I Look Great!…So now What???

By

Daryl Gazey

Director of Operations WBFF – All Around Good Guy

In over two decades of my involvement in this wonderful sport of bodybuilding & fitness, a prevailing attitude always seems to surface and I’ve rarely seen it addressed. Certainly we’d all agree that encyclopedias have been compiled on ‘how to get in shape, how to lose the last ten pounds, how to carb load, etc. etc.’ to the point where you’d likely rather throw your hands in the air and hail that you’ve had enough diet and training advice already!

Quite often, some avid trainers wish to pursue the very (sense the sarcasm please) lucrative world of fitness modeling in their quest to ‘get discovered’ or perhaps have their name attached to a piece of cardio equipment or something of that nature ala Tony Little.

That’s not to say that fitness modeling can not lead (please stress on the word lead) to bigger and better ventures but in itself, you’d likely be better off playing ‘Powerball’ than you would carbing up for the “Mr. or Mrs. Tucked Out of the Way Junior Novice Sunshine Mayhem” competition if you desire to load your coffers.

Take a carb-depleted moment and think of ALL the top names in our business who you feel are earning a reasonable (or better) living strictly from stage competition alone…still thinking?

While, unarguably a small few are earning substantial revenues from their involvement in fitness and/or bodybuilding, it is the secondary applications that bring about the sought after lifestyle.

In itself, winning a competition is a remarkable reward and surely a testament to dedication, perseverance, goal setting and having the fortitude that so many others do not; it’s not fortitude that’s going to pay Visa at the end of the month and mailing them a picture of you with a 7 foot trophy won’t cover the minimum balance required. Am I going a little overboard? Of course I am. The nature of this article is not to educate the masses on the benefits of competition or its obvious health applications but offer a little guidance to try to keep you on course if you want your business to be based on your fitness lifestyle as it pertains to secondary applications such as landing modeling contracts, acting, sponsorships AND yes, contest purses.

Just to dispel some myths that some of us still subscribe to, the top earners of the sport are not always (and quite often rarely) will be geared on how they may place in competition. Competition, outside of the literal definition of besting your opponents, should also be viewed as self-promotion or marketing. Similar to the success of a company, you WILL be required to market yourself consistently and adequately AND in the proper format AND at the right times/places for this effect to take place.

How many times have we heard the old adage of, “You have to be in the right place at the right time?” – and in my opinion, in front of the right people. An air of truth to this one, coupled by a host of other factors, quite often determines who has a shot at succeeding vs. who looks great in a posing suit and is carrying home trophies at the end of the evening.

Let’s start with some basics here to get you off the gravel and onto the red carpet.

“A Picture is worth a thousand words” – how many of us who are serious about furthering our fitness goals or gracing the pages of the magazines, have a professional portfolio of images from one (or more) reputable photographers? Your ‘handy-cam’ photo of your neighbour’s barbeque last year isn’t going to cut it to send to Bob Kennedy as a ‘hopeful for an upcoming Oxygen cover,’ especially with a handwritten note attached exclaiming that you’re the ‘one on the left’ in the photo. Snicker-on my fitness friend, but I have witnessed this on MORE than one occasion. The sad part is that some of these people do have the goods to be considered for media print, etc. but their submission quality didn’t cut it.

Unfortunately, this may mean you may have to divert some funds towards establishing a portfolio of images (include some variety without posing suits) so that you are able to show diversity in your presentation.

How does competition help? Quite often, reputable fitness organizations will enlist and invite industry photographers to their events who have already established relationships with accredited media – including fitness publications. This benefits not only the model/athlete but also the organization as their content stands a greater chance of making it to publication and thus granting added exposure to the event. The purchase of these staged images is quite often much cheaper than if you were to contact the same photographer at any other time of the year to request an individual photo shoot; in some cases, a fraction of what they would charge.

