Interview With Sarah Turner
Ms. World Physique - November 2009
Interviewed by: Tammy Renee'
WP: You voted Sarah in as Ms. World Physique! We are honored to have Sarah represent our company and hold this title. Sarah is a Firefighter with the St. Andrew's Fire Department in Charleston, South Carolina. She is also attending the University of Memphis where she is working on a double major in Fire Prevention and Fire Administration. She is also a Dean’s List student and will be graduating shortly.
If that isn't enough to impress you, she is also a competitor, wife, and she wants to become a Professional Catfish Noodler. Ha-ha! You'll have to read the interview to understand that one!
Okay, Sarah. Are you ready to get started? I feel with the beginning line with the words "Professional Catfish Noodler" I'm in for a great interview! Let’s begin with you telling our viewers a little about yourself.
ST: Ha-ha, Tammy! I'm ready! My name is Sarah Elizabeth Scott Turner. I am 27 years old and am completely addicted to weight lifting and getting on stage and competing. I am competitive to the point of insanity. I also am one to make ridiculously high goals and then carry them out and create a new goal once one is accomplished. I am ambitious to the extreme, and have the work ethic of a draft horse which was instilled in me through my father and our Lowland Scottish ancestry. I am extremely proud of the middle class, blue collar family that I come from, and am loyal to a fault. I can get along with a dead grass carp as long as they have a sense of humor, and are honest. I am optimistic and believe that you get out of life what you put into it.
WP: What has been your stepping stone to get where you are today?
ST: When I was extremely young, around 4 or 5, I idolized Hank Williams Jr. and wanted to be a truck driver with a huge chrome covered black Peterbilt. Then in fourth grade, my family visited Myrtle Beach and I decided I would live in South Carolina. After high school, my mom and I went to a local college where I was going to sign up for mechanic classes, but with her support, we decided firefighting looked more fun. Here I am in 2009, driving the best looking ladder truck this side of the Mississippi for St. Andrew’s Fire Department in Charleston, South Carolina and still rockin’ out to Hank Jr. every chance I get. Like I said, when I have dreams, I achieve them.
WP: To be a firefighter, you have to remain in tip-top shape. What has it been like to maintain your physique? Have you done anything different lately?
ST: To be honest, I am just learning what an off-season diet is. I started competing in 2008 and only dieted for 8 weeks before the show. During off-season I existed on a pretty high bar food and fair food diet. This year I decided to buckle down and eat like a horse in the off-season to attempt my first show as a bodybuilder in May 2010. Tres Bennett of contestshape.com is doing my diet and training, and with the way his wife Shannon Meteraud looks, I will take his advice.
WP: Tell me more about your occupation. It sounds so exciting.
ST: I drive Truck One for Captain Earl on C shift. I love it. There is no other career for me, other than maybe being a Professional Catfish Noodler.
WP: A professional what?
ST: I know you know what catfish noodlers are, so don’t act ignorant. Ha-ha!
WP: Okay, so what if I am not just acting ignorant? Ha-ha! I actually had to go to Wikipedia to find out what catfish noodlers are. I found out that it’s the art of catching fish with the bare hands and it’s practiced mainly in the southern United States. You just taught me something! Talking about how ignorant I am, tell me what your education is, missy.
ST: I attend the University of Memphis where I am working on a double major in Fire Prevention and Fire Administration. I am a Dean’s List student and I will be graduating shortly. I am applying to graduate school as soon as I find the perfect one. Ha-ha!
WP: Okay smarty! Remind me not to have a “Battle of the Brains” with you since you’re on the Dean’s List! I’m backing off this fight! Ha-ha! I know when I am beat. So, have you ever played any type of sports or activities that doesn’t consist of grabbing catfish with the bare hands?
ST: Ha-ha! Oh, yes. I have always been into sports. When I was in first grade I told my mom that I wanted to play soccer, so she signed me up. I played soccer for 14 years, indoor and outdoor, and I was the captain of my high school soccer team. I also attempted softball, but I was always a crappy softball player. I tried track, but that’s about as exciting as having your leg skinned with a spoon.
WP: Leg skinned with a spoon?! You are a hoot! I tried soccer and it wasn’t my favorite sport in the world, but I actually was good at softball. So, we are totally opposite. You are married, right?
