| Focus October 1, 2007
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Maya Avelino (top) and
Aleisha Hart were the big winners at the 2007 SAF Model Search in Toronto. On November 10,
six more women will become part of the SAF Elite. Will one of them be you?
(Photo June 2007 by Glen E. Grant) |
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Discoveries
I believe that one of the things that helps to make
SeriousAboutFitness.com a success is that we’re always on the lookout for new talent
to feature in our photographs and articles. In my opinion, this is in stark contrast to
many other fitness-based magazines that seem to operate in the "safe-zone,"
showcasing only familiar faces, even if it means that they all end up featuring the same
few people. Can’t they find anyone new? Perhaps not, because most don’t operate
the way we do.
I’ve noticed that many publications operate "at a
distance" from the actual fitness industry. For example, even though the articles
they publish might deal with the various aspects of fitness, very often the people who
write the pieces never exercise at a gym, and most don’t even go to events or shows.
This is because many of these magazines are quite corporate, and their operations revolve
mostly around appeasing advertisers and creating a significant-enough bottom-line. The
writers are often hired guns, people who are paid to put words on a page but probably
don’t have much passion for what they’re writing about. As a result,
they’re out of touch with what’s really going on and, therefore, have little
knowledge about who’s hot, who’s not, and who’s upcoming and noteworthy.
On the other hand, we’ve always operated on the ground
floor and know who’s who and what’s what. This is because from the beginning
we’ve been attending and photographing events and, in turn, getting to know the
people involved. As a result, we discovered amazing new talent that no one else at the
time seemed to know about. For example, we were the first to feature Chantal Dicaire,
Christy Wolfe, Stacey-Lynn Mlinarevic, Kelly Taphouse, Deanne Ortman, and Natalie Waples,
all women whom we met at events we were covering and whose names are now quite well known.
In fact, we became so successful at finding new faces at
the various events we attended that we decided to hold an event of our own to make even
more new discoveries. As a result, the SAF Model Search was created. The first event was
held on June 15 in Toronto, Canada. Dozens of women from across Canada turned out to
compete. The winners of the two categories, Fitness Model and Figure Model, were beautiful
women few people had heard of before: Maya Avelino and Aleisha Hart. We have since
featured them here on SeriousAboutFitness.com and they’re now part of our SAF Elite
team, receiving all the benefits that come with that distinction.
With the stunning success of that first SAF Model Search,
we knew we should have another, so a second event will be held on November 10, 2007, in
Ottawa, Canada. Once again, there will be two categories, Fitness Model and Figure Model,
with the first-place winner of each category receiving a cash prize. Furthermore, all
top-three winners gain SAF Elite status, entitling them to be featured on
SeriousAboutFitness.com and on our related sites.
 Obviously, we’re hoping to discover
more new talent at this event. But I’d also be thrilled if some of our new
discoveries were familiar faces – people who may have already competed at a high
level in fitness and figure competitions and who might now be looking for first-rate
exposure and modeling experience. After all, few publications cover fitness and figure
events in any significant way, so women who compete in those events seldom get the
exposure they deserve.
I’d also like to see many of the women who competed in
our first SAF Model Search, and who didn’t place in the top three on June 15, try
again. There were so many amazing competitors in that competition, including many
whom I would have enjoyed seeing featured here. However, there is only room for so many
winners at any one event; therefore, I hope they show up again next time.
Making discoveries is what we’re very good at, and the
SAF Model Search is now one of the best ways to get yourself discovered and attain great
exposure. So, whether or not you’ve ever competed in anything like this before, my
suggestion is to give the Fall 2007 SAF Model Search a try. On November 10, 2007, six more
women will become part of our SAF Elite – and one of them might be you!
...Doug Schneider
das@seriousaboutfitness.com
For details on how you can enter the Fall 2007 SAF Model
Search, visit www.SAFModelSearch.com. |
