Vanessa St.Arnaud Interview

Name: Vanessa St.Arnaud

Nationality:French, English

Birthday: October 7th

Height: 5'3.5"

Weight:125-130lbs

Measurements:35,26,36

I began working out about 6 years ago after i was forced to give up horseback riding. Horse back riding had always been a passion of mine and competing in Dressage soon became important to me. Once i gave it up i felt lost because i didn't have any sport to focus on and excel at. Eventually my brother took me to a local gym and showed me the ins and outs...and the rest is history!

I remember looking at a Muscle Mag issue one day and seeing Trish Stratus on the cover. Right then and there i said to myself "i want a physique like that". Well, i had my work cut out for me...to say the least. I was a skinny 100-110lbs girl and muscle wasn't something that came easily to me.

I tried just about everything to attain that athletic physique and i saw changes here and there but i just couldn't seem to master it. A few years down the road and a whole lot of knowledge later i realized i had been doing a ton of stuff wrong! I was doing way too much cardio, eating way too little, and training way too light - what was i thinking?!

Eventually i figured out what type of training and eating benefits my body best and started to put on size but i am still far from where i want to be. I guess you could say i am a bit of a perfectionist. Don't get me wrong, i don't set out to be THE best...that's just not possible because everyone has there own definition for the best and i know that i'll never fit everyones definition. I do set out to be the best that I can be.

One area that i really want to improve on is my modeling. I have only just begun my work within the fitness modeling industry and have already received a lot of support and help from various photographers. The best piece of advice i've received is that "with every photo shoot you will improve". This advice keeps me positive and motivates me to do as much work as possible. Modeling is something i had wanted to do since the day i saw Trish Stratus but i hadn't felt that my physique was ready until now.

My goals are to do as much modeling as possible and improve in that area, improve my physique, compete in figure and stay healthy. Like i said, i don't plan on being the best...it just isn't possible. My aim with modeling is not to be the prettiest (that's another impossiblity), nor is it to make any sort of point, nor is it to find fame or popularity. Modeling is just something for me to have fun with and a way to celebrate all of my hard work in the gym...whereever it goes it goes.

Apart from fitness there is a whole other me! I'm currently a 3rd year Philosophy student and am working at getting top grades in order to enter into law school later on. I love debate and i figure that the court room will create the perfect platform for me to argue my case.

When i'm not in the gym or at school you can find me hiking, playing at the beach, horse back riding, kayaking, out with friends and spending time with family.

What i really want to do though is help people. I feel that i have seen a lot in my 22years. Sometimes i feel i have seen and heard more than i wanted to. I plan on raising money for Mental Health research. I feel that metal health is something that is widely misunderstood and still a bit taboo in a lot of households. If only people could better understand that mental illness is a real sickness that needs a real cure then i believe we could save a lot of people. Having said that, i plan on creating my own website sometime in 2005. The site will have a free zone as well as a paid members area. I will be donating 50% of profits to mental health research. Keep an eye out!

Thank you to all those who have supported me. A special thank you to my family. Last but not least, thank you Canadaka.net for allowing me to share a bit about myself.

Published on: 2004-08-05 (18966 reads)