09/20/2026
The symbolism here is frankly getting out of hand. š
I took the first photo at the gym today and didnāt notice it until afterward.
There I am. Literally reflected inside Arnold.
Which is funny, because in my early 20s I trained in this same gym with that image on the wall.
Arnold represented something enormous to me back then. Ambition. Bodybuilding. Possibility.
Years later, I went to the Arnold in Columbus and watched the fitness competitors onstage.
I remember thinking:
I want to fu***ng do that.
I earned my IFBB Pro status.
The very next year, I wasnāt sitting in the audience anymore.
I was on that stage making my pro debut.
Arnold was signing my fu***ng posters at the athlete meet-and-greet. š
Then thereās the last photo.
The one I genuinely never thought Iād bring out of the archives.
A few years later I competed at the Arnold in Brazil and placed third.
I was over the moon.
Arnold came onstage, walked toward me, and apparently every ounce of professional composure immediately left my body.
I hugged him.
And as photographic evidence confirms, I fu***ng committed. š
He froze.
I was covered in competition tan. He was wearing a very expensive suit.
It made bodybuilding news. People laughed.
I was mortified.
For years, thatās all I could see when I looked at that photo.
Today I looked at her differently.
And all I could think was:
Oh honey. You were just so fu***ng happy.
She was standing on a stage sheād once only imagined, with someone who had represented possibility long before she knew what her own life would become.
She wasnāt polished.
She was just fu***ng delighted.
I truly never thought Iād bring that photo out of the archives.
But Iām really glad I donāt want to hide her anymore. ā¤ļø
