Know Your Worth In and Beyond the Female Muscle World

The title of this article should be self-explanatory, but it bares repeating as much as possible. It sucks to see women STILL being treated as objects, no matter the profession. It’s 2022, people. We need to get past it. And if you think the female muscle world is immune to it, unfortunately you are sadly mistaken. In fact, I’m pretty sure it goes on more than many of you want to admit. I’m not shaming you to speak up in any way shape or form, but I DO want to share with you someone’s experience that I hope you will take to heart and at the bare minimum take some precautions of your own, whether you are dealing with the public or within the industry itself. 

Photo credit: Hapastrong website

Amanda Kohatsu is one of the newest IFBB Pros, winning her pro card in figure and women’s physique and winning the 2021 NPC Nationals Overall Figure title. In addition to her very quick rise in the bodybuilding world, she is a legend among the powerlifting world, holding several records and titles before making the switch to the bodybuilding industry. Like most folks, people go to the doctors for checkups or when they are sick. Unfortunately for Amanda, she went to a doctor that, to put it nicely, overstep his boundaries. 

The doctor she saw spent an hour telling her that bodybuilding and powerlifting are “stupid” and “wastes of time”. And she should look more feminine and try to lose some muscle mass.  Also in the comments of her Instagram post, she mentioned that the doctor made her her take off her jacket to “analyze” her body fat percentage. Yeah…that sounds like sexual harassment to us. You can read it on her own page here

Don’t worry, she is looking for a new doctor and we hope she gets a new one soon. But it were me, I personally would have walked out of the doctor’s office and contacted his superior ASAP. That doctor deserves to lose his practice over crap like this and never be allowed to work in that profession ever again. The doctor’s office should be one of the few places automatically where you are not sexually harassed. Honestly, you shouldn’t be harassed in any way, shape, or form, but you get the point I’m making here. To all women out there (not just in the female muscle world), PLEASE check your surroundings and make sure that you know your doctors and anyone else you have to deal with for anything in your life (trainers, nutritionists, therapists, psychologists, etc.). If it feels wrong, get out ASAP. Don’t stick around. KNOW YOUR DAMN WORTH!

Amanda is going to be okay, but if you want to send her some love, give her a follow on Instagram here.

Paige VanZant: An ELITE Acquisition

(All photos credited to All Elite Wrestling)

Professional wrestling for YEARS has belonged to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE, for short) when WCW and ECW went down and were purchased by Vince McMahon. Despite independent wrestling seeing decent numbers, the televised wrestling world has felt…stagnant and a bit too complacent for a lot of fans’ taste. For the most part, it’s not the performers’ fault. But where you’re the only game in town from a national TV standpoint, it can get pretty boring pretty quickly when your shows aren’t producing compelling television. 

Enter All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

To many internet fans, AEW has been the breath of fresh air that they felt they needed as wrestling fans, with their storylines and approach to the business feeling like a throwback to arguably the most successful and popular time to be a wrestling fan: The Attitude Era. The last year, they have signed talent after talent after talent from WWE’s past to shape up AEW’s future. AEW has proven in their short history that they are here for the long haul. Many fans see them as the alternative to WWE they have craved, and many have gone to say that they are THE new place for professional wrestling and have sworn off WWE forever (and in some instances, we don’t blame the fans one bit…but that’s for another day). But for all the signings they have had, they have not had that one signing that could be a game changer as far as mainstream appeal is concerned, which is important to the growth and significance of any wrestling company that even wants to ATTEMPT of dethroning Vince’s WWE as the number one company in the world.

Enter Paige VanZant…date March, 9, 2022. 

