HARDBODY Fit Female News & Events

We’re doing it again. Welcome Andrea “Dre” Taylor to our growing list of Hardbody contributors. Andrea has graciously agreed to share some insight on what it’s like staying fit while being pregnant. Andrea found out she is expecting her first child last September. If you have any specific pregnancy questions post them in the comments or email her via her web site, atayloredbody.com.

Here’s a photo from our photo shoot in Las Vegas last summer. We’ll be shooting again next month and you’ll get a look at how Dre is staying fit while pregnant.

Andrea “Dre” Taylor in Las Vegas.

Check out the new gallery on MAXIM.com featuring a few women from BSN. Maxim’s Facebook post read, “Today’s Girls really make us want to take our vitamins!”

Ron Avidan hit the 2010 Fit Expo for Bodybuilding.com and snapped a number of pics. Check out Bodybuilding.com for all the candid shots from the weekend. A number of Hardbody ladies were in attendance. Like…

IFBB Figure Pro, Kristal Richardson who has a new belly button.

IFBB Figure Pro, Ava Cowan part of the hardcore JUG NATION!

Those of you competing in the 2010 Arnold Amateur Championships can order your event photos early and save. “Money Mark” Mason with MarkMasonMedia.Com is the official photographer and videographer of the event. Mark has been shooting NPC and IFBB events for a number of years throughout the U.S. and Canada. I’ve worked with him a number of times and he’s money.

Mark is offering HARDBODY readers a $5 discount off their order simply by mentioning the word HARDBODY when ordering. You must mention HARDBODY to get the discount.

Mark’s team will be photographing vide-taping the prejudging & finals. He’s also offering a photo package for backstage portraits but it’s only available for the PRE-JUDGING. Good luck to all the competitors. For more information visit markmasonmedia.com. If you have any questions, email him at Mark@MarkMasonMedia.com.

Most of you know Heather Mae French as an IFBB Figure Pro but did you know she once competed in Fitness? While sorting through old photos, I ran across this image. It was snapped in Boulder, Colorado at the 2003 NPC Northern. Heather (who at the time went by Heather Newton) won the fitness short class besting five other women.

Heather Mae French as a NPC fitness competitor in 2003.

One other random tidbit from that show. Tamara Sherrill & Bridgette Murray both competed in the fitness tall class. They both went on to achieve IFBB Pro Status in Fitness years later.

IFBB Bikini Pro Dianna Dahlgren continues to turns heads outside of the fitness world. This time she’s featured on MAXIM.com as one of the “sexy girls of supercross”. If you’re in Anaheim this weekend check out the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, where Dianna and several other lovely ladies will be at.

Dianna Dahlgren featured on MAXIM.com’s homepage today.

It didn’t take long for the UFC to cut Natasha Wicks from their roster. Natasha won the Maxim/UFC Octagon Girl contest in May and was cut last month. She’s one of the women featured in the 2010 Girls of BSN calendar.

Tonight former Playboy Playmate Chandella Powell will make her UFC debut as an octagon girl alongside Arianny Celeste. This photo, taken by Combat Lifestyle, shows the new Octagon girl rock’n a hardbody and  more muscle than Natasha and Logan (the other girl cut).

New Octagon girl rock’n the Hardbody.

Chandella & Airanny getting ready for tonight’s fights.

I gotta admit, being a Chicago Bears fan I’m a little jealous. IFBB Figure Pro Alicia Harris braved the bitter cold with her brothers last night for a Monday Night Football game at Soldier Field. The game was one of the best games of the year going into over-time with the Bears upsetting the Minnesota Vikings.

When I asked Alicia to share a few photos from the game she told me she only had a couple. The still de-icing Alicia said, “I had to keep my fingers in my mittens it was cold.” HAHA. Here’s a couple shots from inside the mittens via her phone. Thanks Alicia!

Alicia’s seats provided a pretty sweet view.

Alicia and her brothers braving the cold at the Monday Night Football game in Chicago.

Alicia will be competing in her first Figure International contest in March but reminds us all of the importance of having a life outside of the gym and away from the stage.

Monique Minton heats things up in these FLEXonline.com images. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Monique Minton provides a little holiday heat.

Erin Stern emerged as one of the top hardbodies in the IFBB this year. Her athletic physique and striking looks have helped put her at the top of the figure ranks. Check out a few more photos of Erin on FLEXonline.com’s Holiday Hottie feature. 

Erin Stern heat’n things up.

