 |
 |
 |
| |
For those of you who do not know me...here is a little intro...
I was born in 1974 in Beirut, Lebanon and have been fortunate enough to
have lived in over 7 different countries which enabled me to become fluent
in 4 languages. My ethnic background is extremely mixed as I have ancestry
from Kuwait, Turkey, Syria and East Africa. As a child, home was a constantly
changing place, I hopped around from Italy to Egypt to Morocco where
I ended up staying for 8 years while I attended the American School of
Tangier.
My athletic career started when I was about 5 years old. I started riding and
proceeded to compete in show jumping events at the age of 10. While riding I
also took up Ballet but I gave it up when my Ballet teacher said I had to choose
between my horse and dance class.
During high school I immersed myself in sports, and I was on the varsity basketball
and volleyball teams. I was also captain of the track and field team during my
senior year and ran the 100, 200 and 400 meter races. I was the queen of flexibility
and sit-ups. I remember practicing sit-ups every night so that I could break
the record for most sit-ups done in a minute. I also remember that I could not
manage to do one pushup or even a lying pull-up!!!
Upon finishing high school I spent 2 years in London getting my GCE's and then
I went onto university in the US.
I came to DC at the beginning of 1994, and started attending class at GWU. My
major was Electrical Engineering with a pre-medical option. At this time since
I had very few friends I spent a lot of time in the gym...but I had no clue what
I was doing...
In 1996 I started reading a lot more on fitness and bodybuilding and realized
that diet was at the source of everything. I tried to manipulate my diet experimenting
with low carb/high protein combinations and started noticing the beginnings of
a six pack. I also started training a lot heavier, but I used to concentrate
on my legs while neglecting my arms and upper body, just because I hated feeling
the burn..and because those muscle were so weak.
By 1997, I knew a little more about weight lifting, and I started trying to balance
my physique by training my upper body a little heavier. It was then that I was
approached by a couple of people who tried to convince me I should compete, but
I wanted to have nothing to do with competing as it involved far to much discipline
and dedication.
Finally, in 1999 while finishing my Masters in Telecommunications and Computers
I decided to take the plunge and try to compete. Once bitten by the competition
bug there was no going back as you embark on a journey of constantly try to better
your physique. In 2001 I decided to switch to Figure and Fitness and by 2002
I had won the largest regional shows on the east coast. I was hoping to go to
Nationals to get a Pro Card, but I discovered that only US citizens may compete
at Nationals in the US. I was told to ask my country of citizenship for a recommendation
for professional status with the IFBB. Since I am from Kuwait, I knew that hell
would freeze over before the Kuwaitis would allow me to compete on stage in a
bikini. I decided that my only recourse was to petition the IFBB for a Pro Card.
I sent in a petition explaining my situation, and with the help of Jim Manion,
head of the NPC, I was finally awarded my Pro Card.
I currently compete in the professional division of the IFBB in Figure. Competing
professionally is a job unto itself since it requires so much time, dedication
and sacrifice, but unfortunately in the women's divisions it is not lucrative
at all.
Currently I still reside in the DC area. I continue to maintain my career outside
the fitness world and I view competitions as an obsessive hobby.
.............
|
|
|
|
 |
|
