Figure Phenoms: Rach White

As promised, for the last of our Figure Phenoms, we venture into the world of World Beauty Fitness & Fashion, Inc. It's a "bodybuilding" federation that most female muscle fans would normally pay scant attention to. However, once in a while we collectively find a woman who competes within its self-proclaimed "most glamorous shows in fitness" simply irresistible - Andrea Brazier, for example. And Australian Rachael "Rach" White, the 2016 WBFF Pro Figure World Champion, is the latest.



Surprisingly, at least to me, we find that WBFF Pro Figure is a lot more muscular than its IFBB 2nd cousin once-removed. Rach could, I imagine, quite easily transition to the IFBB's Women's Physique Division and do well. Very well... Unless in fact she actually has too much muscle for the IFBB. Maybe it's best she stays right where she is!



IFBB Figure is where Rach started her competitive career in 2011, winning state (Victorian) and national titles, and repeating the state title the following year, when she finished 3rd at the Australian Nationals. The following year she failed to place at either show. Had she got too muscular? It's a theory that would fit my purposes perfectly right now, but I haven't been able to confirm it. Whatever the reason though, by 2015 she had switched to the WBFF, and she won and was awarded her pro card at her very first show, and then became world champion at her second.



It was between those two shows that the world of female muscle fandom really started to take notice of this "super muscle goddess" from Down Under. With her looks and enhancements and the fact she competes in "Figure", she appeals to those who don't like their muscle women too big. But at the same time she appeals to fans of the bigger girls with her lean, yet thickly-muscled physique - veins crisscrossing her abs, thick arms, those calves... In terms of popular appeal, her combination of beauty, femininity and muscle makes her, as one fan noted, "about as good as it gets".



I was the skinny kid, she says. In high school, I was often accused of being anorexic, which embarrassed me because I ate like a horse! I then proceeded to join a gym, but not for the reason most would join, I wanted to add some curves to my tiny frame. I grew muscle quickly and I loved the way my body looked, so I continued to lift heavier and before I knew it I was targeting specific areas.



Before competing, my goal was to build a physique similar to that of Larissa Reis or Monica Brant. I loved the fuller, rounder look of each muscle belly. I was determined not to step on stage until I felt I had developed each muscle to the best of my ability, yet still remaining symmetrical. I have always admired the old school [male] physiques, but my ultimate inspiration is Cory Everson.



Now it is Rach herself who provides the "ultimate inspiration". Her 34,000+ IG followers aren't, I can confirm, not all guys like you and me! You motivate me so much, one fellow WBFF Diva tells her, just one of the many women inside and outside the fitness industry who have adopted Rach as their role model.



Her prep for this year's WBFF Worlds, or rather, the images she has posted of that prep, have proved to have immense appeal. She looks so good, and some parts of her physique so damn big, that some have questioned the authenticity of the images. "Those calves can't be real!" sort of thing. Well, they are. So is the rest of her.



And isn't she spectacular?!



It's Figure, Jim. But not as we know it...



Enjoy!