“What advice can you give me, I want to start fitness modeling?”  I receive this question many times and there are a number of different things you can do, depending on where you are at the moment, what you are looking to do, what you have done already, etc.  BUT the one piece of advice that I can give and that I myself still always do is NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK.  Is it exciting? Most of the time, no :) Do you need to put in your time and follow-up frequently? Absolutely.

You need to view yourself as a business, it’s a job.  If you were to work in an office, or run your own business you would be doing the exact same thing…you have to get leads, follow-up with possible interests, contact people to let them know you exist, put yourself in the proper environment.  These things are all true of fitness modeling as well.

For beginners, one of the best things you can do is go to expos and shows.  Although you may not be interested in the competing side of things the fitness expos that are involved with the bigger shows are key.  Three of the best ones that I feel should be attended are the Olympia, the Arnold and also possibly the LA Expo.  The Arnold is the biggest expo of them all,  it encompasses three days and almost every photographer is at this expo at some point during that time.  The expo is also filled with all of the major and quite a few smaller supplement companies, clothing companies, and other fitness related product companies.   Not only are the photographers there but the magazines are there as well.  If you plan on attending an expo be prepared!! Have business cards with all of your contact information on them (there are a number of companies out there that can prepare these at a very reasonable cost or you can even make them yourself on your own computer!).  Also have a few select images printed in 8×10′s that you can leave along with your card.  Make sure to select ones that show diversity and that are of course, most flattering.

Now, some of you may not have images – get them!! Yes, you most likely will have to pay for your first photo shoot or your first few photo shoots but you need quality images.  Do you need to spend thousands or get tons of pictures done? No…but you need something professional to hand out to people and something that captures you and your physique and hard work in the best light possible.

The other key piece to the networking puzzle is the computer!! Get online, start going through Facebook, Twitter, magazine sites, forums…places that you can find contact information and if you can’t find contact information there is usually always a general email.  Take this general email and contact them and explain who you are looking for and can they please point you in the right direction.  You may send out 20 emails and only get back a few or get back one, but it’s a start!

Another networking move is go into fitness, modeling, bodybuilding, and/or supplement forums.  Read the threads, see if anybody has useful information regarding anything, maybe somebody with a connection to something has left an interesting thread….you never know!  Also if you browse the fitness magazine websites more than likely they have a direct Facebook and/or Twitter link.  Go to these links and leave your own page for them to view along with an email that has your photos, tell them what you’re interested in and be confident in your presentation!!

This career does not happen overnight!!  Even if you think of somebody and think it seems that way, it seems that in the blink of an eye all of a sudden her name became huge….more than likely that’s not how it happened!!  You are just not aware of the amount of work that went into it all beforehand!!

Hope this helps all of you aspiring fitness models out there!!! Remember, do the work, be prepared and be confident… YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!  This career is a constant work in progress, I know I’m always working and trying to do more so be positive and stay focused!!!!

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