On AEW’s signature show, Wednesday Night Dynamite, after Scorpio Sky defeated Sammy Guevara to win the TNT Championship, VanZant attacked Tay Conti and signed her AEW talent contract on Conti’s back (more specifically her butt), officially making the former UFC star and current Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship competitor All Elite. Her signing was picked up by ESPN, the New York Post, SB Nation, MMA Junkie, MMA Fighting, and more. This is exactly what AEW was hoping when the signing became official, and if this goes as well as they hope it does, she could do what Ronda Rousey did for the women’s division in WWE, put more eyes on their talent and their product. It’s already done wonders for Tay Conti, who looks like will be PVZ’s first feud in the company. I would not be surprised if the ladies face off at AEW’s Double or Nothing PPV on Memorial Day Weekend (May 29 to be exact) either in a singles match or in a mixed tag match involving Sammy and Scorpio. (I know it’s a ways off, but competing in their biggest arena yet…the T-Mobile Arena, which holds about 20,000 people…they are gonna need big draws to get a sell-out, and PVZ can do that) (EDIT: Paige VanZant will make her official in-ring debut at AEW Double or Nothing this Sunday in a Mixed Trios match with Ethan Page and TNT Champion Scorpion Sky (with Dan Lambert in their corner) against Tay Conti, Sammy Guevara, and Frankie Kazarian). 

Her Hollywood looks, fitness-model physique, and her overall toughness (maybe not her record) as a fighter has made her among the most popular in the fighting world…as well as the most hated. The way she has been portrayed leading up to her official signing suggests she will be a heel (bad person). From what she has displayed in her time in AEW thus far, she can talk a good game and obviously get physical. If she’s even HALF as good as Ronda was at picking up how wrestling works, AEW has got a goldmine in PVZ. Many folks had her linked to wrestling for quite some time, even going as far as WWE potentially bringing her in a few years ago for Summerslam. While that ship has sailed for now, never say never for PVZ to go to WWE one day if her AEW stint goes well. But for now, PVZ is calling AEW home. And who knows, maybe by the end of 2022, we might be saying TBS Champion Paige VanZant or AEW Women’s World Champion Paige VanZant! But for now, lets see what Paige does in her new home of professional wrestling, and more specifically All Elite Wrestling.

For more on Paige VanZant, visit her Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and exclusive fan site. For more on All Elite Wrestling, follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and their main website. 

My 2022 Arnold Review, Plus a Personal Plea for 2023 Arnold and Beyond

The 2022 Arnold is in the books and the 2022 competition season and the Road to the 2022 is officially underway. Every single division for the pro women crowned a new champion, with three of them winning their first-ever Arnold title in their career. 

FITNESS INTERNATIONAL

To be successful in the fitness division you need to have a crazy physique and off-the-chart fitness skills, it can’t just be one of the other. Oksana Grishina has proven that, Whitney Jones has proven that, Missy Truscott has proven than…and now you can add Ariel Khadr to that list. Involved in the industry since age 11, it always felt like Ariel was destined to win a major title, especially since she became the youngest woman to qualify for the pros after turning 17. Injuries stalled her career and could have potentially ended it, but she prevailed and secured her spot as one of the best fitness competitors in the IFBB by winning her very first Fitness International title. After prejudging, it was clear as day that either Ariel or Missy (the then-defending champ) was going to win the title. While Missy brought a powerful physique and routine, Ariel did just enough to come out with the W. Jaclyn placed 3rd in her best placing at the Arnold yet, followed by Kate in 4th, with Tamara and Allison rounding out the top 6, placing 5th and 6th respectively in their Arnold debuts. 

FINAL RESULTS:

1. Ariel Khadr

2. Missy Truscott

3. Jaclyn Baker

4. Kate Errington

5. Tamara Vahn

6. Allison Kramer

7. Minna Pajulahti

8. Aurika Tyrgale

9. Sara Kovach

10. Amanda Ciani

FIGURE INTERNATIONAL 

In the world of figure, if you see the name Cydney Gillon on the competitor’s list, the most intriguing part is who is gonna place 2nd. Cydney hasn’t lost since 2018 and has been in the top two ever since 2017. That’s a long time to be that good at what you do and to my knowledge, that’s not going to stop anytime soon. Jessica, who has been one of the most dominant competitors in the figure division the last couple of years, placed 2nd. Lola placed 3rd, Nicole placed 4th in her Arnold debut, 2020 Figure International Champion Natalia placed 5th and 2020 Figure International Runner-Up Bojana rounded out the top 6.

