HOW MY FITNESS MODELING CAREER STARTED…

By Sarah Lyons Glabman

When I look back now it all seems like a dream…. After a spur of the moment decision to enter a Hawaiian Tropic bikini contest in my hometown Seattle—I couldn’t believe I actually won! The organization ended up flying me to Hawaii as a contestant in the Hawaiian Tropic Nationals. With the Miss Hawaiian Tropic title for Washington stat under my belt, I was excited but also a little nervous at what this all meant.

In Hawaii, I met a ton of amazing people including my (now) close friend and our inaugural BodyScape Magazine cover model Jennifer England! I ended up placing in the Top 12 among over 100 contestants from all over the U.S. But it wasn’t sexy curves that garnered the attention of modeling scouts there, it was my fit physique. I guess you could say that I’ve always had a solid, muscular physique, which is what ultimately attracted the best fitness and bikini photographers back in the day. This is how I landed my first photo shoots in some of the top fitness magazines in the world as a model.

Over the years, I built my modeling portfolio one shoot at a time—and I was lucky to book several shoots from 1997-1999. During this time, I learned a lot from modeling and on sets, including what magazines were looking for to publish. So, I pushed through the grueling schedules and stuck to my diet to constantly shoot—good, bad, and indifferent. Along with these photo shoots and the attention they were getting from the magazines, I ended up getting attention from other outlets like the WWE, modeling agencies, etc. In fact, I was just on the threshold of getting more exposure, but at the time, I was in a very emotionally abusive relationship. The more I was getting published, the more possessive my then boyfriend was over me.

Unfortunately, he didn’t respect my modeling aspirations and I was looked at just as his object. This made me insecure enough at the time that I believed my worth was wrapped up solely in my appearance. It was all about keeping my body fat super low, staying skinny lean year round, and if I didn’t, that he threatened to leave me. My ex loved the bragging rights of having a published fitness model as his trophy.

If I had the common sense or loved myself enough at the time to get out of the relationship sooner, I know I could’ve landed so many more opportunities. I even showed up to do a cover shoot with a very popular male fitness model that was guaranteed to be a cover for MuscleMag International! However, the person I was in the relationship with got super jealous of the model and he told me on set (in a rage!) that we were leaving right then!! I was devastated. I’d never been so embarrassed in my entire life. However, in 2001, I finally mustered enough courage to leave the relationship after feeling trapped for nearly 8 years.

As you can imagine, looking back at some of these images from my fitness days is bittersweet. I didn’t know it then because I was young, but my experience in front of the camera would not only coin me as one of the more popular fitness models of that era, but it would become the basis of my evolved modeling career and now publisher of two amazing fitness magazines! All of these experiences have also helped me build my elite business model that I continue to polish every day. So, at the end of the day, my message to all the young girls out there—don’t ever give up hope or let someone else’s pressure on you to be something you’re not be what drives your dreams. Be your own person and you WILL thrive!