemodel

 This is a feature article from our March 2012 Eco Glamazine.

Sustainable seafood

Hunger games star Jennifer Lawrence shopping at Whole Foods, the world's largest organic and natural foods chain. The supermarket chain has announced that starting Earth Day, April 22, they will no longer stock seafood that has been procured unsustainably. Seafood like octopus, gray sole, skate, Atlantic halibut and Atlantic cod caught by habitat-destroying trawls, or that are procured from

Don't read this if you don't want me to hit you up for a favor. Thanks.

At the risk of annoying everyone who's already read this (and thank you very much, by the way), I'm devoting this space today to an article I wrote for Raw Charge.com, the site where I have a side gig writing about the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning.


You Can Play: An interview with Patrick Burke


I've been beating this drum pretty hard this week and I know that can get tiresome, so feel free to stop reading now if you already have (again, thanks) or if you just don't care (that's disappointing, but whatever; no judgments). Below you will find a little insight as to why I'm promoting this so heavily.
Sometimes, the answers to problems are simple. Especially when the problem itself isn't all that complex.

The "You Can Play" project's philosophy is "If you can play, you can play". In other words, forget all the coincident BS. We're trying to win games here and if you're black, white, straight, gay, fat, skinny, male, female, rich or poor and you can play, get your ass out there and do it. If you can play, you can play.

Well, duh.

I don't say this to give you the impression that I thought of that on my own before this came about, like I'm the most enlightened person in the world, sitting around waiting for everybody else to catch up. Because I'm sure I'm not.

Please allow me to backtrack a little...

The first gay person (that I know of) that I met was when I was in a high school and working as a busboy at a hotel restaurant. One of the waiters was a guy named Joe and his mom was a hostess. Joe was flamboyantly, demonstratively, openly gay and he was also a tremendous asshole. Difficult servers make a busboy's life difficult. A flat-out asshole...like Joe...can make it downright miserable. He was impatient, bossy, condescending and mean. Always. I'm not sure I can overstate this but I'm going to try. He was the kind of guy who would shit on people and then wipe his ass with other people. When I first met him, it was a huge deal to me that he was gay and would always be a factor in my description of him to other people. Joe The Gay Waiter being a jerk, Joe The Gay Waiter pissing me off, Joe The Gay Waiter making me hate life every time I had to work with him. Joe The Gay Waiter Who Is An Asshole. At some point, fairly early on in my interactions with him, his asshole-ishness so overwhelmed every other aspect of every fiber of his being (like he was literally made of asshole and brought to life with lightning bolts, like Dr. Assholestein's Monster...am I being clear here?) that it changed to Joe The Asshole. The word "gay" was no longer a relevant descriptor. Nor was the word "waiter", for that matter. It's kind of the same thing with people who casually misuse the word "retard"; People who do that mean "stupid", so why not just use that word? Because "retard" hurts more. It occurred to me that while Joe was an asshole and deserved every bit of loathing I could muster and how much I wanted him to hurt (Joe, if you're out there and somehow find yourself reading this all these years after the fact, I'm glad you didn't drive your car off of a bridge like I hoped for back then, but only because I want you to know that I still think you're an asshole...but please tell your mom hi; she was always really nice), other gay people who I had never met didn't, and to use the word "gay" as a slur not only wasn't right, it wasn't even accurate. So I stopped.

Duh.

Back to now...

If you haven't already read the article that the link above takes you to (and again, if you have, thanks!), it's an interview I got to do with Patrick Burke of the You Can Play project this past weekend.

I really like writing stories about the Lightning's impact on the community outside of the rink. It's why I always devote coverage to the Community Heroes program in the game notes of the home game re-caps, which is my primary responsibility for the site. So when Cassie, one of the associate editors, mentioned this opportunity was available, I jumped on it. Aggressively. More aggressively than I normally would have. In fact if one of the other writers had said they wanted it, I would have argued. I might have even begged, pleaded, kicked and screamed until I got my way. And here's the reason why...

