Darcy Dassow
WPM's Next-In-Line Pro - January 2012
Darcy Dassow started working out when she was in high school because she had low self-esteem, a poor body image of herself and had developed an eating disorder. "I felt fat compared to everyone else on the gymnastics team. I was one of those girls who always wanted to be skinny and looks like the models you see in magazines", says Darcy.
She submitted photos to a lot of places and always got rejected because she was too short and not what they were looking for. "So I gave up and realized I will never be a model due to my height. Someone along the way mentioned you can always be a fitness model", Darcy says thinking back. From there on out she wondered if she could really be a fitness model and started to do some research on her own. At that moment she had a goal, to have the body of a competitor and become a fitness model.
Growing up, she was active and enjoyed going to the gym to lift weights and have not stopped since. "That was 14 years ago. I began reading everything I could on lifting and nutrition. Being from a small town in Wisconsin with not a lot of money at all for a personal trainer, I could not fathom ever having a muscular yet, feminine physique. In my mind, it was just a dream, and I just continued to go to the gym and lift on my own desire with no support from family or friends", says Darcy.
It was not until recently in April 2011, when on a daily basis, she would have random people asking her if she competes in bodybuilding and she was receiving compliments about her body any time she went out. "I thought to myself if this many people think I look like a competitor maybe I should take this to the next level and be one", says Darcy. She hired a personal trainer, Samantha Fishow; NPC Bikini Competitor. Within a few disciplined months, Darcy's body began to transform. "I felt amazing! I felt physically and emotionally fit, I had a true sense of accomplishment and well-being. I also had more confidence with myself and decided I would give competing in a bikini suit on stage a try", stated Darcy. Within a few months, and having only have done 2 NPC figure competitions and walking away with two 1st place trophies, she feels she has already accomplished something she only thought she would dream of. "I have never been so happy with myself", states Darcy.
"... My friends and others would try to get me to eat disgusting food by literally shoving food down my throat. Or they would say, "Oh, you can eat fruit because it is healthy" and I would reply back, "No, I can't not right now while I am prepping for a show. It is not part of my diet!" They wanted to see me give in and lose my self-discipline."
WP: What was it like stepping on stage for the first time?
I had never in my life been put under a spotlight before and in front of a room full of people. I did not know what to expect or how I was going to react with everything. The night before the competition I worried about falling on stage in my heels, my bikini suit coming undone, and my mind freezing up and forgetting my number. I did not and could not sleep the night before my first competition. I was so nervous and filled with anxiety.
The day of the competition was a whole other ball park. I felt I was at my ultimate high the morning of and my body was at its peak. Before stepping on stage I told myself, "Alright this is it. This is my time to shine and make my dreams reality!"
WP: What was it like winning your first competition?
OMG, I do not even remember. My goal going into my first competition was to place in the top five. Never in a million years did I think I was going to walk away with a first place trophy. I was in a total daze and I do not even know how I knew what to do while on stage. Immediately, as I got off stage I had my coach and friends come tell me you did it, you got 1st place at your first competition and asked me how does it feel? I said thanks and that was it. It had not dawned on me until the next day that I took 1st place at my first competition. In fact, for my second competition I had to ask another figure girl what poses do we do pre-judging and finals and she said you have already done this, you should know. I said I have but I do not remember anything.
It felt so unreal to step on stage for the first time, and realizing all the hard work was for that moment, but it felt more unreal after walking off with a first place trophy.
WP: Are you planning to compete again in the future?
Defiantly YES! I am addicted to competing! If I could and my body would allow me to I would compete at every competition every weekend across the United States. Ha-ha!. My coach and I are still discussing show dates but it looks like it will be June 9th in the South California Classic in San Diego, California and possibly the USA's in July in Las Vegas.
WP: What are your goals in this industry?
I have so many goals in the fitness industry. Hmmm... Where do I want to start? Since I am new to the fitness industry, I just want to continue competing at local shows in hopes to get my face and name noticed by the public and eventually sponsored and featured more in magazines. I ultimately want to earn my Pro Card and make fitness my career.
WP: What has competitions taught you thus far?
The first thing that comes to my mind is it is a very expensive sport! Competing is a lifestyle. All the hours spent in the kitchen prepping meals, all the countless hours spent at the gym working out and doing cardio, and all the money spent on tanning, hair, make-up, and bikini suit is all the behind scenes before stepping on stage. The final month of contest prep is the most difficult and grueling. This is when my motivation and energy levels drop and this is when I tell myself to keep pushing hard and soon enough I can have sweets again! At this point I have done everything in my power to come in a 100 % and hoping the morning of the competition my body has peaked.
WP: What was the hardest thing for you to overcome when you first started?
I will have to go with trying to balance work, school, family and friends. Being in the Marine Corps I do not have set hours and have duty and it is very overwhelming at times to manage and prioritize my time wisely and stick to my diet. I focus on making myself happy first and everything else is secondary.
By going through this I really found out who my true friends are. I do not have a social life at all while I am prepping for a competition. I am either at work, gym or sleeping and if my family and friends really care about who I am and what I do they will understand. I learned to make myself happy before anyone else. While doing so I became distant with my family and lost a few friends. It has been over a year since I last seen my family because I did not want to go home to Wisconsin while prepping for a competition.
My friends and others would try to get me to eat disgusting food by literally shoving food down my throat. Or they would say, "Oh, you can eat fruit because it is healthy" and I would reply back, "No, I can't not right now while I am prepping for a show. It is not part of my diet!" They wanted to see me give in and lose my self-discipline.
I was also told I was a flake for not going out partying or that I can always go to the gym a different day. Overall, the people around me on a daily basis just made it hard for me. It was very frustrating being around people who were not competitors because they just did not understand what I was going through or what I wanted to accomplish. Aside from what I was physically putting my body through I had family, friends, and co- workers mentally putting me through even more.