FINAL RESULTS:

1. Cydney Gillon

2. Jessica Reyes Padilla

3. Lola Montez

4. Nicole Zenobia Graham

5. Natalia Soltero

6. Bojana Vasiljevic

7. Latoya Farley

8. Larhannah Robinson

9. An Da Jeong

10. Wendy Fortino

BIKINI INTERNATIONAL

These days, the bikini division is anyone’s division. A lot of amazing competitors who can win any show, including the Arnold, at any given day. In 2022, right now, that honor belongs to Lauralie Chapados, who bought a built sleek physique to the Arnold stage, earning her her very first Bikini International title and making her a strong favorite for the Bikini Olympia title this Christmas. Maureen in her Arnold debut is this year’s runner-up, and the winningest competitor in IFBB history and hometown star Ashley placed 3rd. Last year’s Bikini International runner-up Elisa placed 4th, followed by Jourdanne in 5th and Alessia rounding out the top 6.

FINAL RESULTS:

1. Lauralie Chapados

2. Maureen Blanquisco

3. Ashley Kaltwasser

4. Elisa Pecini

5. Jourdanne Lee

6. Alessia Facchin

7. Lucia Malavaze

8. Lauren Dannemiller

9. Phoebe Hagan

10. Allison Testu

WELLNESS INTERNATIONAL

Like the Olympia last year, this was the most anticipated event for the woman this year. 10 women made history and can say they were part of the first-ever Wellness International competition. Only ONE of them San say there were the first-ever Wellness International Champion, and that honor goes to Isabelle Nunes.  When Isabelle came out during prejudging, it was made abundantly clear that Nunes was the woman to beat. Nunes changed her suit and added significant muscle to her frame to fit the wellness look perfectly and made history. Angela is this year’s runner-up, followed by Sunny in 3rd, who also made incredible strides to her physique since the Arnold. Julia and Yarishna switched places from the Olympia, placing 4th and 5th respectively at the Arnold, with Kassandra rounding out the top 6. Hats off to them and all the Wellness International competitors on making history!

FINAL RESULTS:

1. Isabelle Nunes

2. Angela Borges

3. Sunny Andrews

4. Julia Chitarra

5. Yarishna Ayala

6. Kassandra Gillis

7. Barbara Cesar

8. Lorena Ragusa

9. Devyn Cambra

10. Casey Delong

And there you have it, the Road to the 2022 Olympia has officially begun, a bit longer than usual with the event in December as well as BACK in Vegas for the first time in over two years. It’s nice to see normalcy back at the Arnold with the Expo and variety of events. One thing I really loved about the Arnold this year is that only 10 in each division go to be represented, making the show that much more prestigious. I hope this continues. 

Now…to address the elephant in the room: the absence of female bodybuilding and women’s physique in the pros. This (to me) is beyond sad and pathetic on the part of Arnold Sports. I can’t state this enough…without women’s bodybuilding, the other divisions for women DO NO EXIST. I understand why the divisions were limited in 2021, but 2022, the world has practically opened back again, with women’s bodybuilding has returned to the Olympia to amazing results. The bigger women in the industry deserve to have their spot in the Arnold just as much as the other women in the industry. While the principles of fitness is more acceptable to women these days thanks to social media, the sport and industry of bodybuilding for women is still viewed as taboo and nowhere near the mainstream appeal of other industries. Because of that, the bodybuilding industry needs to embrace ALL divisions and leaving out the bigger divisions in a platform like the Arnold sends a message that even in the house you built, you are not welcomed. That’s not fair to the female bodybuilders and women’s physique competitions that put in the work day after day. So next year, Arnold Sports Committee, bring back the Ms. International and Women’s Physique International competitions. They are already shunned enough in the mainstream world. Don’t do the same to them in their own world. BE BETTER BY THEM. DO BETTER BY THEM.

Congrats to the 2022 winners and competitors, and here’s to EVERY DIVISION (especially women’s bodybuilding and women’s physique) being represented in 2023 and beyond.