Woman of the Week: FBBUK: Emily Brand

She's my current dream girl, my internet female muscle head friend tells me - he has a bit of a penchant for the younger ladies, you see. Her transformation pics are hot af!


Relax, Emily's 20 now

To be honest, I'd never heard of Lincolnshire's Emily Brand before my friend told me about her - me having a bit of a penchant for the more mature muscle ladies, you see. And, quite honestly too, I found her transformation pics more upsetting than "hot af", because her story begins with an anorexic teenager. Her weight: 5st 3lbs (just 33kg).



At 14, Emily spent a year as a child mental health in patient. The doctors tried to put me on a feeding tube, she says. I ripped it straight out. Then they tried to get me to drink these high calorie shakes and I would just sneak out of bed and tip them out the window. Though she did get well enough to return home, she soon relapsed, and at 17 she was readmitted. This time though some tough love helped her turn herself around. When you go into the unit you're not allowed weekend home visits until you've got to a certain weight, she explains. In the end, I ate my way out. I just did what I had to do to get home. I still hadn't completely overcome the psychological side of my anorexia but I was more determined to get better and I joined the gym.



It wasn't an instant cure by any means - to begin with, and despite the fact Emily plucked up the courage to enter some Bikini shows - she was, in her own words, "still trying to function on way too few calories". It was only when she met her current coach, Rob Reinaldo, that Emily truly began to overcome her illness. And he did it with a little more tough love. He said he would train me and get me into bodybuilding but he really put his foot down when it came to my eating, recalls Emily.



A year on, and she has gained 3st (almost 20kg!) of muscle - and it shows!



As a result, she's moved up a division or two in her competitive outings. Athletic Figure (or equivalent) is I believe where you will find Emily now. And the chances are she's competed at a PCA or WABBA show near you in 2018. She'd done seven by mid-August, according to the Mail Online, and "has consistently placed in the top four and been crowned champion three times". Since then, she's competed - and won - at least once more, and with the PCA British Finals not happening till October, I wouldn't be surprised if Emily got tanned and oiled for another two or three shows this year!


To the victor... (pick 'n' mix out of the trophy!)

I can't believe how much my life has changed, says Emily. It's amazing to think I was in a wheelchair just three years ago. People say that weightlifting hurts but what I put my body through with my anorexia was so painful that weightlifting is nothing...



I really love it, and I'm loving life.



Follow Emily on Instagram. Her story was first reported by Unilad, then picked up by the Mail, and also featured in The Sun. And if you do have a moment spare, perhaps a letter to your local MP, or whoever is in charge of the Department of Health in your government right now, asking them to read Emily's (or another FBB's) story and get weight training on the list of recommended treatments for anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders. It will probably fall on deaf ears, but if you don't try...



Enjoy!

(More) Summer Lovin': FBBUK : Hard All Over (Hayley Brylewski Turns Pro)

This is what Hayley's leg looked like the night before at "bedtime". How you sleep when your veins are poppin' out of your skin I know not - guess there is the exhaustion from depletion, but wouldn't you spend the whole night just looking at your freaky self?!

Maybe touching...



The next day - show day - and Hayley has a cheeky abs check in the hotel lift before breakfast. I wonder if she got her trousers back up and her jacket closed before the door opened? Wonder if she even bothered. Perhaps she just sauntered into the buffet with clothing arranged exactly like that, a treat for the early birds in the dining room.



She had, even by her own gnarly standards, been looking particularly hard in the lead-up to her show - her glutes in particular. As last weekend approached, she proudly displayed them in the gym (left), and by the time she'd arrived at the hotel (right), they seemed to have become harder still. I was reminded of her fellow Brit Corinne Ingman, and when it comes to peeled glutes, there is no greater praise than that.



I've thought about this long and hard, and I really would give up a body part to be the guy who gets to take the photo of Hayley lounging on the bed in her sparkly purple posing suit. I might even be prepared to give up a limb just as long as that guy is also the guy who can go back to worshipping (with body parts of his own choosing) those delicious walnuts right after he's posted said pic to her Instagram for her.



