Wednesday, December 17, 2014

NXT Diva Competing at the 2015 Arnold

DISCLAIMER: All photos used belong to their original owners. 


As you all probably know by now, the lists for the 2015 Arnold on the pro side have been released, with the biggest and best names in the industry competing for top honors in one of the biggest shows of the year. One name that stood out to me was Ashley Sebera for the fitness side, known as the Fitness International. Some of you probably know her by a different name...Dana Brooke. Yes, THE Dana Brooke from NXT, WWE's developmental brand. My initial thought about this was..."Was this a mistake? The committee knows she's part of WWE, right? Do they even ALLOW this? But after seeing the retweets from Triple H (WWE's COO) and Sara Amato (NXT trainer), that's when it hit me. A WWE performer is going to represent the entire wrestling world in one of the largest fitness competitions in the world.

Former WWE Divas Aksana (real name Živilė Raudonienė) and Kaitlin (real name Celeste Braun) were former IFBB and NPC figure competitors who stopped competing to become WWE Divas. Torrie Wilson and Lisa Maria Varon were fitness competitors before entering the world of professional wrestling. So how and why is Dana (we'll be using her WWE name going forward in this article) able to compete in one of the top fitness shows in the world AND still be a WWE/NXT Diva? Better question is...why not?



Dana is one of the top prospects in NXT who has not (as of this writing) made it to the TV roster (or NXT's home, the WWE Network...$9.99 a month, no commitment needed. I know, cheap plug). Known as the Killa Barbie, she has shown a lot of promise as a tough-as-nails performer who could be one of the next top female powerhouses in WWE, based off fans who have seen her perform during NXT live events. SO...back to the point of "What's the big deal of Dana making the Arnold list?"

If memory serves me right, this will mark the first time in WWE history that a WWE performer UNDER CONTRACT will compete in a fitness event. The ladies I mentioned earlier competed in fitness competitions but stopped after entering WWE. This practically guarantees big opportunities for the WWE and IFBB to showcase their companies to new people. IFBB, while big, doesn't have nearly the mainstream media power that WWE has. Can you imagine the exposure the IFBB can get if some of the Arnold was shown on WWE programming? WWE, in turn, will have a massive amount of fit talent (male and female) they can look at and scout for the next breed of Superstars and Divas for WWE and NXT. The company will be like kids in a candy store trying to see who can one day lead their company.

What's in it for Dana? To bring two words together and show both audiences why she's one of the top athletes on the planet. The thought of a good deal of the crowd chanting "NXT! NXT! NXT!" during her swimsuit round and fitness routine round brings a tear and a smile to my face knowing one of our own is returning home to represent everything she loves: fitness and pro wrestling. For more reasons than you know, Dana is already a winner.

2015 is her year...she makes history on March 6th. 

We would like to publicly wish Dana the best of luck as she prepares to represent pro wrestling in one of the biggest stages in the fitness industry and we would like to thank Paul Levesque (Triple H), Sara Del Ray (Sara Amato), and WWE/NXT for giving Dana the opportunity to make history. Good luck Dana! FYI, you can follow Dana on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DanaBrookeWWE and Instagram at http://instagram.com/ashasebera_danabrooke

The 2015 Arnold Sports Festival is March 5-8 at the Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, with the Fitness International Prejudging and Finals on March 6th. Click here for ticket information. 

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

2014 FitGems Nation Woman of the Year Nominees

Last year, we decided to have a high honor for the top lady in the industry for the year of 2013. Dana Linn Bailey won the 1st-ever FitGems Nation Woman of the Year honor by a landslide. We are doing this once again, honoring the top ladies of 2014. 16 women were chosen as having the biggest impact on the industry. We have omitted DLB from the list as she won last year but she will be eligible for next year's award.

Here are this year's nominees:

  • Nicole Wilkins
  • Emily Stirling
  • Juliana Malacarne
  • Sabrina Taylor
  • Oksana Grishina
  • Tanji Johnson
  • Candice Keene
  • Ann Titone
  • Iris Kyle
  • Alina Popa
  • India Paulino
  • Amanda Latona
  • Ashley Kaltwasser
  • Latorya Watts
  • Camala Rodriquez-McClure
  • Wendy Fortino

Voting for this award (as well as the other FitGems Awards) will begin this Monday (December 1st) and will go on all month. Voting details to come in the following days. 

Congrats to all the nominees! 