ST: I am married. I met my husband Brent Turner through the fire service here in South Carolina, and he taught me the basics of weightlifting and is the one who inspired me to compete. He also took me to my first bodybuilding show in Augusta Georgia where we were thrown out for having a few too many Jack Daniels. It was a good time. Since then I have clearly grown more serious about competitions.
WP: What sort of music do you work out to?
ST: I have a strange taste in music for someone my age. I enjoy Waylon Jennings, Charlie Daniels, ZZ top, Hank Jr. David Allan Coe, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash. When I am lifting, I like to listen to just about everything from the country I previously mentioned to Rihanna to Beethoven’s Ave Maria. You will not find me listening to heavy metal. Ever!
WP: See, we’re opposite again. Country music is sure torture to me! What was the hardest thing for you to overcome when you first started?
ST: Dieting was the hardest thing for me to overcome. Dieting is horrible torture like country music is to you. I don’t care what anyone says. I am partial to the dirtiest, most delicious fried foods a person can find. Fairs are where I am in paradise. Fried Captain Crunch is an incredible product of southern ingenuity. I am not gonna sit here and tell you that I love dieting. I don’t. I am vain. Everybody in this business is vain. I love to see what happens to my body when I am dieting, and I know that if I want to have a kick - ass carcass, then I have to diet the same way I train, and that is with everything I’ve got.
WP: Fried Captain Crunch cereal?! OMG! I’m going to act like I didn’t just hear that and go to the next question. Ha-ha! What are the key factors that dictate the way you model today?
ST: You have to try it before you knock it! Okay, about modeling. I won’t do anything that I can’t take home and show my parents or take to work and show my fire chief. I believe that is enough to keep me in line. I enjoy really fantastic photographs and that is what I am after. I am still looking to get a picture in front of a freight train like Hank Jr.’s CD cover for ‘The Pressure Is On’. Are there any takers out there?
WP: How has your training compare to when you model to when you do not? What do you do differently?
ST: I don’t train specifically to model. I train to compete, and I look good when I compete, so I use that time to get some really great pictures. Right now I am bulking up, so I look like the broad side of a flabby white pig. Next summer, however, you better watch your back because I am bringing my ‘A’ game.
WP: What titles/accomplishments have you thus far? Tell me about them.
ST: Well, I am Ms. World Physique November 2009! I am still wearing my cardboard crown that one of the guys at work got me when the announcement was made. Ha-ha!
WP: I bet you are darling with your cardboard crown! Sorry to interrupt. You were saying?
ST: (Eyes rolling and a sign) I have done four shows thus far. Here are my standings:
2008 Excalibur Figure B Class 3rd place;
2009 Stewart Fitness Championships Bikini Tall Class 3rd place;
2009 Jen Hendershott All Women’s Weekend Bikini B Class 3rd Place; and
2009 Excalibur Figure B Class 4th Place.
The first contest was my best achievement thus far. I looked like a ramen noodle during all the shows however, which is why I am eating 3500 calories a day now.
WP: Where do you see your career and life in 10 years from now?
ST: 10 years from now I will have completed my PhD in a fire service related field, I will be in a higher ranking in the fire department, and I will hopefully have a pro-card in either figure or bodybuilding, without the use of drugs. I will also have a fantastic car, which I will drive obnoxiously slow in traffic to make sure that everyone sees me in it. Ha-ha!
WP: I did that when I first got my mustang! How funny! Can you tell me any photographers you’ve worked with, or someone you’d like to work with?
ST: Kathy Rend has done the majority of my photography and you can catch her at www.rendgraphics.com. She does graphic design and website design as well, so all of you competitors needing a website listen up! Morgan Dunn has also done some of my photography as well; you can email her at tall_morgie00@yahoo.com. I would love to work with any photographer who likes to add a little artistic flair to the photos after they are taken. I love the fancy lighting and the black and whites that only have one focal point in color. I want to work with anyone with an imagination. Anyone who wants to get me that freight train picture I mentioned prior, email me please. I also really enjoy photographs that show off emotion and to capture that takes talent.
WP: What supplements do you currently take?
ST: I absolutely love MetRx’s chocolate meal replacements. I take two daily. I take Juggernaut Pre-Work out Experience before hitting the gym and a slew of vitamins each morning including a multi, fish oil (gross), Tribulus Extract, and several others. Before I hit the sack at night, I throw two scoops of chocolate Muscle Milk down the hatch, accompanied by two tablespoons of peanut butter.