Nathalia Moreira is one woman you’ll be seeing a lot more of in 2010. She won her first NPC show (the Ft. Lauderdale NPC Bikini overall) and is currently profiled in the newest FLEX magazine, on shelves now. Nathalia is not only beautiful but she is also one of the funniest, most upbeat women you’ll meet. You can see more of this Brazilian beauty on FLEXonline.com. The photos were taken by yours truly in Ft. Lauderale, Florida. 

Nathalia rock’n it in Florida. 

I received this Holiday photo from top IFBB Fitness Pro, Jen Hendershott and her husband Brian.  Jen shared,  ”We hope that everyone is doing something good in the world this holiday season. Christmas is about reaching out and helping those in need. We are delivering 17 gifts and hugs to the nursing homes in our area tomorrow.  So many people don’t have family and friends so we are filling in to make this holiday special for those who need it.  May God Bless everyone!”

Brian and Jen wishing everyone Happy Holidays. 

I’m not exactly sure why Jamie is on this site but hey it seems to be good exposure. How many fitness people can say they are “celebrities”? Maybe a handful, if that. They apparently think Jamie is part of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Check it out on http://yeeeah.com

*Update: Jamie wrote via her twitter account: “That’s part of the MD shoot from a while back. They are unedited though. ”
 

Thanks to Scribbler for the assist.

Kathleen Tesori decided to compete in NPC Figure for the first time this year and it proved to be successful. She won the overall in her local show and last month earned IFBB Pro status in her first National contest. Kathleen is not only a solid competitor but a blossoming fitness model. Need further proof? This shot taken last year by Mike Mader at the FLEX swimsuit shoot should be evidence enough.

Kathleen Tesori heat’n things up on and off the stage.

Check out some Behind-The-Scenes footage from the 2009 Flex Online Bikini Model Search Winners. The women are featured in the newest issue of FLEX magazine which is on newsstands now. The online coverage features a video as well as a number of photos from the morning shoot.

Tianna Ta one of the finalists in the model search contest.

Check out FLEXonline.com to learn more about what’s on Felicia Romero’s Holiday Hot List. She’s hoping Santa brings her an Arnold invite and I’m fairly sure she’ll be on the receiving end of that.

Check out the Behind-the-Scenes video of IFBB Pro Bikini, Monique Minton’s photo shoot. You can also see exclusive pics on the web site as well. Monique “comes clean”.

Muscle and Fitness videos – Monique Minton

Check out bodybuilding.com for full results and photos from the NPC Excalibur.

Ron Avidan was in Cali over the weekend capturing all the action at the NPC Excalibur competition. Check out the candid photos from the event here. There were a number of NPC and IFBB competitors on hand for the last big event. The competition has 240 total competitors. I think Ron is still backstage snapping photos.

IFBB Figure Pro Gina Aliotti was on hand at the show.

IFBB Bikini Pro Dianna Dahlgren & IFBB Figure Pro Mindi Smith.

Who says Bikini competitors don’t work out and can’t hang with the “real athletes”? Obviously, those people haven’t met and tangled with IFBB Bikini Pro Monique Minton. Monique continues to work on her MMA training and does very well at it. Over the weekend she competed in Florida State Championships and won her class, open class and gi. She took home first place (by submission in each one) every match. Congrats!

Monique putting a beating down on an opponent.

Those of you wondering if Monique has hung up to bikini for good, not so fast. She tells me she’ll be competing next year in the new IFBB Bikini pro division.

Now this is cool. IFBB Pro, Shannon Dey passed along this photo of “Blaze Star”. She tells me the Pomeranian is a big fan of the site and absolutely LOVES the new Bikini Division. Can’t argue with that.

Blaze Star rock’n the hardbody.

IFBB Figure Pro Alicia Harris had a break out rookie year. She showed that persistence pays off and ended up competing on the Olympia Figure stage. She’s one of this weeks Bodybuilding.com’s Wallpapers of the Week. Alicia and I had a great shoot earlier in Chicago where we used a grungy parking garage as our back drop. Now that I’m not traveling a ton you’ll see more from the various shoots throughout the year, like this one.

Visit Bodybuilding.com for photos from this past weekend’s events. Money Mark Mason was snapp’n the action on stage while Ron Avidan was behind-the-scenes getting all the coverage. I was pulling double duty for NPC NEWS and FLEX Magazine for the stage coverage this time around. Photos from this weekend’s event will be for sale on photos.liftstudios.com later this week. Look for coverage in NPC NEWS and FLEX magazine in the coming weeks.

Congrats to all the new IFBB Pros and everyone who achieved their goals.