Recently, someone came out to me. Now, I have known lots of gay people over the years, friends and acquaintances, but this was a new experience for me. Obviously this person trusted me a great deal and it was a pretty heavy moment (I sort of knew what was going on, but until someone comes out and tells you, you don't know know). I can't say much more about it of respect for this person's privacy but for this particular interview opportunity to come along exactly when it did, well, I thought it was an opportunity to do something good. And being as I am generally a bad person; very, very lazy, incredibly shallow and self-centered, not terribly bright and completely irresponsible (as of this minute, I have absolutely no idea how much money is in my checking account), leaving any real care and keeping of another human being to me is probably not a good idea. Usually, managing to feed and dress myself four days out of five constitutes a pretty successful week. 
What I'm saying is that I felt a personal connection to the subject matter of this particular article. It's my hope that writing about it will give help and hope to people who need it. I appreciate both the fact that it came along when it did, that Raw Charge gives me a forum to spread the message and that my colleagues let me have it. I work with some pretty great people.

Anyway, thanks for reading this, thanks for checking the interview out and let's all do each other a favor and make more of an effort to look for simple answers to the simple problems.

Duh.

Introducing Eileen Shoals and Pole World News!

While in Los Angeles for Pole Show LA, there was another camera crew doing interviews with pole dancers.  I was introduced to Eileen Shoals from Pole World News -- a new pole magazine.  After I got home, I exchanged some e-mails with Eileen, and thought her story was so elegantly told on her own that I didn't really need to ask her many questions.  I asked Eileen if I could just share her e-mail with all of you.  So first is Eileen's story...then I will follow up with a few extra questions for her.  Welcome Eileen to our circle of pole sisters!

I just love this community we are a part of. I guess I will share a little about myself and what we are doing with this magazine. Thank you for wanting to include us in your blog. So I began pole dancing 5 years ago. Like so many girls I met last week at Pole Show LA, my journey began at S Factor LA. S Factor was such a healing experience for me because at the time, I was in a difficult relationship that was clearly ending. S Factor gave me permission to really celebrate my femininity and sensual energy during a time when my partner devalued it. I found the pole to be a cathartic tool for expression of all kinds of emotion. I also found that my body seemed to tone up effortlessly.  I met so many lovely women at S Factor who are my friends to this day, such as Natasha Wang. Several of these beautiful women I met in the early stages of pole have gone into competition mode or have opened up their own pole dance studios.  My journey in pole transitioned from S Factor to Be Spun, Hollywood where I met the fabulous Leigh Ann Orsi, Amy Guion, Estee Zakar, Lindsey Kimura, and Lisa Wilhoit, and several other X-Pole representatives. The dancers at Be Spun opened up the arena of tricks to me. I was astounded at how quickly Leigh Ann could teach a novice amazing stamina on the pole. I also study at The Pole Garage in Santa Monica, under Andrea Frankovich. Drea, as we call her teaches a completely different type of pole dance flow that I have grown to love and adore. Throughout my years as a pole dancer, I have been deeply moved at how pole has impacted my life so significantly. I start missing the pole if I haven't been on one for too long. The pole community is my clan. It doesn't matter if I know the person personally or not....once I discover that they share this love affair with the pole that I have, I feel bonded to them in some way.

 