Monday, September 22, 2014

FitVoice: Our Official Podcast

This has been in the makings for about a year now, but never got around to actually getting it together...until now. I'm proud to announce that we now have a podcast! It's called FitVoice.

Our banner for our podcast! Features Brittany Beede (left) and Christine Pompiono-Pate (right) 


FitVoice is where you will get a weekly podcast of me talking about the female muscle world through the eyes of a fan/supporter. It's not affiliated with any federation, so don't worry, no bias will be shown.  From the competitors to the promoters to the fans to the federations themselves, no topic is off-limits on our podcast. We already have two episodes up. The first one was Olympia predictions, and the one for this week is the Olympia fallout. There's a lot of positive on there, but it's not all positive. In fact, I address something that bugged me during one of the prejudging events. If you followed the Siouxcountry Olympia thread (I'm there under cray17), you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Next week's show will be a tribute to the careers of Adela Garcia and Iris Kyle. Both ladies announced their retirements from the competition stage this year at the Olympia. If you would like to contribute to our podcast in anyway (via suggestions, questions, and maybe even being a guest), please email us at admin@fitgemsnation.com and put FitVoice in the subject line. You can also use the hashtag #FitVoice on Twitter as well. I tend to record on Mondays and have it by the end of the night on Mondays.

Here's the link to our podcast page: http://fitgemsnation.podomatic.com/. You can listen to the podcast  right on the site or download it to listen to it on your own time.



Sunday, September 14, 2014

Marc Thyssen's 2014 Olympia Photoshoots

Our good friend Marc Thyseen (FitGems Award nominee for Best Photographer) has returned to the United States to do several Olympia photo shoots. He will be shooting at Red Rock, Vegas Desert, Ghost town and exclusively at Venetian Resort Pool.

Packages available are Bronze, Silver, Gold & Platinum. He has done some amazing work and has worked with several of our favorites, including Christine Pomponio-Pate, Monica Brant, Larissa Reis, Felicia Romero, the 1st-ever Bikini Olympia champion Sonia Gonzales, 3-Time Figure Olympia champion Nicole Wilkins, 7-time Fitness Olympia champion Adela Garcia, and many other top competitors.

For more on the bookings and pricing, email Marc at marc@marcthyssen.com or check out his website at www.marcthyssen.com for more info on his photo packages. You can also RSVP on Facebook at this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1471420889807250/. Tell them that FitGems Nation sent you!

From left to right, top to bottom: Larissa Reis, Felicia Romero, Heather Dees, Sonia Gonzales, Adela Garcia, Christine Pompoino-Pate

Monica Brant

Christine Pomponio-Pate

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Never Too Late: Tara Chandler Makes IFBB Debut Seven Years After Earning Pro Card

When one competes in the National Physique Committee (NPC) in hopes to one day becoming a pro in the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB), what usually happens is when one gets an IFBB Pro card, they usually Compete within a year after earning their pro cards, maybe even just a few weeks after. However, it does not mean you HAVE to be in a rush to compete in the pro rankings. Sometimes, it's best to wait it out and see when is the best time to test yourself among the best in the industry.

Left: Tara at the 2007 Nationals. Right: Tara at the 2014 Emerald Cup. Welcome to the IFBB, Tara!
Photo credit: Muscular Development (put together on Picmonkey)

Tara Chandler won her pro card at the 2007 NPC Nationals in the figure division. During that time, Gina Alotti, Jennifer Gates, and Jenny Lynn were at the top of the pro rankings. The one-piece swimsuit round was also part of the figure division as well. Fast forward seven years later, Nicole Wilkins, Erin Stern, Candice Keene, and Camala Rodriquez-McClure are the top names in pro figure and the one-piece swimsuit round is a thing of the past. Tara made ​​her pro debut at the 2014 Emerald Cup, a competition she competed in as an amateur figure competitor. Placing despite lower than many hoped, it was clear to all that saw her that day that Tara could be a major part of the figure division. Her Physique was complete, great shape, size, and conditioning that fits right in (in my honest opinion) with today's top pros. Whatever her flaws and her team saw were worked out at her next show, the New York Pro, where she came in with Physique an even more refined than what she had at the Emerald Cup. 

To us, it's only a matter of time before Tara is up there with the top stars in the division, especially if she keeps bring a similar package to what she's brought in her first two shows as a pro. A wise man once said, " Good things comes to those who wait. " We at FitGems Nation think Tara Chandler is a perfect example of that. We look forward to seeing more of her in competition in the near future. Good luck in the IFBB, Tara!

