Taylor Lee Smith
Sponsored Athlete Profile
| Name | Ms Taylor Lee Smith |
| Federation | WFF Pro |
| Division | Women’s Physique |
| Nationality | Australian |
About Me
My name is Taylor Lee Smith and I am a 42 year old mother of 2 young boys, Levi 13 and Sonny 9.
I am Australian born with a German / English background and I live and breathe Bodybuilding. My story goes way back to when I was only a young girl and my dad was right into his weight training and I use to steal his Weiders Protein powder and put it in my milkshakes. Maybe that’s where my muscles came from hahah.
To this day I will never forget that yummy malty banana flavour shake, it was so good!!
I was always a very active child, I kept mum very busy to say the least. From Basketball, to netball, Ballet 3 times a week and Little Athletics three times a week also. I was hugely competitive and was self- driven even at that age.
So let me skip like 20 years or so.
I was born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria and moved around for a few years before settling in Sydney at age 27 as I was having treatment for stage three cervical cancer. I had been training for nearly 10 years by this time but my diet wasn’t the best and my training consisted of mainly running and stretching with a lot of core work added in for good measure. I had dabbled on the weights floor but didn’t really know what to do or where to start. I think I trained legs and abs every day because that was what I knew best. That was until I met my ex-husband Kane. A NZ born part Maori who had been living in Sydney since he was a small boy. Kane was one of the gyms hardcore trainers who seemed to take more than a passing interest in me. So, we started dating and he introduced me to the world of hardcore training and clean living. Thus began my love affair with the world of weight training and healthy living. Kane and I got quite serious fast but hadn’t really talked about having children as I was told by two Sydney surgeons that due to my cancer treatment I would never fall pregnant and if I by some miracle I did I would never be able to carry to term. That was my first of many challenges.
Fast forward 10 years and we had had 2 children, both boys, Levi and Sonny, we decided to move to Christchurch, NZ, for a quieter way of life and to give our boys the opportunity to have an outdoors lifestyle. Physique wise besides the 2 pregnancies, one of which was extremely complicated due to a premature birth, a very sick wee man and a major wound infection from the caesarean, I felt stronger, healthier and fitter than ever. Yet still I didn’t feel ready or confident enough to even consider competition let alone actually competing in one despite the best efforts of my husband. As such, life continued on as normal, at least for a while.
After all this time and 2 children I was at the happiest point in my life but the one thing that was missing was being married to my best friend. So the date was set, 10 years from our first date, February 25th 2011 and our fairytale would be complete. Unfortunately three days before the wedding Christchurch was hit by Mother Nature again in the form of a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. This time the city and many of its souls within would feel her wrath, and the city and its beautiful people would forever be scarred. Most of the city centre collapsed, and what hasn’t, has been deemed unsafe and is set for demolition. 185 people died as a result of that terrible day, families destroyed, homes in ruins, children without parents, a city lost and struggling to rebuild. Our home didn’t escape unharmed, it was also set for demolition and as it is present we are only supposed to be occupying the lounge room, kitchen and bathroom. Steel beams supported the eastern side of the house to keep it from tearing away. To say that the events of that day were hard to deal with is akin to saying the stars are easy to grasp. I wasn’t with my husband or my children during this abhorrent time and the thought that something may have happened to them cut me to the core. I didn’t know if, or when I would ever see them again. There are no words to describe that day unless you were there and lived through it. My husband did find me, and we did get to our children and I had never been happier to see them. The day, however, was not yet over. The aftershocks continued all through the day and night, striking nearly every five minutes. Through all the devastation though, there are just as many stories of heroics and people reaching out to one another. Even with this mammoth tragedy the city and its people rallied together to offer assistance to the less fortunate but more importantly, hope, that the human spirit is indeed a mighty and beautiful thing.
The wedding one would assume would be cancelled as we had no water, no power, no sewerage, my husband had no suit, we had no church, no venue for the reception, no guests and no real will in such bleak times to go ahead with it. However, after a talk with the priest and my father Stuart, Kane and I decided that amid all the chaos and destruction we had come to truly realise the preciousness of life and we must live in the moment and never dwell in the horror that can envelope us. So, we did just that. We became husband and wife, before the eyes of god, in the gardens of a ruined church, in front of the few family members that could make it and to top it off we had the reception at the only place in our town that was open, a little fish and chip shop, authentically Kiwi.