Also, what I think is hard is when dieting for a show you cannot just turn to pizza and ice cream when life throws you problems or stress. You have to turn to that Stair Master or people to support you. I was not getting any support from anyone so I had to resort to life's problems while doing my cardio.
WP: What was the hardest thing you had to deal with when it came to your diet?
Oh, I love this question! I used to be a big food junkie; I mean I really loved my sweets. I would buy a pint of ice cream and eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and that is all I would eat for the whole day. The next day I would eat a whole box of some sort of sweetened cereal and would eat that for the whole day. I ate whatever I craved that morning and would eat that particular food throughout the day until I finished the carton or bag. I had the hardest time adjusting to my diet. I craved sweets so bad to the point I would cry and one day I could not take it, and I am not very proud of this, but I ate cake out of a garbage can before.
It came to a point where I asked my coach if he could somehow include ice cream in my diet and that did not go over to well as you can imagine. Ha-ha. Going from having ice cream, cookies, and chocolate everyday to completely no sweets at all in my diet totally messed with my emotions and I was incredibly irritable daily. I was defiantly someone you did not want to be around. Ha-ha!
WP: How has your training changed over the years?
I used to go to the gym for 4 hours every day and I would do every exercise in the book you could think of until I got bored. I would be using really heavy weights and making sure I did so many repetitions before I would stop. I was also getting frustrated because I was not seeing any results. Not until I got my own personal coach and trainer did I realize I was working out the wrong way and began to see my body transform. It is not about how much you can lift or how fast you can knock each repetition out. It is about technique and making sure you do the exercise correctly each time.
WP: What supplements do you currently take?
I take a multi-vitamin, glutamine, Vitamins D and E, and fish oil on a daily basis and my coach has me eating a lot of whole foods instead of shakes to insure a better balance of nutrients.
WP: What plays on your iPod when you work out?
I listen to a variety of music but you will mainly find remixes on my iPod. It really all depends on my mood and how I feel that day. Usually, at the beginning of my workout, I start off by listening to some upbeat remix and you will see me on the cardio machine lip sinking and moving my hands as if I am dancing in a club. Music really gets me moving and motivated to work out hard. Usually, as my workout is nearing the end, I listen to slower more calming music like country to relax me before ending my workout.
WP: What is your favorite exercise or lift?
I love training my legs. My favorite training move is lying hamstring curls. I enjoy training my legs because no matter how hard or easy I train them, the following day I can always feel that I worked them the day before. At times I will push myself so hard on leg days that I have tears coming down my face. That is when I know I gave it all and feel I accomplished something.
WP: Any shout outs?
I have so many people I want to thank because if it was not for them I would not be where I am at today in my life without their help and support. I first off want to start off with thanking Samantha Fishow (NPC Bikini Competitor) my first personal trainer and with whom I first saw transformation with my body with.
A big shout out to Norm Johnson of Team Femme Fatale for being the perfect coach and trainer I could ever ask for and my teammates for all their support.
XAPP Carbonated Protein Fitness Drink for allowing me to work for them and be their sampler girl at the Olympia in Vegas and at other various competitions.
I want to thank Marisa Scarpelli, my makeup artist and hairstylist for my competitions as well as Laurie from Cheat the Beach for giving me the perfect winning tan each competition.
A big thank you to Jon Lindsay for putting on such great shows every year and thanks to Ralph DeHaan of Ralph DeHaan photography for being an amazing photographer to work and shoot with.
And lastly, my family and friends back in Wisconsin for believing in me and awarding me by sending me "goodies" after a competition.
WP: Give me an example of your workout.
My coach and I go over the judges' feedback and plan our workouts around that. For me, a lot of pull-downs for my back width, as my back is my weakness and needs to be wider. I always start with pull-ups, and seated rows with different hand positions to hit the back in different angles. I train every group of muscles once a week with one day of doing absolutely nothing. It is very important to take days of rest to do nothing to let your body recover and allow your muscles to grow.
WP: Give me an example of your diet. What do you normally eat each day?
Depending on where I am at in my diet, I try to keep it at 5 meals a day. I eat a lot of organic foods to include chicken, black beans, brown rice, eggs, lots of dark green leafy veggies for my carbohydrates and once a week I get steak.
WP: Could you tell me about your future projects?
I plan on continuing to compete in hopes of earning my Pro Card in 2012!!!
WP: Is there anything I have forgotten to mention that you would like to bring to light?
You are always going to be surrounded by people who are going to disagree with your decisions and what you want to do. There are people who will attempt to hold you back from accomplishing your goals and achieving your true potential in life. The thing is not to let them bother you; it is yourself you need to worry about. Do not let them take away your dreams. The greatest battle you will ever face is not that of you against others, it is you against yourself. Many people outside the fitness industry get the wrong impression of bodybuilding. They think we are vain and only care about ourselves because of our bodies and believe we base everything on looks. When in reality it is just a sport for us just like football and basketball etc., is to anyone else. Competitors dedicate so much time to this sport more than "normal" athletes because ours is a 24/7 sport with the dieting regimen. Most pro athletes are not seen doing that. There is a lot of behind the scenes things that are done to achieve such physiques. The time, dedication, and calculations to achieve a top physique, in my opinion, far exceed the work put in by most athletes of any sport. I love this sport and it hurts when the general public does not take the time to understand what all goes into it before voicing their opinions.
WP: Well said! It has been a pleasure interviewing you! I wish you all the best of luck!
Thank you World Physique for giving me this opportunity, I thoroughly enjoyed the interview and feel honored.
Height: 5 feet 1 inch
Weight: 108 lbs.
Hometown: Medford, Wisconsin
Occupation: United States Marine Corps
Resides: California