Tara @ 2014 New York Pro. What's next? We'll soon find out!
Photo credit: Muscular Development

Saturday, February 15, 2014

2014 Arnold Classic Brazil Fitness Competitors Announced

Today, the list of those competing in the 2014 Arnold Sports Brazil was announced. Ryall Graber will be defending her title against some strong competition. Michelle Blank, Whitney Jones, and Amanda Hatfield will look to build off of successful runs from last season. Myriam Capes is also on the list, but we're unsure if she will be compete as she's nursing an injury that's keeping her out of the 2014 Fitness International in a couple of weeks. Our congrats to everyone that made the 2014 Arnold Classic Brazil field!

The 2014 Arnold Sports Brazil will take place April 25-27 in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

List of competitors:

Marta Aguiar

Michelle Blank

Myriam Capes

Bethany Cisternino

Regiane DaSilva

Ryall Graber

Fiona Harris

Amanda Hatfield

Whitney Jones

Babette Mulford

Danielle Ruban

Diana Monteiro

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Kaitlyn Gone from WWE

She will always be known as "The Hybrid Diva"!


Former NPC figure competitor Celeste Bonin aka Kaitlyn is (as of today) no longer under contract to WWE. If you think about it, this shouldn't come as a surprise to a lot of people based off the news of her being engaged to PJ Braun. No, we are in no ways saying that her engagement has anything to do with her departure. But this isn't the first time a Diva has left the company shortly after getting engaged. Eve Torres did this one year ago around the same time, and in 2006, Trish Stratus left the company. Both ladies were able to leave on their own terms: Trish retired with the title and Eve put over Kaitlyn in her home state of Texas.

Kaitlyn's departure will be no different, as she will be taking on her best friend in real life, AJ Lee on ION Television tonight. Usually when one does right in the eyes of WWE, you are able to have your own moment as sort of a "thank you" gesture and not be embarrassed, and it looks like Kaitlyn will get that "thank you" gesture tonight.  Besides her engagement, apparently she is working on something big according to PJ. We can't wait to see what the former Divas Champion and NXT Season 3winner has in store for everyone now that she's not a part of WWE. We hope to have something posted about it once we get word on it.

On behalf of FitGems Nation, we would like to say "Thank You" for everything you did during NXT Season Three and during your time as a WWE Diva. We look forward to seeing what's next in your life!

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Miss WWE Fitness Diva Tournament (Big Cross-Promotion Event)

Which past/present WWE Diva will be crowned Miss WWE Fitness Diva less than a week before Wrestlemania 30?! Photo credit to the original photographers. Put together on Picmonkey.


WWE will be celebrating a milestone this year, as it will be hosting the 30th Anniversary of Wrestlemania on April 6th at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. To celebrate this historic mark in sports-entertainment history, Diva Physique, Fit Model TV, and FitGems Nation are teaming up to host a special event: the 1st-ever Miss WWE Fitness Diva Tournament! Beginning on Monday, January 6th, you get to vote for who you feel is the fittest WWE Diva of all time! 16 women from WWE's past and present have been selected based on their incredible physiques, from the most muscular to the leanest to the most out-of-this-world figures, these woman did their parts in being above and beyond awesome when it comes to having Diva bodies in pro wrestling.

The women are (in no order):
Eve Torres
Chyna
Beth Phoenix
Victoria
Natalya
Trish Stratus
Ivory
Mickie James
Torrie Wilson
Michelle McCool
Tori
Jamie Keyes
Jazz
Sable
Jacqueline
Kaitlyn

First round of voting begins on January 6th and end on January 26th. The eight women who get the most votes will go to to the next round, which will begin on January 27th and will end on February 16th. Final Four voting will begin on February 17th and will end on March 9th. On March 10th, the Miss WWE Fitness Diva Championship round will begin and voting will conclude on March 31st. Miss WWE Fitness Diva will be announced on April 2nd. Tiebreakers will be done as needed during the end of each round, and they will be one-day tiebreakers. 

BOOKMARK THIS LINK: http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/587645/. You won't be able to access the ballot until Monday, though. 

Best of luck to everyone. May the fittest prevail!

For more on the sites that are hosting this event, check out the links to their main sites and social media links below:

Diva Physique

Fit Model TV

FitGems Nation