Anyway!

The contest Hayley was getting (as Corinne herself puts it) "truly, disgustingly peeled" for was something called the Ben Weider Worldwide Classic British Championships Pro Qualifier, and, as befits a contest with such a magnificent name, it was held in...

Coventry.



It is one of a series of shows "worldwide" - clue is in the name! - designed to make new pros. There's been one in Rimini, and after the Olympia there's another in Alicante... OK, so maybe not "worldwide" yet, but the concept is still young. The number of contestants vying for the coveted pro card hasn't been massive either. As in Rimini so in Coventry - just two Physique ladies: Hayley plus (also from the UK) Sandi Griffin.



Hayley got the nod, and the big red envelope.


Hayley, with big red envelope (and sword) and Jenna Beckworth

I’ve competed with Hayley for many years, Corinne wrote by way of congratulation. A genuine person with a lovely heart. FMS too, is genuinely delighted to be reporting one of the nicest, most down-to-earth UK Physique Dreams' dream has come true. Perhaps, as Corinne adds, Hayley has "set the tone" for more British Physique success. @linnyg_walnut [Linda Gartside] is up next, predicts Corinne. Then myself.

Amen to that.

Check out FitVids preview of their latest work with Hayley.

Enjoy!

FBBUK: Our Girl

This week's Figure-dominated theme with a bit of a coincidental military presence continues with former British Army corporal and Iraq veteran Melissa Haywood.



Whilst deployed on an exercise, I came across a copy of Muscle & Fitness Hers, she recalls. On the front cover was a curvy, tight and toned woman who looked fit, healthy and strong. Inside, I saw sample weight training programmes and diets that consisted of 6 meals a day and lots of protein. And I just thought "Hey! I can do this!" and started from there! The cover model, she later discovered was Amanda Latona, and Melissa went on to be a major force in (the then-nascent) Bikini division in Britain. She won her first British title in 2012 while still serving in the army, and took runner's-up medals from the Arnold Classic Europe and European Championships back home. Then at the 2014 English Grand Prix, she became one of our very first IFBB Bikini pros.



The following year she travelled to Miami for her first pro Bikini show. Looking a tad on the pasty side, she finished 12th out of 20, and then she pretty much fell off our radar completely. Having left the army, she set up an online training/body transformation business with fellow Bikini babe Jamie Alterton. Was she too focused on helping others achieve their Bikini dreams to compete now? Already married, was she starting a family? Turns out neither were true. Melissa was taking time out to grow.



Some of these Figure pros are absolutely stacked! Melissa exclaimed in a blog post this time last year. They are dry and they are hard and they are grainy and their shoulders... are out here! At this point, Melissa indicates where a huge shoulder would go out to, comfortably twice the size of her own impressively built deltoid. They are MASSIVE! she exclaims breathlessly, and I'm never going to look like that...



Fortunately, however, Melissa also noticed that not all the Figure pros looked so intimidating. Name-checking Stephanie Hammermeister and Chelsea Larson, Melissa talked about a more attainable - and for her more desirable - "lean, athletic" Figure look with "good muscle shape and symmetry". I could tell what was coming - can you? Barely a minute of the blog post later and she's announcing that she would make her pro Figure debut in San Marino that November. And that's exactly what she did.



Up against the cream of European Figure (Adela Ondrejovicova and winner Zulema Duran to name but two) plus Olympians such as Georgina Lona and Jessica Reyes Padilla, Melissa placed 8th out of 22, two places above UKBFF Figure champ Anna Banks. Now she was in arguably the most competitive division, and at such a competitive show, this was most satisfactory as far as debuts go, but there were definitely areas she could sharpen, she felt. Might need to work on my walk, she confessed after seeing the photos. I look like I’m marching to the shop to get milk!