Sarah Hayes will be competing in her first National NPC show this weekend. I had a chance to shoot with Sarah at MetroFlex Plano this summer. One of our images is featured as this week’s Bodybuilding.com Wallpaper of The Week. Thanks to McGriffy in the bodybuilding.com office for the graphic work on the wallpaper. Good luck this weekend Sarah.

That was the response given by former Alaska Governor and Vice-Presidential hopeful, Sarah Palin when asked about the current cover of Newsweek. Barbara Walters recently interviewed Ms. Palin and the cover photo was one of a variety of topics.

Sarah Palin was originally photographed for the August 2009 issue of Runner’s World. You can see the entire gallery by Brian Adams on the his stock agency’s web site.

The former governor recently wrote on her facebook page regarding the cover:

The choice of photo for the cover of this week’s Newsweek is unfortunate. When it comes to Sarah Palin, this “news” magazine has relished focusing on the irrelevant rather than the relevant. The Runner’s World magazine one-page profile for which this photo was taken was all about health and fitness – a subject to which I am devoted and which is critically important to this nation. The out-of-context Newsweek approach is sexist and oh-so-expected by now. If anyone can learn anything from it: it shows why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, gender, or color of skin. The media will do anything to draw attention – even if out of context.

- Sarah Palin

Current issue of Newsweek with Sarah Palin on the cover.

It’s pretty clear Newsweek has their own agenda by using Brian Adams’ image for their cover. Especially when you see a different set of images by the same photographer of Sarah Palin, portrayed in a completely different manner. These photos show a more conservative, professional Sarah Palin but clearly wouldn’t have caused the same commotion being on the cover.

I think it’s great that someone as high-profile as Sarah Palin emphasizes the importance of working out and being fit. The original profile in Runner’s World was a positive feature about the benefits of running. It’s a shame that the photos intended to promote something related around health and fitness have become something else.

Let this serve as a reminder to all of you who participate in photo shoots. Be clear on what the release form says and how the photos can and will be used. Many people are misinformed around photography rights. The photographer owns the photos and unless there is a full buyout of the images he/she can sell them to other publications. While the agency and the photographer were well with in their rights to sell the image, Newsweek is clearly out of line for the context in which they used it.

IFBB Fitness star Jen Hendershott shared this photo from a recent meet up with rocker Chris Daughtry. SWEET!

Jen backstage with Chris Daughtry and his band.

A preview of what former playboy model and former pro wrestler, April Hunter is looking likeas she heads into tomorrow’s NPC Kentucky Figure show. Think she’s HARDBODY enough to hold her own in the show?

Photo via April Hunter’s twitter.

Check out the behind-the-scenes action from the Sacramento Pro. Ron Avidan and I covered the action for bodybuilding.com. Some pretty amusing pics beyond the stage.

The top five at the Sacramento Pro Figure.

Dianna was too strong for her own good & snapped the leg off a trophy.

Here’s a few more photos from last night’s competitor check-in at the Sacramento Pro. Promoters John Tuman and Ted Williamson are doing a great job of taking care of the competitors, their staff and the press. A big THANK YOU to both of them for their hospitality and generosity. The show tonight will without question be sold out.

I had a chance to meet Raechelle Chase and she’s very beautiful, plus how do you NOT love an accent like that? She’ll turn some heads and make some noise in her first pro show. She was joined by fellow IFBB New Zealand Pro, Moe El Mousawwi here in Cali.

There are two Nunns in the IFBB Pro League and no, they are not related. Last night Kristin Nunn met pro bodybuilder, Ed Nunn for the first time. The two shared stories about people asking them if they were related or married. Ed is a cool guy who won last year’s NPC Nationals, look for him and Kristin to do well here.

Cheryl “Brownie” Brown is competing in her second IFBB pro show and to think one year ago, she was asking legendary IFBB Pro Bodybuilder, Rich Gaspari if he was on BODYSPACE. True story. Cheryl’s first NPC National show was at last year’s Nationals. Fast-forward one year later and she’s considered one of the top competitors in this show. Not too shabby for a mother of three, eh?

Promoter, Johnnie T introducing people at the meeting.

NPC NEWS’ J.M. Manion and IFBB Fitness Olympia Champ, Adela Garcia.

New Zealand IFBB Pros Raechelle Chase and Moe El Mousawwi.

The two IFBB Nunns. Ed and Kristin.

Downtown Cheryl “Brownie” Brown about give Kim Oddo a twister, while Sonia wonders why.

A quick look at a few check-in photos.

Huong Arcinas rock’n #1

Adela Garcia giving Kristi Tauti some love. 

 

Kim Oddo and Dianna Dahlgren spotted in the hall.