We'll be dipping in and out of last weekend's 2014 NPC USAs all week here at FMS, and what better way to start than the Overall champ: new IFBB pro Aleesha Young.
I seriously doubt Aleesha needs any introduction. This was her first competition since she finished 8th in the heavyweight class at the same show in 2011, but her "work" in the intervening period is as well-known as that of possibly any female bodybuilder (amateur or pro). Pics and clips from, among others, Muscle Fantasies and Muscle Angels, as well as those from her own website, change hands faster than dirty pictures in a boys' school playground, as do fans' recordings of her naughty webcam shows. In addition, (judging purely by what I see on my Tumblr feed) I reckon Aleesha must be one of the most "giffed" fbbs in the world, with the majority of those many gifs focusing on her staggering pec bounce. She is simply "Aleesha". No surname necessary.
Aleesha says: I was born in Salt Lake City on Nov 10th 1984. I started to develop muscle at a very early age. By age 5, boys were teasing me about my biceps. I come from a very athletic family and was always supported and encouraged by my parents. I excelled at softball and cheerleading and received a college scholarship. I tried my hand at basketball and soccer but was a bit too aggressive for these sports.
During high school I was approached by the coach to train in the gym with the football team, to motivate them to work harder. I always wanted to be a petite girl and did not enjoy being muscular. In fact I despised it to the point that I became vegetarian and started running many miles a day just to lose muscle.
This strategy obviously did not work and I made a conscious effort to embrace and accept my body. At age 15 I began training with my Dad at the gym and within one year I could squat 405lbs. It definitely took some convincing to get me on stage, but my father - who is also a bodybuilder and encouraged me to follow in his footsteps - wouldn’t allow me to not try it at least once. And I must admit it only took one time of being on that stage and going through that process before I was hooked.
That first contest was the 2007 NPC Utah Open, not only Aleesha's first taste of competition, but also her first victory. Despite fracturing her humerus (the long bone that runs from the shoulder to the elbow - ouch!), she competed nationally for the first time at the NPC USAs in 2008, finishing 15th (Sheila Bleck won the Overall title that year - Diana Tinnelle, Elena Seiple, and Rita Rae also got pro cards). Aleesha returned to the USAs the following year, and, in an admittedly smaller field, came 7th (Overall winner Angela Salvagno, with Akila Pervis the other pro card recipient).
Aleesha triumphs at the NPC All South 2010
Aleesha didn't do a national show in 2010, but did win the NPC All South - until last weekend, her only other victory since that very first state show in Utah, and her first with a, let's say, "enhanced" look. She was back at the USAs in 2011 displaying even greater enhancements, and finished 8th behind Overall and Heavyweight champ Robyn Mentgen (Judy Gaillard was the other pro card winner).
And between then and now? Well, there's the work I mentioned above; her mortgage/real estate business has, I believe, started up again after having suffered during the economic downturn; she has remained with the same man (almost unbelievable that ONE man can satisfy Aleesha - good work fella!); and, news which may be as surprising to you as it was to me, she has become a mother!
There are those within the female muscle lovin' brethren who say that Aleesha is a "cartoon-version" female bodybuilder, her enhancements "ridiculous", her look "a joke". For others, Aleesha is simply one of the sexiest women in the world. She is "awesome", "a phenom", "the future". Personally, I am firmly in the latter camp - Aleesha was one of my all-time 20 Fantasy Contest picks back in 2012, and her decision to go blond since then (not always a winner in my book) hasn't changed my mind about her in the slightest! She is, for me, an absolutely stunningly beautiful woman with the sexiest, curviest, juiciest-looking muscularity around today.
But although she may divide opinion, it's safe to say that by common consent (of those in the know not just us fanboys), last weekend's show was over as a contest the moment Aleesha walked onto the stage. It's not often, even in these times of smaller (as in number) line-ups for female bodybuilding, that that happens. She was head and shoulders (and arms and back and legs...) above the other competitors.
Will Aleesha go the way of Sarah Hayes and too many other national show winners of recent times and all but disappear now she has her pro status? I sincerely hope not. I'm praying she is going to be like last year's USA champ, Margie Martin, and make a big noise in the pro shows next year. But whatever happens next in the Aleesha (no surname necessary) story, her status with the majority of the female muscle lovin' brethren is guaranteed to be legendary for many many years to come.
And to finish, a bit of fun - the Aleesha v Aleesha of the title of today's post. I can take no credit for the idea at all, and am shamelessly ripping off a bit of inspiration from "timmon", a forum member at the forum whose first rule is you do not talk about it. "Timmon" posted Aleesha from the 2011 USAs v Aleesha 2014 there, so how about a variation on the theme - a pre-enhanced Aleesha from five years ago (finishing 7th remember) next to the triumphant (enhanced blond) Aleesha from last weekend?
Watch an interview with Aleesha after her win from RxMuscle.
Follow the further adventures of Aleesha on Twitter.
Enjoy!
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