We Salute Mindi O'Brien

At SeriousAboutMuscle.com, we normally focus on bodybuilders. However, female figure and fitness competitors deserve attention as well. After all, I know many who train as hard as, if not harder than, quite a few of the bodybuilders out there. Furthermore, the discipline it takes to compete in figure and fitness can be just as rigorous as it is for bodybuilding,

Therefore, this month I’m going to zero in on Mindi O’Brien, Canada’s top fitness competitor in the IFBB professional ranks. I’ve known Mindi for many years and I can assure you that she’s as focused and disciplined as they come. She can also out-train almost everyone I know.

The shot of her in the "soldier’s uniform" that’s on the cover this month is one that I took at the finals of the 2007 Fitness International competition. By the time you read this article, she will have finished competing at this year’s Fitness International competition, and, in the future, I’ll more than likely publish some pictures from that competition as well.

But the reason I’m featuring Mindi isn’t because of how well she did at last year’s or this year’s competition. Instead, it’s to point out Mindi’s competitive achievements as a whole in the IFBB pro ranks and explain why we’re so proud of her.

Mindi turned pro when she won the CBBF Canadian Fitness Championships that were held in July 2004. One month later, she went to Texas to compete at the SW USA Pro Cup. The only thing she wanted to do down in Texas was get her feet wet in this new competitive environment. What happened, though, shocked her and everyone else around her – she won the whole darn thing over a field of veteran competitors. Before that competition, no Canadian fitness competitor had ever won a pro show. Mindi did it her first time out.

Since then, Mindi has competed professionally many times. And besides that initial win in Texas, what’s been most relevant is that she has competed in the Fitness Olympia four times (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007), and as of February 29, 2008, she will have competed in the Fitness International four times as well (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008). These are the most prestigious professional fitness competitions in the world that most competitors never get the opportunity to compete at once, let alone as many times as Mindi has done.

What’s more, Mindi has not finished yet. I suspect she has a few more competitive years ahead of her and she’ll be a contestant at these shows every year until she retires. In addition, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her win another pro show – she certainly has what it takes.

As I said, by the time you read this article, the 2008 Fitness International will already be over and the final standings will have been posted somewhere online. It will be old news. However, that doesn’t concern me right now. Regardless of how Mindi does at this event, or any other in the future for that matter, we salute her competitive achievements to date.

Mindi is Canada’s top IFBB fitness superstar with an enviable competitive track record that no one else in Canada comes close to. She sets a high standard for herself whenever she competes, and she sets an even higher standard for other professional competitors to beat. I won’t be surprised if she goes down in the history books as Canada’s most successful fitness competitor ever – and the record stays that way for decades to come.

...Doug Schneider, Publisher
das@seriousaboutmuscle.com

Doug Schneider is the publisher and chief photographer for SeriousAboutMuscle.com, BodyBuildingLive.com, and SeriousAboutFitness.com.