I WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE...
Very few of us succeed on our own - more often than not it is a "team" effort to get you to where you are, and none of us would be where we are today if it were not for some significant people and events in our lives. I would like to just acknowledge (again for a couple, since I have noted this in times past, but it IS important to me) some of those individuals who have been significant in my fitness journey and where I am today.
The most significant person in starting me on the path I have been on the last few years is Jammie Bane. Jammie saw something in a stranger more than half-way around the world that gave him faith a place on the AppNut team for me would not be in error. If it were not for Jammie, I would likely never be here in the US (at least, not for the reasons I did, nor for why I am still here), never have encountered the people that I have (some of whom have changed my life in more ways than I ever thought possible!), not be following the same path that I am today (not just because opportunity might not have presented itself, but because some significant events might have never come to pass). Jammie truly set me on this particular fitness path and the journey thus far has been beyond anything I could have imagined. The people I have met along the way, the support and encouragement that has been discovered - it is tremendous, and I am blessed and grateful to all those who have been a part of my journey, who see that same something Jammie saw and believed in, giving me the opportunity to pursue my dreams and live my vision.
Being a published author is a dream I have had ever since I can remember. Although I still hold that dream re having a novel of my own published one day, I want to thank Tammy Renee of World Physique for first making my dream in being a published author true when she gave me the opportunity writing for a fitness and lifestyle magazine, with my own Inspiration/Motivation column in World Physique Magazine and WPM Women (before the first publication with my work in the former came out). If not for Tammy I would never have started writing my [daily] Motivationals, sharing and becoming more personal (that's thanks in huge part to that special individual mentioned below) in speaking what is on and in my heart...I would also like to thank Kat Painter of the FitnessX Team, who allowed me to share in a different area of my expertise, making me a Sports columnist for FitnessX Magazine...
Modeling is not something I ever thought I would do, but I have done quite a bit over the last year, discovering a new enjoyment and path in the fitness industry to explore and use as a platform to reach out to more people. Tony Mitchell was the first photographer I worked with once I made the decision to seriously pursue fitness modeling, and he was so patient with me, guiding me, trying to pull something out of me I never thought I would be because it was so very not me. Not just a photographer but a true artist, I have worked with Tony several times since that first time (from which several of the images were published), and it is awesome when you find a friend in a mentor. I enjoy being different and not doing what everyone else does, and Tony is able to bring my soul out in his images (especially the last shoot we did at the end of May), creating magic whenever we shoot.
We all have someone who has inspired us along our life's journey. I have been the most inspired during the last few months, during the darkest, but also the lightest period of my life, finally closer to being the woman God intended me to be - all because of one very special individual who was the catalyst for all the growth in my life and most of the changes I have made. It's amazing how ONE person can make so much difference and they truly have been the most significant person in my life instigating my own personal revolution, and if not for this individual I would have remained a closed terminator, instead of being able to open up and begin sharing some of my story and experiences. So thank you from the bottom of my heart for speaking my language, understanding where I have been and where I am - your simple acceptance and support made me believe again, somehow giving me what I needed to really step out and finally come "into my own".
Last but by no means the least, thank you to Jeff Zwick, Christine and Matt Pearson, Eric Marchewitz, Drew Miller, Obi Obadike, Zach Rosen, Ben Booker, Gina and Walt Ostarly, Chris Tucker, Al Scott, Rolsey Hammed, Lauren Christine Frahn, Dominique Vien, Jerry Beck, Tamara Barnett, Elisha Voysest, John Hicks, and Brent Potter - all of you have been big factors either as mentors, support, motivation, or change in my life in the time that I have known you. There are more people who have played roles in my life and if I have not called you out specifically, please know that I appreciate everything you have done for and with me - this journey would not have been quite the same without you.