Peruse the Guest List – Competing in front of the ‘right’ people is another important faction to consider as looking your best holds much more weight if the people watching are able to assist you in your marketing efforts. Let’s not undermine how great it is to have a theatre packed with family and friends who will be abundantly energetic when you step foot on stage but let’s face the facts, if you want to climb the ladder somewhat, you’re going to need to put yourself in front of some decision-makers. Prior to considering which event to take part in, invest some time in finding out who the judges are, who the photographers are and who may be in attendance for you to network with. (more on what/how to network a little later…)

Prize Packages May Help… Having a crystal globe that spins or a trophy for the hearth is a nice token of accomplishment, you may want to dig a little deeper for events that offer what I like to call ‘springboard’ prize packages. These, by personal definition, would be the types of prizes that have the potential to jump-start another secondary means of income. Some examples would include prizes that incorporate guaranteed submission to ANY media format (televised, editorial, magazines, newspapers, radio, etc.) such as the cover of a magazine, or the event is being televised live or staff of magazines will be in attendance/photographing exclusively for use in their publications.

Some prizes packages will offer paid contracts with reputable companies…you can easily see how this may lead to much more than polishing your trophy ever could.

Feature Yourself – Aside from having a strong portfolio of professional images, both hard copies that you can part with and digital copies for e-mailing, etc., there are a few more ‘tricks of the trade’ which will expand on your likelihood of superstardom. This segment ties in with the following as they are both instrumental slices of the fitness pie. Websites, business cards and composite cards (comp cards – a collection of printed images with your contact information) will allow potential interest-seekers the ability to further investigate your capabilities, learn more about you, view additional content and most importantly, impart a means by which they may contact you (phone, email, web address). The popular, lip-stick phone number scrawled on a napkin, may land you that important ‘you’re hired’ phone call but if I were a betting man, I would think that a professional looking business card or composite card would be a little bit tougher to cast aside. Your odds just increased in getting a call-back! Now if that same interest-seeking, business minded, corporate fitness type was serious about considering you, they would likely want to investigate a little further before putting their marketing dollars on the line; you can guarantee that if you don’t have a website or the means of acquiring additional information by way of a resume, etc. to follow up on, someone else will…

This needn’t be an expensive process if you’re like most budget-conscious athletes as there are plenty of websites (some are even free, e.g. myspace, etc.) that will adequately be able to convey who you are and at what capacity you’re operating at.

What they Do and How they Do it – Here’s a handy check-list to compare against what you’re presently doing or have done to seek celebrity fitness status. If you’re doing some of these things, you can expect some results:

• You have a portfolio of professional images
• You have hard copy images complete with your contact information
• You have a cover letter outlining your qualifications, ambitions and goals
• You belong to a reputable model managing agency or have membership in fitness organizations that are able to submit you to industry assignments
• You have business cards that direct people to your website of images and qualifications, testimonials and accomplishments
• If you’re a competitive fitness athlete or model, you choose events that offer ‘springboard’ prizes and/or will put you in front of industry-specialized people, agencies, magazines or other accredited media
• You continuously update the above information at regular intervals and persist until you achieve the results you seek
• You submit cover letters along with images and resumes to proposed industry specialists – editors of magazines, publishers, fitness companies, etc.

The Fortune is in the Follow-up: When you attend these events and competitions or trade shows, it’s important to make a lasting and memorable impression; not only by leaving professional material behind in which the company may consider utilizing you for upcoming campaigns or assignments, but also by conducting a professional and courteous follow-up in a timely fashion. Ensure that you have left your initial contact meeting with a name, telephone number and email address of someone who is instrumental in the position you are seeking. A quick telephone call AND short email to the tone of, “It was a pleasure meeting you at Sam’s Falafel Pit and Fitness Memorabilia Expo. I wanted to ensure that you received my submission for any anticipated openings that may come available. I can appreciate that you are very busy and as such, I have taken the liberty of attaching a few more images and my resume for your consideration. I look forward to joining the team and will make myself available should you require any additional information.” Sincerely yours, Jane Q. Fitness…

Now the ball’s in your court to expand on your futures in fitness! Go get ‘em!