- When did you first notice that you had muscles? How did you notice them?
I was a little girl. My dad had a used furniture store. He'd always be moving furniture from one place to another....and I'd help him. My parents called me "Powerful Katrinka" . Powerful Katrinka was a comic strip character popular in the 1930's
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Login** Was I ever fascinated with my muscularity as a child or teen? NO ! I was VERY self conscious. I absolutely hated how I looked. I was made fun of as kid in school for being muscular. Remember I graduated HS in 1963. Muscular women then were considered "queer". Popular girls were very thin and feminine.
**Were there people who were fascinated about my muscularity and who asked me to flex? No. That came later when I was in my mid 30's and began lifting weights and bodybuilding for the first time in my life. By then it was popular. Of course that healed a lot of wounds I had about who I was as a naturally muscular woman. When WSP came out and stories about muscular women were printed I loved it. Finally I had a new sisterhood of women who were like me. Two of my first friends I met while in competition were Pillow and Kay Baxter. It was comforting to have friends such as these women.
** Was there ever a time when my muscles disappeared ?
No, I'm 72 now and still look muscular as I did when I was in my 20's
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LoginThis was taken a couple of years ago.
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LoginI was in my 20's here. Never lifted a weight other than this turtle.
I won the first FBB competition in Hawaii where I lived after 6 months of training. You don't add much muscle if any in 6 months. I never took steroids. I won every FBB contest I entered in Hawaii...can't count. Probably 80% (or more) of the muscle I ended up with was what I started with. What I learned was how to pump up and control in posing what I already had. I had excellent advice in coaching early. That happened pretty much by chance. I never sought out a coach nor to be a FBB and compete in contests. I was feeling fat and joined a gym to merely get in shape. Through that gym I met a fellow who was a weight trainer for the U of Hawaii football team and worked with Bil Starr ( he wrote The Strongest Shall Survive) . Both these guys ( my coach Steve Dussia and Bill Starr) came out of eastern USA and rubbed elbows with the guys at York weights in Pennsylvania. They were experts in weight training. Steve saw my potential and conned me into training for the very first FBB contest in Hawaii. It was all an adventure...an experiment. The gym I trained in was all hand made other than an Olympic set and a power rack. It was all constructed out of pipes and pulleys just for me in Steve's backyard. I trained in total isolation. I was very fortunate to have this experience. I love weight lifting to this day and am extremely grateful to those who helped and encouraged me.
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LoginSteve Dussia my coach and good friend... posing practice for a doubles competition . He took this pic BTW...on a timer. He developed it in his bathroom. Everything was old school . Steve made bodybuilding fun for me. Great times we had ! An adventure
Alison
I assumed most of the early women were naturals. I was pretty naive as to the steroid issue until after I quit in the early 80's when it was fairly obvious there was chemical help happening. I was old then ( coming into my late 30's) and with steroids on the scene there was no point in my continuing competition. I think I was not alone in this exit....other naturals left as well. End of that era.
ALISON