Hurry and catch up! Old, corny joke, but I do have some serious catching up to do on here!
Besides The Action Plan: Get Fit Over 40 Training & Nutrition Program book review I posted yesterday, the last time I posted was more than a year ago! I started writing articles for other sites and abandoned this one. I figured I’d get started again.
The Big Move - August 2012
Shortly after competing in my first bikini competition (with the OCB) in April 2012, I took a trip to San Francisco to visit my boyfriend. I visited the area 10 years prior so I obviously was in a different state of mind (18 years old versus 28 years old), and I was only able to visit for a couple of days compared to the week-long vacation I took last July.
Back home, I already enrolled in a four-month program with the National Personal Training Institute (NPTI) in Orlando, Fla. I was going to drive down that September (live on campus) and graduate that December. My credit union approved me for the loan. I was going to do this.
I sold whatever I knew I wouldn’t be taking with me in a yard sale and packed my car with the rest of my belongings.
In August, my dad and I made the 3,208-mile drive (I-90 to I-80). SIDE NOTE: If you EVER get the chance to road trip with your parent(s), DO IT! That was such a cool experience and I will have those memories with me forever. Plus, we saw a lot of different things along the way. I would do it all over again for sure.
Opportunity #1 - September 2012
Without blogging, I would have never had the opportunity to become a FitFluential Ambassador
(and, later, a ReebokONE Ambassador - I’ll explain more about that later).
I applied to become a FitFluential Ambassador in September 2012. They only accept a certain amount of applicants each year and I was one of the lucky ones to be chosen! FitFluential is “a nationwide network of highly influential fitness enthusiasts sharing their journey both online and offline through multiple social media platforms. Founded in April of 2011 by Kelly Olexa (who is FRIGGIN awesome, I might add!), FitFluential was designed to connect health and wellness bands with their ideal target market through customized, long-term experiential and contextual marketing campaigns.” (Source: FitFluential)
Back to School - September 2012
It was back to school for me yet again! I graduated from the University of Maine Orono in May 2005 with a bachelor’s in journalism, and seven years later, I was enrolled in another school for something completely different! Classes started in early September, and, because I LOVE to learn, I soaked up every bit of information that was taught. The six-month program (Orlando is the only one with the four-month program) went by so quickly! By the end of February 2013, I received my NPTI diploma and became a NASM Certified Personal Trainer.
I immediately began work as a trainer at Crunch Fitness Hills Plaza on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. It was good while it lasted, but I quickly realized big, corporate gyms are not the fit for me. I am now training out of Be Fit Stay Active Personal Training in Albany, Calif. (“Be Fit” for short!) as an independent contractor - right up my alley!
Opportunity #2 - February 2013
From: Peter Bognanno
To: Magen
Cc: Kelly Olexa
Subject: ReebokONE Ambassador Program
Date: February 15, 2013 at 11:02 AM
Hi Magen,
By looking through multiple FitFluential profiles, we have identified you as someone who would be a great fit to become an ambassador to the platform
because of your interest in strength & conditioning and the figure (he really meant bikini ;-)) competition community. Please let me know if you would be interested in discussing this in more detail. You can check out the site at:
By simply having a profile on the network, fitness instructors gain access to:
Exclusive Content
25% discount on Reebok product
A Professional Fitness profile
We want to better the fitness community by giving them a dedicated fitness social media platform on which to connect, and we would like you to be a part of this.
Feel free to contact me at your convenience. Thanks!
Pete Bognanno
Wait a minute, WHAT?! I gotta read this again. Obviously, this is some kind of sick joke. But I do see Kelly’s Cc’d on this email so maybe it isn’t? I don’t know. Whatever, I’ll just call this “Pete” guy and see what he has to say.
Did REEBOK really just reach out to me?
I can’t even belie-
“Hi, this is Pete.”
“Hi, Pete, this is Magen Petit. I just received your email regarding the ReebokONE Ambassador Program.”
“Wow, you’re quick! I just sent that email.”
Shit, I definitely was too quick on that. Stupid eager beaver! Totally should have given it a day or two at least - isn’t that usually the way phone calls work, men? You wait a day or two after meeting the hot chick at the gym and THEN you call? You don’t call right away? Well, I’m on the phone with him now!
“Haha yea, I had the time to give you a call so I figured I would right away.”
Pretty much, the phone call lasted about 10 minutes and I don’t think my heart rate was ever under 150 the entire time. Pete asked if I was on board and wanted to become a ReebokONE Ambassador after he explained to me what it entails: I would have to sign a one-year contract and wear nothing but Reebok gear that would be sent to me every quarter (yes, FREE gear!), promote the brand via social media outlets, attend ReebokONE events (which would be paid for by Reebok), and promote the ReebokONE online community and get other fitness professionals signed up on the free site, too.
In the words of Ace Ventura, “Gee, let me think...umm, sure!”
I immediately called my boyfriend, parents, and sent out a group text to my closest girlfriends freaking out and telling them what just went down. Did this REALLY just happen?!
NPC Stage - March 2013
So crazy how social media connects us. When I was prepping for my first competition in early 2012, I set up my Instagram account (@magenfit23). Most of it was fitness related, shocking, I know. Because of that, and my excessive #hashtags, I met a future fellow NPC-turned-IFBB Pro bikini competitor, Michelle Mein (@meeshelliieee). She was doing boot camps, had lost a bunch of weight, was starting to really get into fitness, and asking me questions about competing. She finally decided that July that she would start prepping for her first show, which ended up being October 2012. (She took 1st place in Overall Masters and 3rd Open Class A. From there, she competed in six more shows. During her most recent show, she earned her Pro Card!) The craziest thing of all of this is that she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I moved to! She convinced me to do an NPC show out here, so I did.
I competed in early March in Culver City, Calif., which is right outside of LA. I qualified for nationals by placing 5th in my class (Class D). I was ecstatic! I got first call outs during prejudging and never imagined that would happen in my first NPC show in California in LA of all places! I figured I would be at a huge disadvantage because of my lack of boobs and my full sleeve tattoo. Apparently, none of that matters, which is great for me!
Competing in this show, my prep going into the show, and what happened post show is all for another article... stay tuned!
Wrap Up
This post is a little longer than I expected, and I really want to share with you my experiences with ReebokONE so far so expect another post on that shortly.
Thanks for reading, and, as always, HAPPY TRAINING!