On another note, I have been celebrating the sisterhood of women for many years. You can check out my website at www.beautifulbrains.net. I'm passionate about highlighting the achievements of women and celebrating our sisterhood. I am so intrigued and inspired by women who support each other and love each other without a need to back-bite, compete or be jealous of one another. I feel that when women can be around each other and truly be sisters, an amazing synergy is created. For this reason, the pole world was a natural place for me to gravitate towards. I continue to be amazed at how women in the pole world support each other. Women in the pole community reflect their own unique self-confidence that allows them to be comfortable in their own skin, which makes it easy to support other dancers. There is such a love and respect for each person's unique pole style. Some women consider themselves to be artists. Others see themselves as athletes. Some love the high heals and sexy clothes. Others prefer a serious look of sport. All of this, and so many other perspectives make up the pole community. On top of that, we now have men doing pole! So the community is vast. This is why I decided to create an online magazine called Pole World News (PWN). My partner, Klaus Price and I are working feverishly to launch our first issue this month. The magazine will highlight pole trends and spotlight professional and amateur pole dancers internationally. It will also highlight a different dance studio each month. While the magazine will mostly focus on the pole community, other areas of fitness and dance will be explored as well. It's our hope that this magazine will celebrate the pole community in such a way that pole dancers and viewers will come to the site often to see what's new. We hope for it to be entertaining and beautiful. We want the dancers in our magazine to look good. We want to celebrate their achievements and follow their journey. I have  a lot of love and respect for anyone who has the courage to get on the pole. I want our magazine to support these dancers. The magazine will have information on natural remedies and healing techniques for sore muscles and bruises. We will also highlight "pole food"....what pole dancers eat to stay in shape, to reward themselves for great performances, or to snack on. 

 

Another area I think about has to do with the people who still associate pole dancing with negative degrading behavior. I would love to present the beauty and mastery involved in pole dancing and highlight the dancers as "real" people so the naysayers and critics have a change in perspective. I plan to feature as many interesting and amazing pole dancers as possible. I want the world to see how articulate, smart, evolved, mature and fierce our community is in every way. Everyone has their reason for gravitating towards the pole. I actually find these stories to be fascinating. I hope that our audience will be intrigued and fascinated by the magazine's content also.

I am really excited that you are including diet tips in PWN.  Tell us about the kind of diet you follow to keep yourself in tip top pole shape.



Well, my family comes from Louisiana, where good Southern food is the norm. I know that I have to be careful and really consider what I am eating. I try to listen to my body when choosing food to eat. I do love fruit and salad. I try to eat healthy forms of protein on a regular basis also. My boyfriend is an exceptional cook...which can be a problem. So I make sure to practice moderation especially when he is cooking. I only purchase and prepare organic foods, which makes me feel clean and healthy. I would be lying if I said I don't enjoy sweets. When I'm craving something sweet, I try to make it as natural as possible. For example, sliced organic apple with organic cinnamon is so good and one of my favorite snacks. Beyond these things, I do cleanses periodically, such as the McCombs Candida Cleanse. These types of practices help me keep my weight manageable and they help me to feel really good physically and emotionally. I find that when I feel good physically and emotionally, I am more inclined to eat well and exercise more.\

 

It feels like the pro/competition pole dancers are all going the route of contortion and extreme tricks.  Do you feel like something is lost from pole dancing when it is all tricks and no dance?



Yes. I so admire all of the pro competitors, and contortion and extreme tricks expands pole dance. However, for me it is always about "the dance" first and foremost. What I love about pole dancing is that it is this beautiful sensual feminine expression. In its simplest form, pole dancing is an expression of the dancer's heart and emotions in the moment. I do feel that something is lost when dance movement is absent from pole tricks. I feel this trend diminishes the true essence and beauty of this art form.

Tell us something we'd be surprised to hear about you.

I survived domestic violence in my home during my teenage years after my mother's second marriage. Despite what I saw and experienced, I am a positive resilient human being.

What else are you looking forward to in 2012?

I am looking forward to publishing my cookbook. I am looking forward to covering the latest pole trends in my magazine. I'm looking forward to being more creative and manifesting a lot of joy. :)

Twirly Girls Photoshoot with Liquidpulp Photography

We recently held another fun photoshoot at Twirly Girls with Andrew of Liquidpulp Photography. 



We did a pin up shoot last year:  http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2011/02/twirly-girls-pin-ups.html



We always have a lot of fun on photoshoot days.  I didn't want to publicize anyone else's photos but you can check mine out.  And, if you're in need of a photographer, please give Andrew a shout!