Throughout that experience I gained some confidence, it offered me the most challenging, terrifying, awe inspiring, inspirational, surreal, and demanding yet also the greatest and unparalleled time of my life. It had driven me to do things out of my comfort zone and with my friend IFBB Pro Figure athlete Kristy Thompson’s and Kane’s support I entered my first show Sept 2011. The IFBB South Island Championship, where I won my division easily. I was hooked. I then asked Peter Hardwick for an exemption to be able to compete at the INBA Universe in Brisbane the week later where I entered and won the novice figure division as well as the overall novice figure. I couldn’t believe it, my second comp I won a world title, absolutely blown away!!! I then entered the IFBB South Island Championships as an open physique competitor where I won my division and the overall titles. Truly dreams can come true as later that year I competed in the NZ IFBB Nationals and won the Women’s Physique, I was then award my IFBB Pro Card. The shock of winning such a prestigious title was absolutely mind blowing to me.
I decided to take the next year off competing to concentrate on my family and to try and gain some size, I felt I needed to step things up now, as I was competing with the big GUNS!
Sometimes life doesn’t go to plan like you thought it would. Two years after my Pro card was awarded I decided I needed to move back to Australia for personal reasons. My husband and I decided to go our separate ways but remain the great friends .He has always been my number one fan and I know I will have his support for the rest of my life.
Life slowly got back on track here on the Gold Coast and months later I met my now partner Mark Ryan, Mr NABBA QLD. Yes things were challenging to say the least, I was an IFBB PRO and he was Mr NABBA. The politics behind this was HUGE as you can imagine. My IFBB career would have been doomed even without even trying. So in saying this I decided to give my IFBB Pro card up and chose to compete in the WFF Federation. I truly felt in my heart this was the right decision, my love, my bestfriend, my man is NABBA, it just made sense:).
On March 22nd 2015 I Competed at the Lee Priest Classic in Sydney. It was a Pro Qualifier which meant if I won my division I would be given a WFF Pro Card and given the chance to compete in the Pro Show that same day. So that’s exactly what I did. I went on and won both the amateur and then the Pro show. This was definitely the best feeling I had felt in such a long time, my heart felt huge! I knew 100 percent that this Federation was for me, I was on cloud 9!!! Throughout the year I made many appearances and Guest Posed at quite a few state shows, my love for the stage and bodybuilding alike were certainly being fulfilled.
My plans for 2016 are yet to be confirmed, I’m will either hold off till the WFF Universe, location yet to be determined, or the NABBA Worlds in Brazil, or could do both.
So that’s me in a nutshell!! There are a few more things I’d like to talk about.
TRAINING and Diet!
I train 6 days a week even in the off season, running or hill climbing for up to an hour at a time three times a week. My weights sessions are usually hard, heavy basic compound movements like Squats, Deadlifts, Romanian Deadlifts, bent over rows, bench and incline pressing, you get the picture, and my workouts are notoriously insane!!
I don’t change much leading into a comp except that the pace of the workout intensifies and weak points are hit a lot harder with lots of GVT, drop sets, super sets and the like. As for my diet I eat clean year round with only one or two cheat meals in the off season and none in the final prep for a comp. My main food sources year round are lean white meats and fish, occasional lean red meat, lots of whole grains and enormous amounts of fresh vegetables. I couple that with a small supplement regime of protein powder, BCAA’s, Multi vitamin and of course Pre workout, I feel I have a winning formula for me. If I do decide to splurge, I’ll always go for a gourmet pizza and a yummy desert like tiramisu.
With that aside I feel that if I’m training and dieting hard, then someone maybe training and dieting harder so I keep disciplined year round. Finally now I can look back and smile as I know it was all worth it.
I would just like to thank firstly my NZ sponsors who helped support me in the first few years of competing, Top Mark in Auckland and Gymeez Health and Nutrition in Christchurch . Also like to thank Kane and my good friend Kristy for their continuing support and belief in me. And a shout out to not only my then sponsor but great friend Phil Kabakoff for believing in me and always being there for me. A huge thanks to Jo Rogers who has supported me from almost day 1 till present.
I have a profound respect for that lady and her workmanship. Her suits are 5STAR quality and I always feel like a champion in them!!! It was a propitious moment when Style On Stage became my Bikini sponsor. Could not wipe the smile off my face!!!
I have been granted so many blessings and am so very grateful for my current sponsors. In saying that I’d like to thank my Tan sponsor Suntanon, always a flawless tan! Quinneys Taste Of The World Protein Meals, for there delectable and scrumptious clean cuisine.
Cassandras Hair Extensions for her brilliance and artisanship. Coco blonde Hair for her stunning hair colours. Bodybuilder Australia Gym Wear for their cool gym apparel, Powerhouse Sports Nutrition for their endless range of sups and lastly but not least Leo Aesthetics for keeping me looking fresh ;).
So that’s my story
Thanks guys, keep training and keep on smiling because life is here to lived, it takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner, don’t let it pass you by!
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