The Melissa that emerged form her winter work was determined she would be better next time. It feels so good to be back! she wrote at the start of May. Eight weeks to get as lean as possible. Her goal was the new Portugal Pro in mid-July, another European event, but one not nearly as subscribed as San Marino. This time Melissa would only be up against European competition - nine women including veteran British division jumper Carmen Knights, and rising star Samantha Forbes. The real competition though was against herself, her San Marino package, and the day before the show she obviously felt she had achieved that. The venue is incredible (our stage rises out of the floor!), she told her Instagram followers. Whatever happens tomorrow is out of my hands so I’m just going to enjoy the whole experience and have fun on stage.



She placed 5th out of 10 - I would have had her 3rd, but then I'm biased and what do I know anyway? The post-show smile as she wielded her medal needed no caption.



And I kind of expected that to be that as far as Melissa was concerned for the year, unless another visit to San Marino before Christmas. Once again, I was completely wrong, in fact I'm not even sure she went home first or just went from Portugal direct. Melissa was going Stateside for her next show, you see. Los Angeles to be precise.



The line-up is stacked with so many amazing and inspiring athletes, she wrote on the day, and she was not wrong. As we've seen already this week on FMS, the (Figure-only) LA show is most definitely the IFBB pro Figure big time. This was easily the best line-up Melissa had ever been part of, many of them, as she was, coming off a show the week or two before. I’m just going to have fun and enjoy every second, she said. Again.



Here at FMS, we thought Melissa looked absolutely sensational. She'd certainly nailed the "lean, athletic" look she wants. Great definition, great muscle shape, great symmetry. We were all very pleased for her, but British Figure in the US historically, and in that line-up... we weren't exactly holding our breath for a top 10 placing.



But what do we know?! Amazing to find myself amongst Olympians in the first call outs! she wrote midway through the contest. And ultimately, Melissa achieved one of the best British Figure results ever. 4th place!!! she gushed afterwards. So happy!



And then it was back to the grind. No rest for Melissa, even when she's had something to celebrate. It's only Wednesday, she wrote, on Wednesday. My first full week of training since before the Portugal Pro and I am literally feeling BATTERED.



I think that really is it now for Melissa this contest year. It's time for what she calls her "reflection" season - looking back at what she's done well, could do better etc. (rather than my initial idea that she would just be spending a lot of time in front of the mirror!). Clearly, and despite all my observations to the contrary earlier in the week, there still is a place in the division for the "lean, athletic" package, and those already taking inspiration from the likes of Stephanie Hammermeister and Chelsea Larson could learn much from what Melissa Haywood has done over the last 36 months.



The rise of UK Figure continues...

The Sexhibitionists: Julie Pereira

What I wouldn't do just to run my fingertips across your body...

I love your chiselled body. A goddess to worship, I throw roses at your feet.

You are a slayer of hearts and I bet you know it.

All very familiar if you were with us for Phyllis Huang yesterday. A muscular amateur competitor over the age of 40 with a mostly off relationship with clothing is adored by her (mainly male) following on social media. And superficially, yes, the life of Northern Ireland's Julie Pereira has many parallels with Phyllis Huang's.



Fit and over 40 never felt so good, Julie tells her adoring horde. She invites them to "follow the map on the Vein Gain Train", she "complains" she'll have to spend the entire off-season "au naturel" because none of her clothes fit her now she's got so thick, including a pair of fishnet tights that "won't even pass my bulging hamstrings".

Talk about fish(nett)ing for compliments!



There are, however, key differences between her and Phyllis, the first of which is that Julie (in British amateur terms anyway) is a serious and successful competitor. Among her achievements are top places at NABBA shows both at regional shows in her native Northern Ireland and on a national level. She's competed at NABBA and WFF World Championships, and last year became the Overall PCA British Trained Figure champion. Do I love the stage? she asks, somewhat unnecessarily. Hell YES!!!



The other key difference between Phyllis and Julie is best expressed numerically - Phyllis has 18,500 Instagram followers (give or take), Julie has 108,000!

