IFBB Pro Jamie Pinder Interview

After starting out in bikini, Jamie Pinder made the switch to physique in 2012. In her first show, the NPC New England Championships, she took first, in her second show at Nationals, she walked away with her IFBB Pro card, an accomplishment she did not see happening so quickly, even though others did. A sign of the competitor and person Jamie is is how well liked she is by so many other competitors. She will soon make her pro debut and will no doubt quickly make a big impact on the pro stage.

Q: Can you talk about how you got started in the gym?
A: When I first started about five years ago I was working in construction and I was a very heavy drinker and smoker. It got to a point where every day I woke up I felt like crap. I started looking really haggard and worn down. I made a decision to quit smoking and also to quit drinking. When I made the decision, I needed something to take up that time. I decided to start working out in the gym and since I was doing construction, I did a lot of strength training so I could be as strong as all the guys on the job site to.

Q: What made you decide to compete?
A: I went to Team Universe with one of my friends who was competing. I helped her backstage and spent the day at Team U with her. Being backstage with all the figure and bikini competitors and bodybuilders, I looked around and was like "this is what I wanna do, I wanna be one of these women." When I saw them on stage and how they presented themselves and all the work they put in, I fell in love with it and wanted to prove I could do it. I looked in all the Oxygen magazines and wanted to be one of those girls. Once I started competing, I was hooked.

Q: You started in bikini and switched to physique for 2012, was there a reason for the switch?
A: When I first started thinking about competing I wanted to compete in figure. But when I started out, I had only been working out for a year, so I didn't have enough muscle for figure so I settled with bikini. 2010 was my first show and in 2011 I came back and wanted to do figure but people said to stay with bikini. I did, but it wasn't what I wanted to do. The judges could see that on stage and I didn't do well and felt uncomfortable in bikini. I feel like the posing and the way you present yourself didn't really fit my personality. When I saw the physique girls on stage, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I am not a girl who wears heels, I am not prissy, I am more like the tomboy. That off-season from 2011 to being on a physique stage in 2012 took a lot of work because I had a lot of muscle to put on.

Q: When you decided to switch did you have to drastically change your diet or training?
A: I didn't change the intensity of how I trained. When I first started working out I had always lifted heavy and intense. I did start doing mountain dog training that year, so that part changed. My diet changed immensely. I went from doing my bikini dieting to bulking very hard for about seven months. I bulked really hard so I was eating a lot more food than I was even comfortable with and got a lot heavier to. I don't think if I had tried to stay lean and gain a lot of muscle that I would have made the gains I did.

Q: Was the posing hard to learn?
A: Not really! Learning how to pose for bikini was a lot harder for me than learning posing for physique. I feel like when I stepped on stage for physique that I found what I was supposed to do. It kind of just came to me. I had a lot of help from Michelle (Brent) and Kenny (Wallach). They both helped a lot. But it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be.

Q: Your first physique show was the New England show, which you won, but were you any more nervous than other shows?
A: I think I was less nervous, I was more excited. Just because I felt I had found the division that was right for me.

Q: After that was Nationals where you won your pro card, when you first realized you were a pro, what went through your head?
A: Total disbelief. I was in absolute shock. I had spoke with my fiance about that moment for so long saying I cant imagine what that feeling would be like. I thought it was gonna be a struggle for so many years to get my pro card and to get it my first year was beyond my expectations. Extreme happiness and joy to think I am gonna be on stage with some of these girls. It is a dream come true.

Q: When you decided to switch, if someone said you would win it that fast, what would you have said?
A: I would have said "No way, it's gonna take awhile". Of course it was my goal to get my pro card, but did I think it was gonna happen? I had a lot of people tell me it would happen and I was very leery to accept that. It was a surprise for me.

Q: A lot of people before Nationals did say you were gonna get it, for them to have that much faith in you, was it motivating?
A: Absolutely! I think being a woman who competes at this level, you get a lot of negativity, so when you do get those people giving you support, it means so much more. I don't think I would have got the courage to go to Nationals without the support.

Q: For you, does the pro card carry more responsibility as far as how you portray yourself?
A: Absolutely! I realize that more and more everyday because with all the social media, you have these girls who look up to you. When you get your pro card you have to set a good example for these girls of what a competitor is. To me, it means being an athlete and putting your heart into it. Being a good role model is important. The feedback I get back from those girls means more than they could ever understand. I motivate them but they motivate me and that is a big part of being a pro, what you do for everyone who is watching you.

Q: When are you making your pro debut?
A: My pro debut is in fifteen weeks at the Chicago Wings of Strength.

Q: From Nationals where do you need to be better for the pro stage?
A: There are a couple things I have been working on this off season. I was told by judges that I need to bring up my back. Me and John Meadows have been working on that. Also my abs, but a lot of abs are genetics. I have done what I can to improve them.

Q: When you are in the gym, do you get a lot of attention or stares?
A: Sometimes, mostly people new to the gym. I have been at my gym for awhile so everyone knows me. If there are newcomers, I get some stares and weird looks.

Q: If you could spend one day training with someone you have never trained with, who would it be?
A: John Meadows. He is my trainer but he trains me from Ohio. If I could go train with him, that would be a dream come true.

Q: Anyone you want to thank?
A: My biggest supporter is my mother, I could not have done it with out her. My fiance Gordon Falcetti, my coach Shelby Starnes, my trainer John Meadows, Kenny Wallach and Michelle Brent.