WP: What are your pet peeves?
ST: Ahahhahaha… I could go on forever. I dislike dishonest people, those who cheat on their spouses and men who act like they hate cats because they think it makes them look tough. I do not understand the mentality of people who think it is acceptable to pull out in front of an $850,000 extremely heavy ladder truck that is doing 45 mph, and expect it to stop on a dime. I can’t stand being stared at while sitting at intersections by a bunch of dirty males. In the gym, I hate people who don’t put their weights back. I have no desire to remove your 789 pounds from the leg press. Also, those who feel it is necessary to use 3 machines at once at 5 pm should be strangled. Oh! And one more thing! Those of you who bench press and arch your back a foot off the bench, take some weight off the bar and do it right before you throw your back out. You look stupid, you do not look tough.
WP: I think if I let you think for a second, you might have a few more! Ha-ha! I’ve seen people pull out in front of an 18-wheeler while they are going fast and it turned out pretty bad for both. People don’t understand how hard it is to stop a big truck! What do you consider to be important in life, and why?
ST: The important things in Sarah land are family and friends. Be true to yourself and treat others with respect, as well. It like they say, “If you respect someone, they will respect you back”. Be honest. Treat people the way you would want them to treat your mother.
WP: How have you changed over the past few years when it comes to thinking, actions, and life in general?
ST: Before 2007, I spent the majority of my free time consuming whiskey. Now, I have things to do. I decided a couple of years ago that I wanted to be a Doctor. Now, I am working on my PhD. I really gained an outlook on life where I can do anything I want as long as I put everything I’ve got into it. I’ve got fire in my veins. No one can bring me down.
WP: Wow! I can’t see you drinking a lot! I admire you being able to change just like that! What are your stats such as height, weight, biceps, and waist?
ST: I’m 5'4.5. This puts me just into B class in the NPC. Last show I weighed 105 pounds on stage. That is way too skinny. I am hoping to fall right at 125 pounds this year when I get on stage, putting me into the light weight bodybuilding division. On stage, my waist is 23 inches. Now, it feels like it is 68 inches, but I have put on 20 pounds in two months. I have no idea what my bicep measurement is. I imagine my biceps are about the waist size of an extremely athletic squirrel. They’ll get bigger, just wait till May.
WP: I don’t recall ever seeing an extremely athletic squirrel before. Ha-ha! Any shout outs?
ST: Of course! Hey to my husband, my parents, family, and friends up in Ohio and ST Andrews Fire Department; C Shift! I want a shout out to go to Pine Crest Baptist Church’s Kitchen Crew, as well. Those are some good people. All the guys and gals in the fire service, keep doin’ it.
WP: Give me an example of your workout.
ST: I do a 48 on 24 off split. That means I work out for two days and then rest for one. This reciprocates my 24 on 48 off work schedule. For legs, I start with pyramiding on the extension machine. Then, I’m off to the leg press where I do five sets of at least 10 reps. I do 5 times the aerobics room at Gold’s in walking lunges. 4 sets of 10 on the curl machine, and then I obliterate my calves with 4 sets of 30 on a standing calf machine, plus another calf exercise 4 sets of 30, as well. Then, I do abs and cardio.
WP: Give me an example of your diet. What do you normally eat each day?
ST: I eat like an elk with a tapeworm.
Meal One: Half a dozen egg whites plus one whole egg, oatmeal and apple.
Meal Two: Met Rx meal replacement with oatmeal mixed in and another apple.
Meal Three: Chicken, red potatoes, and broccoli.
Meal Four: Met Rx Chocolate meal replacement, plus peanut butter.
Meal Five: 7 oz steak or salmon, sweet potatoes and broccoli
Meal Six: 2 scoops protein and more peanut butter.
Of course, I do a gallon of water a day, as well.
WP: One last question, Sarah. Could you tell me about your future projects?
ST: I am my future project! With school and lifting, that is about all I do! I would love to gain some more exposure in the fitness modeling world, so I will keep trying to get my name out there the best that I can. Outside of fitness, I am usually working with the local schools or local charities on some sort of crafty project to help someone out.
WP: It’s an honor to have you as Ms. November World Physique. I am sure we will have a blast together! It has been a pleasure interviewing you! I wish you all the best of luck!
ST: Thank you and I look forward to working with World Physique more often in the future.
