By: Bryce Murdoch
Photoshoots are interesting. I am always pleased and surprised by the people I photograph. I go into the shoot with a preconceived notion of who I am meeting. I always leave with a different impression. Amanda Keays is a great example of this. I had seen her back in June,2015 when I was photographing the OPA Provincials for the “Eat Sleep Train” website. Looking at her stage photo from that event it was hard to believe that Amanda was painfully awkward as a child and that back in 2007 she weighed 180 lbs. She was bullied growing up and had battled an anxiety disorder. Her story is one of transformation and you can read about it in detail in an article on the Eat Sleep Train website. http://eatsleeptrain.com/…/journey-to-the-stage/amanda-keays
I met up with Amanda in mid-March. She had already competed in two Ontario Physique competitions as an athlete in the bikini division. She did well in her first show in October, 2014 and soon after became a Magnum Nutraceuticals Sponsored Athlete. She then competed in the Provincials in June, 2015 but was not really happy with her results. Looking back, Amanda knows she can bring a better package.
She is preparing to do just that in Mississauga at the May 14, 2016 OPA Fouad Abiad Championship.
They say that in the fitness world you really are always competing against yourself. You can’t control what the other competitors bring to the stage but you can control how you prepare. Amanda believes that the pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow. Throughout her fitness journey from 180lbs in 2007 she has faced many different challenges. The show in 2015 was her first Provincial show and only her second competition. Every year she learns something new about her physique both from trial and error and from the people who surround her. After her last competition she decided to go back to the drawing board and to start fresh so she joined Team T-Rex Training in September, 2015 and started working with Coach Adam Headland. Since then she has been working diligently in her off-season focusing on building her upper body to create symmetry. In addition as a Bikini Athlete there is never ending search for the perfect glute/ham tie in and her routine has changed in order for her to improve this part of her physique as well. Conditioning has also played a large part in her body transformation. She told me she is very excited to see how things go on her next competition day.
Amanda loves her gym time. This is a little strange because she was never an athletic child growing up. In fact as Amanda put it she was the odd child who never really fit in.
We shot at AreYouGame Conditioning Club Inc. in Whitby and Amanda showed up with a huge suitcase full of outfits. We didn’t get a chance to take advantage of more than a few of them. She was coming up with new ideas as fast as I could shoot. We just ran out of gym time. But as I said at the beginning photoshoots are full of surprises. She still likes to do things her own way. It is not all about chin-ups and dumbbells in the gym with Amanda. In her own words she has a bit of a “nerdy” side. She is a huge fan of Star Wars. She used to hide this from her classmates growing up because she didn’t like the teasing. But now she is very open about herself and she encourages others to be the same. In fact we finished the shoot with her wearing her Star Wars workout gear. But for me an even bigger surprise is that Amanda is a well-known Intuitive Medium in the GTA who has been involved with two Paranormal Investigation Teams since 2005. She has been featured in books and TV news features for her ability to communicate with the spirit world. But we will have to wait for my next meeting with Amanda to find out more about this side of her.
Photoshoots are interesting. I am always pleased and surprised by the people I photograph. I go into the shoot with a preconceived notion of who I am meeting. I always leave with a different impression. Amanda Keays is a great example of this. I had seen her back in June,2015 when I was photographing the OPA Provincials for the “Eat Sleep Train” website. Looking at her stage photo from that event it was hard to believe that Amanda was painfully awkward as a child and that back in 2007 she weighed 180 lbs. She was bullied growing up and had battled an anxiety disorder. Her story is one of transformation and you can read about it in detail in an article on the Eat Sleep Train website. http://eatsleeptrain.com/…/journey-to-the-stage/amanda-keays
I met up with Amanda in mid-March. She had already competed in two Ontario Physique competitions as an athlete in the bikini division. She did well in her first show in October, 2014 and soon after became a Magnum Nutraceuticals Sponsored Athlete. She then competed in the Provincials in June, 2015 but was not really happy with her results. Looking back, Amanda knows she can bring a better package.
She is preparing to do just that in Mississauga at the May 14, 2016 OPA Fouad Abiad Championship.
They say that in the fitness world you really are always competing against yourself. You can’t control what the other competitors bring to the stage but you can control how you prepare. Amanda believes that the pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow. Throughout her fitness journey from 180lbs in 2007 she has faced many different challenges. The show in 2015 was her first Provincial show and only her second competition. Every year she learns something new about her physique both from trial and error and from the people who surround her. After her last competition she decided to go back to the drawing board and to start fresh so she joined Team T-Rex Training in September, 2015 and started working with Coach Adam Headland. Since then she has been working diligently in her off-season focusing on building her upper body to create symmetry. In addition as a Bikini Athlete there is never ending search for the perfect glute/ham tie in and her routine has changed in order for her to improve this part of her physique as well. Conditioning has also played a large part in her body transformation. She told me she is very excited to see how things go on her next competition day.
Amanda loves her gym time. This is a little strange because she was never an athletic child growing up. In fact as Amanda put it she was the odd child who never really fit in.
We shot at AreYouGame Conditioning Club Inc. in Whitby and Amanda showed up with a huge suitcase full of outfits. We didn’t get a chance to take advantage of more than a few of them. She was coming up with new ideas as fast as I could shoot. We just ran out of gym time. But as I said at the beginning photoshoots are full of surprises. She still likes to do things her own way. It is not all about chin-ups and dumbbells in the gym with Amanda. In her own words she has a bit of a “nerdy” side. She is a huge fan of Star Wars. She used to hide this from her classmates growing up because she didn’t like the teasing. But now she is very open about herself and she encourages others to be the same. In fact we finished the shoot with her wearing her Star Wars workout gear. But for me an even bigger surprise is that Amanda is a well-known Intuitive Medium in the GTA who has been involved with two Paranormal Investigation Teams since 2005. She has been featured in books and TV news features for her ability to communicate with the spirit world. But we will have to wait for my next meeting with Amanda to find out more about this side of her.