About me

By now, you may have seen #FOY1966 in various places on social media. You may have wondered , "What is FOY1966?" Well it is not so much as WHAT but actually WHO is FOY1966? FOY is the athlete name given to me when I first started this journey. It is an acronym for Fountain of Youth. It's as if I am aging backwards. I am proof that age is just a number. I represent the new 40+ woman.  Read on to learn more about me...

What is your background?

I was the biggest tomboy as a child. I always enjoyed watching sports on television and spent a lot of time outside playing. Then when I hit my teenage years, I noticed the weight was piling on and not really coming off. That is when I started working out and participating in team sports in high school. A few years later, I joined the U.S. Army. I always passed my PT test but would fail the weigh in, thus remedial PT was given to me in ADDITION to my regular daily PT. At first I saw it as a negative thing until I realized I was actually good at coaching and soon I was assisting my Platoon Sergeant.

After I got out of the Army, I noticed the weight gain crept back up again. I was embarrassed and decided to workout at home to Taebo tapes. The weight came off and the tapes were no longer challenging. I joined a local gym and took my first live kickboxing class. This was no longer a tape where I could pause or skip. I had to follow and complete it. I loved it! I discovered I loved it so much I wanted to pursue a career in fitness. That was back in 2000. Here I am 14 years later and I have since then got certified in AFAA Primary Group Fitness, Les Mills BODY PUMP, BODY COMBAT, BODY JAM, CXWORX and BODY FLOW. I am now a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer. It's amazing how little stumbling blocks are actually stepping stones to success!

How did you get started in the fitness field?

As mentioned above, I started working closely with a kickboxing instructor who also just happened to have been the Fitness Instructor Director for that particular gym. She had a lot of connections and introduced me to the right people. She worked with me on my timing, presentation and choreography to help me get started. Then I began to start team teaching with her class until eventually she gave that class to me. One class a week on the schedule evolved into three classes on the schedule! All three classes had no less than 20 participants at a time. Eventually, I moved from that city and had to give those classes up. It was hard but I knew my time had come to move on and evolve.

What is the #1 thing you like best about being into fitness?

I love watching people evolve and grow. When I see people accomplish things they only dream about like doing a pull up or a box jump for the first time, it's very emotional. Sometimes there are tears of joy, a high five, or a hug. It's truly rewarding!

What has been your biggest accomplishment in the fitness field?

Competing as a CrossFit Masters Athlete. It shows that age is just a number. If you put your mind to it, anything is possible.

What is the best way to get started in the fitness modeling industry? Should I just contact the photographers directly or should I use an agency?

First, decide what kind of fitness model you want to be. Do your research by looking at the different magazines that are out there. Contact the editors and find out where they are getting their models from. Then contact the photographers. See if there are any good local ones who could even do a trade for prints (TFP). This way you can get some comp cards made, submit them to magazines and of course approach the agencies. I have three here in the city where I live but I just don't rely on the agencies. I do a lot of my own leg work too.