To put this in perspective, Brittany Rhodes - a NABBA Toned Figure queen and a woman whose looks and attitude often see her quoted in the mainstream media like she's the spokeswoman for British female muscle or something, has just over 17,000 IG followers. Louise Rogers, who's been at this a bit longer than Julie (who's trained for competition for just four years till now) has about half as many followers as Julie does. Rosie Harte? 25K. Donna Murphy, UKBFF British Physique champ and the face and body that launched a thousand FitVids purchases? 36K. Carly Thornton gets a bit closer at 60,000, but Julie has 50 followers for every one following NABBA British champ Jayne Tingle. Even Lisa Cross, surely a match for any woman in the "attract a crazy loyal following" stakes, has around 40,000 followers on each of her Instagram accounts. Whatever "it" is that attracts us female muscle heads to certain women in very large numbers, Julie Pereira apparently has quite a lot of it.



Such popularity has allowed Julie to "monetise" her social media via the "Only Fans" route - see also Suzy Kellner for example. What's on her free-to-air social media is just the beginning of her sexibitionism, she promises. I'm sure many of her tens of thousands of fans are currently finding out if that's true. I strongly suspect that it is.



Enjoy a glootilicious Julie at the WFF Worlds in 2016.

She's slightly more covered up than she normally is (out of necessity rather than preference I would guess!), but still, that is a proper sexhibitionist's posing suit.



Enjoy!

Amateur of the Week: Jayne Tingle

Keep going, the caption reads, no matter how you feel.



There may be other women who personify the "amateur" in British female muscle quite as gloriously as Wigan's Jayne Tingle, but right now, I can't think of any who do.

She's been at it for some time - as long ago as 2007 she was the NABBA British Toned Figure champion - 13 years chipping away, as she puts it, a single mother personal trainer clearly doing it for the love. She hasn't exclusively competed at NABBA shows - she has, for example, appeared at the Arnold Amateur and Amateur Olympia, and at UKBFF British and IFBB European Championships in the past. But NABBA is the place she seems to be most at home, and the place where she gets the most love. However, she has never got as much love before as she has had from the NABBA judges this year.

She started her competitive season at the NABBA North-west, lining up in the Athletic Figure class - a bit more muscular than Toned, not as muscular as Trained.



And from there, she went on to the NABBA Britain.

Now, unlike some other federations where you get the judges telling you you were in the wrong class after you've competed, in NABBA, you are placed in one of the classes before you get on stage. And so, at the Britain this year, Jayne turned up expecting to feature in the Athletic class again, but was told she had to compete in Trained instead.

I was in absolute awe at every girl, Jayne said of the competition she suddenly found herself up against. I wondered how I could measure up to any of them.



You can probably guess what happened next...

11 years after she'd won the British Toned title, Jayne was now the British Trained champ. OMG, was her (understandable) reaction. Did I get moved from Athletic to Trained and win?! Lots of bitching, she confided. Sorry to those I've upset.



Nice of her to say that, but she probably wasn't very sorry. And anyway, in her decade and then some of competing, Jayne seems to have made a lot more friends than enemies. There were plenty of smiling faces ready to celebrate with her.

Next stop, the Worlds, and once again she arrived thinking "athletic"...



Time for me to accept I am more muscular than I realise! she said after once again the judges had moved her up to the more muscular class. I am actually hench!



Hench enough to place 4th anyway. People said I'd be a laughing stock internationally at Trained Figure - clearly NABBA (or is it Bodybuilding generally?) is a bitchier world than I would like to imagine! - If this is a laughing stock, she continued, defiantly, I'm rolling with it! 15 stacked girls, best line-up in a good while. I am so over the moon.



And ironically, none of this might have happened this year.

I wasn't going to compete 'cause I wasn't in a good place, she told her Instagram followers recently. Some mental abuse floored me, and I lost a lot of weight. But I needed something, so from January I put food in as I was struggling to eat from stress. Then I decided to try to aim for a show just to keep myself focused...



And last weekend, she did one more - the IFBB pro qualifying event in Coventry. She only won her class, and came within a few points of actually ending the year with a pro card, but ultimately the Overall title went elsewhere. This year is definitely my year! she concludes, despite the near miss. Feels great being in a good place again.



Long may that feeling continue.