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.

Amateur Week: Miss Boxing

*APOLOGIES FOR THE LACK OF A POST YESTERDAY - THIS WAS NOT ENTIRELY DUE TO THE FACT THAT FMS WAS CELEBRATING ITS 4,000,000TH PAGE VIEW (THANK YOU!) - WE HOPE THAT TODAY'S DOUBLE WILL MAKE UP FOR IT.*



The German-based NAC federation is not one that most fans know a lot about, and with the possible exception of a serial champion like Italy's Monia Gioiosa, the majority of female muscle heads would be hard-pushed to name any of its leading ladies. In that respect, it appears to have much in common with its British equivalent - NABBA. There's much to appreciate - the ladies appear drenched in oil and tanning products, they are often magnificently ripped, and they pose in thongs - but they hardly ever get the kind of attention (here and elsewhere) that IFBB/NPC competitors do.

Over the next couple of days [actually just today now thanks to yesterday's no post - ed.] we'll be spotlighting two competitors with extensive contest histories, both of whom have enjoyed recent success in one of those two less celebrated federations.

First up, it's the Romanian-born Hungary-based NAC Figure legend Judit Palecian.


Judit in her kickboxing days

Judit was a dancer in her youth, but later began a very successful kickboxing career, and she still uses the nickname "Miss Boxing" for her Facebook page. She was a World Champion in 2002 and again in 2003, after which she began to focus solely on Bodybuilding. She has won World and European titles in NAC, IBFA, IBFF, and WBPF contests over a period of many years - one article from last year claims she had held as many as 11 World and 3 European titles between 2014 and 2016 alone!




Most recently though, she defended her NAC Over 40 Figure title at their World Championships in the Philippines at the beginning of June. And thanks to German supersite Frey Nutrition, we have (literally) thousands of images of the ladies from that contest to enjoy, including many of the beautiful and beautifully-shredded Judit.



Frey also captured Judit's winning routine - thong, heels and all!



I doubt the IFBB/NPC bigwigs pay much attention to how other federations do things, but watching Judit performing her routine here (as well as previous routines, which are not difficult to find, by the way) I can't help but dare to dream that one day in the not-too-distant future we might see - for example - Cydney Gillon or Maria Luisa Baeza Diaz flexing on the Olympia stage like this Figure World Champion.


Relaxing in Cebu after her NAC Worlds victory

Perhaps even in thongs!

Enjoy!

FBBUK: Anita Tryc Counts Her Blessings

UK Physique competitor Anita Tryc started her fitness journey back in 2009. Despite having studied at the Academy of Sports Education in her native Poland, she admits she "went downhill". I smoked, and I used to drink too much, as students do, she says. It was after finally giving up cigarettes and gaining 20kg in a month that she decided to get back the fitness she had lost. I was size 16/18, quite a big girl, she remembers. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror! (She doesn't seem to have that problem now...)



She began running again, and was soon looking to move to England. Beforehand though, a medical check-up revealed a tumour on one of her ovaries. It was borderline, she says. I was told that if it hadn't been found for few more months, it could have turned cancerous. I consider myself a very lucky human being.



Relocation to London complete, Anita set about changing her training as well - I wanted to have muscles and be stronger. Lifting at home progressed to lifting at the gym, and before long she began wondering whether one day she might be able to compete. I wanted to be like Dana Linn Bailey, she says, but when I told people I want to do Women’s Physique one day, they all said I would do OK in Bikini. And, it turns out, nothing could have been more motivating to hear than that. If someone tells me that I can't do something, she says. I will prove to them and myself that I CAN!


Hanging out at the 2016 UKBFF British Championships with her "sweet friend" Linda Gartside

And she did. Her first show was in 2015, a qualifier for the UKBFF where her runner's-up placing took her to the national championships. She's been at those British finals every year since, but last year Anita broke into the top 6 for the very first time.


UKBFF British Championships 2017, 6th place

2018 has seen a new approach from Anita though. A new coach - "much stricter than I am used to" - and a prep that has been harder than she has ever known. This is how the professionals do it, she says, and the results are mind blowing! I don't even recognise myself, my conditioning and posing. I have learnt so much, it's like being at school!



And the first sight we have had of this new, improved Anita was at the PCA contest held during the BodyPower Expo. This was her first ever non-UKBFF show, and also, as she lined-up in the Trained Figure class, the first time she'd ever been on stage in heels.



Anita didn't win the show, but there are ways to judge a performance other than by placing. I loved every minute and I couldn't be prouder, she said after seeing herself up there. My best condition ever, my best posing ever... I actually shocked myself!



Not surprisingly, she can't wait to do it again, but in the meantime, that beautiful smile will be staying put - I'm so blessed that I am able to wake up every single morning to work towards my dreams, she says. I'll be coming back and coming back better.



Follow Anita on Instagram

PCA TV

With over 20 shows this year alone in the UK, the Physical Culture Association can rightly claim to be "the largest bodybuilding and fitness organisation in the UK".



Last year, UK Bodyfitness swoon Danielle Osborn - a class winner at the Arnold Classic Europe - tried her luck in the Athletic Figure class at a PCA show after not doing so well at the UKBFF British Championships. She won - and got to flex her lovely muscles while doing so. A really incredible experience, she said afterwards.

On the forums, fans were starting to appreciate the PCA's female classes - everything from Wellness and traditional Bikini to Trained Figure (like NABBA, but flexing in thongs and heels), with classes like Athletic Figure and Trained Bikini (basically like trad Bikini - in heels - but ripped, and in thongs!) adding to the curiosity value.

"Shame the videos are such low quality," lamented one fan.

Well, the PCA have fixed that this year.

