One Door Closes, Another Opens...Shine at Home Series Update and YouTube Annoucement

A couple of weeks ago, we attempted to launch a series called the Shine at Home Series, where we would give our account to female fitness personalities to do as they please. Two weeks ago, we were able to pull it off with IFBB Figure Pro Silvia Henry with great results. Last week, we tried to do it with NPC Nationally Qualified Figure Competitor Andrea Villalobos and things did NOT work out like we hoped. Too many technical issues on my end as far as Instagram goes. After thinking long and hard about this, I did not want to put anyone else through it so unfortunately I have decided to discontinue the Shine at Home Series on Instagram. But this did let me ponder on what I could do next. We are in crazy times right now, and I want to make FitGems Nation as active as I can during all of this.

For whatever reason, I remembered that in the very early days of FitGems Nation, I launched a Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/FitGemsNation). The channel only has four videos (a Skype interview I did with Diana Stanbeck and two mini-interviews I did with Nicole Duncan and Towanda Smith when I attended Wrestlemania 27) and I didn't fix it up in any way, shape, or form. I just posted the videos and went about my day. Remember..this was during the heydays of FitGems Nation.

A few days ago, I decided to fix it up and not let my channel look so plain. Not only did I updated the logo from the old school one to the current one, but I made playlists highlighting different aspects of the fitness world, including photoshoots, contests, interviews, and more, and of course made sure to have all the social media links on there. With that being said...I want to propose this to all of you: I want to make this channel a channel for YOU, as in I want to post YOUR content on here. If you have any videos you want on our channel (contest, photoshoots, behind-the-scenes, fun stuff, etc.) we will gladly host your material on our YouTube channel for free. I don't plan on monotenizeing it as I never created FitGems Nation for the money. This channel will be for exposure of your own brand.

If you would like to have your videos featured on our YouTube channel or have any questions about our channel and what we are doing, email us at fitgemsnation@gmail.com.

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

Why Competitors Need to Invest in Social Media and Social Media Advisors

Let's face it, people. We are in the age of social media, and this is going beyond the internet and making your own website. More and more people are using smartphones to keep up with news and posting their own news. Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Google Plus, Youtube...it's crazy how far social media has become over a short span of time. Crazy...but at the same time, not too surprising. It's quick, easy, and in many cases, FREE to use.

As you might have heard over and over and over (if you're a competitor reading this), just competing isn't good enough for you to get yourself notice. You need to get yourself out there and show off your brand. Bottom line, that's what it's come down to in order to make people see you as someone other than "that girl". There are too many of those in the industry as is.  You wonder why Monica Brant, Ava Cowan, Dana Linn Bailey, Erin Stern, and Nicole Wilkins (among others) as well are as big of names as they are? They do more than just compete, they put their "brand" out there for the world to see. They make others CARE about them. Jennifer Nicole Lee, Jamie Eason, and Brittany Beede don't compete, but they use social media to further advance their brand and are among the biggest names in fitness today, and a lot of it has to do with the power of social media.

But, some of you are probably wondering, "Uhh...I don't have the time to mess with that stuff". And quite frankly, most of you don't. You are too busy getting ready for competition and taking care of your own lives, which is very understanable. That why I suggest you find someone you can trust and enlist in getting a social media advisor, someone who can overlook your social media outlets while you go and do your thing. FitGems is currently working with IFBB Pro Christine Pomponio-Pate in furthering her brand by working on her Facebook fan page, Twitter account, and Youtube page.

Don't get this post twisted about social media awareness meaning the same thing as competition success, because it DOESN'T. You can have the most followers on Twitter, the most "likes" on Facebook, the most views on Youtube, etc, that doesn't mean squat when it comes to competition. All that matters then is what you bring to the stage ON THAT DAY (or that weekend). Social media just helps get your name around and will help you in your career, not guarantee you a title or in the top 5 of a contest. That's not happening. Keep that in mind.

If you are thinking about doing SOME form of social media (setting up a Facebook fan page, Twitter account, Youtube channel, blog, Tumblr, etc.), but need some assistance, email me at admin@fitgemsnation.net and I will help you out however I can.

A Fitting Review-"Iron Bizz"

For those that know me, you probably know about my friendship with the man that people know as dallas3. Some of you know who dallas3 is by his real name, but let me give you an insight on the type of guy he is. He's a cool dude who respects this business and the ladies involve. Most people probably know him via his involvement in female muscle boards such as Siouxcountry, Muscular Development, and RxMuscle, among others. He's been at the Arnold and Olympia a few times and is respected by many of the female (as well as male) athletes. I'm very blessed to call him one of my first true friends of this industry.

He runs a blog called Iron Bizz (formerly called Fit Stop Central), which is aimed at talking about the financial aspect of this sport. In his words, Iron Bizz "provides resources for female physique athletes who want to make a career in the bodybuilding and fitness industry" As we all know, the fitness industry is not a cheap one by any means. What he does is point out some of the tips that competitors have used to stay financially active in this industry. Over time, you will see the blog take a slightly different approach by putting more focus on the sponsored athletes, and not just the ones who are at the top of the heap, either. If you have not bookmarked Iron Bizz yet, I HIGHLY recommend you do so ASAP. You'll be glad you did.

Visit Iron Bizz at http://ironbizz.wordpress.com.

Iron Bizz: Body Tight, Career Right.

"M2-NRG" with Jenny Worth; SAT SEPT 18th @ 10:00AM (and also every Wednesday and Saturday)

For those in the California area, if you want to get a great workout in with a top IFBB legend, come down to Long Beach tomorrow for a new workout class called M2-NRG, by M2 Fitness Pros. Below is the description:

RESERVE YOUR SPOTS!! Come kick up the HEAT with Fitness Champ Jenny Worth in this HEART PUMPING, super Fat Blasting, High NRG... A TOTAL Strengthening Body Weight & Core conditioning workout that will leave you SUPERCHARGED... it's 100% effective and 100% Kick-ass... AND it's on us!!!

And for those that want to do this every week, you can join Jenny and FEEL THE HEAT with "M2-NRG"
every Wednesday morning at 5AM and Saturday morning at 10am @ the M2 Studio in Downtown's LB. For more info, go to http://www.m2fitnesspros.com/events/event/show?id=3114248%3AEvent%3A2190.

Join legendary IFBB star Jenny Worth in SoCal for an awesome workout
brought to you by M2 Fitness Pros!

Pics of Christine in Times Square and Vegas Strip

Apparently Milverstead Publishing is wasting little time in making sure the whole world knows about their newest acquisition. Here's a couple of photos from the campaign.

(Photo Credit: Milverstead Publishing's Facebook Fan Page)

To view more pics from Times Square and the Vegas Strip, as well as more info on Christine's partnership with Milverstead Publishing, click here.