Please, God,
I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.
I’m very grateful for putting me in the place where I am at.
And if there’s anything that you can do for me now,
then just please give me the power to give my best presentation ever.
Give me the power, the stamina and the strength to
show my best physique, show my best performance,
have the best energy.
And I’ll let it be up to you how I’m going to place tonight.
I’ll put it in your hands.
It’s not my decision, but please...
give me the power, give me the strength to be really strong
and really confident on stage.
Amen.
[Swole]
[Iron Sisters]
[Rising Phoenix is one of the last places]
[for women to compete in bodybuilding.]
[The event was created in 2015]
[after a series of women’s competitions]
[cut out the bodybuilding division.]
We saw kind of a problem happening.
They were canceling female bodybuilders division and the shows.
Both of us, being fans, were really concerned.
And we didn’t even know what to do. We just stepped in.
There's still a lot of people out there that can't accept
the idea that a women has muscles, that a women is physically strong.
And that's one of the things that I would really love to see change.
In this industry we call each other “iron sisters.”
And so many times we’ll see people be mean to us
because we’re different.
And to put them up on a stage and celebrate that they’re different,
I have the utmost respect for them.
People are looking at their body and they’re looking at them,
but they’re not seeing what’s inside.
And what's inside is someone who was brave enough to just say,
“This is what I want, no matter what the world tells me.”
This is not a sport where you can just go to the gym
and go out and drink a beer with your buddies.
It’s like, you have a schedule with your food;
you’ve got to time it.
You have to eat on time, you train on time,
you do cardio on time.
Everything is very detailed.
There's no such thing as just being lucky.
Anything in life, you got to work hard at it,
especially on ourselves.
[Helle Trevino is a professional Danish bodybuilder]
[who now lives in California.]
[She is preparing for]
[the 2016 Rising Phoenix women’s bodybuilding competition.]
Wherever I go, people say, “Oh, that’s a bodybuilder,”
so I feel that I’m even stronger representing my sport
with my appearance.
So, if I act crazy or yell at people, or do whatever,
it’s not just a bad reflection on me, but also on the sport.
I just love chicken.
I think I know how to make chicken a hundred different ways.
No joke.
Cook big, cook for the week, then it’s just easier.
Come on in.
-Hey, Austin. -How are you?
-Sorry, I was just eating. -No, it's all good.
Nice!
Pretty big case. How are you?
Good. Are you excited?
Yeah, I'm super excited. Two days.
I know, man. I’m nervous for you.
I mean, the shape’s there.
I know.
I think whenever something is different,
like a woman is super muscular, it’s like,
“Oh, she wants to be a guy,” or, “She wants to be a transsexual."
It's like people are trying to find some kind of weird explanation
or overthinking.
Maybe that’s just my ideal of beauty.
Maybe I like to be strong mentally and physically.
It makes you be better, do better.
It builds character, it builds discipline.
I always had it in me that I wanted to be the best.
I like to be different. I like the extreme.
And also be a role model, inspire people like I was inspired.
I'm an online trainer and coach.
So I draw up diet plans, training plans, stuff like that.
So I’ll work a little and then I’ll go back to the gym in the evening
and do another hour of cardio, another session.
Sometimes I'll also do some posing.
I like the feeling when people look at me.
Even if I go power walking here, I get a lot of comments.
People are like, “Wow!”
With bodybuilding, it’s like you can decide what kind of size you want.
And that's why we also have so many categories today.
It’s not just bodybuilding anymore.
It’s bikini, figure, fitness, physique, bodybuilding.
So it’s all about muscle shape,
but it’s small, bigger, a little bigger, and biggest.
And I'm in the biggest category.
You think of bodybuilding, you think of men.
And the women had to fight to be on the stage.
They thought and said that that was too muscular.
Even as an amateur, my goal was to go to Ms. Olympia,
to be the best in the world.
And so now you’re telling me
there’s no place for me.
Like, now what?
[For 34 years, Ms. Olympia was]
the biggest event in women’s bodybuilding.]
[It ended its event in 2015,]
[the same year Rising Phoenix was started.]
When I talk to the competitors,
most of us, we all have that same conversation
that we have this place to go,
this place to compete, and that’s exciting.
There will be off days when you doubt yourself.
“Have I made the improvements? Will I be good enough?
Am I working hard enough? Am I doing the right things?”
People are always on your side
when it's going well and you're winning.
And then when you’re down and it’s going bad,
they’re like, “Oh, maybe you should give up.”
My motto is, “It’s hard to beat someone who doesn’t give up.”
But I’m definitely getting excited.
This sport is all about preparation,
so I started 2nd of November last year
to prepare for this competition.
The prize money for this show is pretty high.
It’s $50,000 cash and a $65,000 Jeep.
Last year I was second.
I’m one of the favorites to win this year,
so I hope that I have the package that the judges will like.
It’s really nice.
-Very pretty.
-Yeah,
Are you happy with the color and stuff? The face, body?
Yes, I was going to ask. I can deepen it a little bit,
but I know we like it lighter.
But if you want I can--
Just deepen it a little bit.
OK, let me get this.
I have to be at rehearsal in five minutes.
OK.
So we got to make it quick.
I have the opportunity to win this competition,
so I don't want to compromise.
This is crazy. My phone has been beeping all day like crazy.
It’s just really emotional for me that my friends and my family,
they’re all behind me, and I just get so many messages from everybody.
This is my sister, she's pretty buff too.
Yeah, it's in the family.
This is the 18 best female bodybuilders in the world.
18 best.
They came from all over the world, flew in to compete here.
Better go in and see what’s going on.
IFBB Rising Phoenix World Championship,
showcasing the best in all professional women bodybuilding
from around the globe.
In conjunction with the IFBB Wings of Strength Arizona Pro,
featuring every IFBB Pro Women division on this very stage.
I know you look at a female bodybuilder
and you probably feel like,
"Oh, I don't want to be that muscular. That's too much."
This is 2016.
We’re not at a place where we’re trying to tell others
what they can and cannot look like,
to tell women what they can and cannot be.
In fourth place, competitor number 17, Helle Trevino.
I don't really feel that I have any flaws,
but there must have been something, like a look that they’re going for,
that I didn't have today.
It’s just going back to the drawing board
and see what I can improve.
Get some feedback from the judges,
and I’ll see what I need to work on.
I believe in the power of positive thoughts.
I don’t really let negative things affect my life or pull me down.
So I’m just like,
“OK, you know sometimes you got to take an L.”
So I’m going to come back next year,
and I’m going to take the title next year.