Their YouTube channel, PCA TV, seems to have no lesser ambition than to bring you every routine from single British show in 2018. There are, I make it, 60 female routines across 8 classes in glorious HD from the early April PCA Saxon Classic alone.

Trained Figure winner there - and also later on in April at the PCA Scottish Championships - was Karen Gibson, also a NABBA Trained Figure athlete.

Here's her Saxon Classic winning routine.



Currently being put up are routines from (what I believe is) the biggest PCA show of the year so far, the PCA UK East Coast, which was held in Hull at the very end of April.

And there in the Trained Figure class another name (and body) familiar to regular FMS readers - Fay Ellis (aka Fay Simone), another woman who has found a home in the PCA after not really getting on with the UKBFF (in her case as a Physique competitor).



I'm not sure if Fay won - one thing the PCA still aren't very good at is getting their results out quick. However, I'm confident they'll fix this failing before too long.

They've certainly done a terrific job of fixing the quality of their clips!

Explore the PCA YouTube channel here.

And you can follow Danielle Osborn, Karen Gibson, and Fay Ellis on Instagram.

Enjoy!

A Different Universe

C. Moore should have read the fine print.

Contest reports were not part of my 28-day plan, but turns out I am contractually obliged to give my learned opinion on two of the shows of the season, and possibly more, which can be added "at the discretion of the editorial team", or so it says.

So, Birmingham. Saturday 28th October.

C. Moore was nowhere near it. Master of disguise though I am, NABBA's not a federation I wish to cross again, but help was at hand in the form of a live feed courtesy of NAPA. And 'twas very much a marathon not a sprint. Hours and hours of action - C. Moore had to stay up way past his bedtime, although sadly the vast majority of classes were male-based. Nevertheless, these days there are not two but three female classes - Athletic, Toned and Trained Figure - the Universe having given up on the "Physique" class seven years ago now (though you can still see really big girls in thongs at the NABBA Worlds). Plus there is a "Pro Figure" class as well, where champions past and other more notable names line up. This relatively new development within the original amateur federation has arguably led to a thinning out of quality in the amateur class, but on the flip side of that it has also allowed newer stars, younger women, to emerge.

Anyway, judging was early doors - the women were on from 10.00am till about 11.15am in the order of Toned, then Athletic, then Trained. I thought watching the Toned and Athletic back to back would give me some handle on the distinction between the two, but in fact the opposite was true. Seems to be a fair bit of switching between the two classes by the competitors as well, and this being NABBA, often women who turn up expecting to compete in one class are ordered to compete in another, blurring the lines even more. Still, there were a lot of very sexy bums in very tiny thongs on show. C. Moore found it more than a little difficult to pace himself.

C. Moore had had himself a good old nap after lunch, before the "Show" portion of the contest - routines, awards, pictures etc. - started up at 6.30pm. This time the Trained ladies were up first, then some men before the Athletic ladies took to the stage. Then were two more lots of men before the Toned ladies, with Pro Figure much later, the penultimate class on the bill. I liked the breaks between the ladies' classes - the chances to refuel were very welcome as the day wore on. The many bodacious bums, the vast majority in NABBA-style thongs, proved - as is usually the case - somewhat draining.

And so, to my picks of the show.

ATHLETIC FIGURE

Winner: Lee Tae Hee (South Korea)



C. Moore's Best of the Rest: Samantha Horne (UK)



Top bum for me. Check out 0.20 and 0.40 for why, and abs rolling is never a bad thing. She came to the show as the reigning NABBA England champion, having previously competed at first in Miami Pro and Ms Galaxy contests, and also this year in the PCA. Sam (as she likes to be called) started weight training at the age of 15 after being bullied at school. Would like to see what those tossers look like now and make collages of their (no doubt) disgustingly fatty bods compared to Sam's sleek, muscular sex appeal.

She should have had "How Do You Like Me Now?" for her routine.



TONED FIGURE

Winner: Natasha Novak (UK)





C. Moore's Best of the Rest: Jo Eun Na (South Korea)

Not an easy pick this one - there was more glootastic talent in this class than I remember from previous shows. Brits Charley Alexander and Stephanie Smith got C. Moore's joy trumpet standing very much to attention, and not only them. But Jo Eun Na not only gave the audience a treat with her bottom-heavy muscular Asian body, but also delivered probably the most memorable routine in the whole show.

Altogether now... HEEEEEEEEEEEEY SEXY LADY!



TRAINED FIGURE

Winner: Gemma Lancaster (UK)



Aka "The She Beast". Nice!

In 2017 Gemma has been crowned Ms NABBA England, Ms NABBA Universe - the second consecutive year a Brit has won - and, as a result of her win, she got to compete with the Pros. What an emotional and overwhelming day! she said afterwards.



C. Moore's Best of the Rest: Lydia Gerrard (UK)



By her own admission, Lydia needs to work on the "noodle arms" (her words, just to be clear). Fantastic glooteal definition though, and I think you will agree that her routine showed off her strengths very nicely and bagged her 3rd place. Lydia also seems to be the kind of woman you could have a lot of fun in a hotel with. Or anywhere really.



MISS FIGURE PRO DIVISION

Winner: Flora Conte (Italy)



With perennial NABBA Pro winner Daria Diossi sitting this one out, there was little real competition for the grande dame of NABBA Trained Figure. A two-time winner of the amateur version of the Ms Universe title (2010 and 2013), Flora has also been runner-up on more than one occasion. This is her first NABBA pro title of any sort.



C. Moore's Best of the Rest: Carol Bittencourt (Brazil)



With apologies to Lindsey Angel, whose bum work was exemplary, C. Moore has to go with the tanned, rippling Brazilian for the climax to his reluctant contest report.



Review all the routines at your leisure on the NABBA YouTube channel.