Janelle McLean

I started training when I was 18 in January 1983.  This was back in the day when gyms had Ladies and Men’s nights.  I had to sneak in on Men’s nights…. 

From my very first training session, I knew I wanted big muscles and veins.  And that’s what I’ve been striving for now for 28 years.  I’m still waiting to get big!

I live a bodybuilding lifestyle but the gym isn’t my life. I train for enjoyment and compete for fun.  I have many other interests and activities that I participate in outside of the gym.  I like to think I have a good balanced lifestyle. 

I am a Mum, I work part time as well as having a very successful and busy direct selling business.  I run a Mah jong group, two footy pools and play mixed social netball. 

I also assist competitors with their posing for bodybuilding competitions.

I started competing in 1989, and kept competing, pretty much every year, sometimes, twice a year til 2000, taking 1996 off while I was pregnant with my son.  I did compete, and win the South Australian State title six months after having Ben in 1997.  I had success in my state but couldn’t crack the top three at the national level, even after trying five times. 

My goal had always been to place in the top three (I placed fourth four times) and go to an International level show but this eluded me but the goal never left me.

At this time, not only was I a competing in bodybuilding, I was also very much involved with SABBA (South Australian Bodybuilders Association) a non profit organisation that organised the running of the two state bodybuilding contests a year. I was a committee member for many years, as well as the Editor of a bi-monthly Newsletter featuring the State’s local bodybuilders for six years. 

I also worked for GMV Productions, the leaders in Bodybuilding DVDs.   If I wasn’t competing in national shows, then I would also attend the shows, to enable me to write articles on SA’s team in my newsletter.  I have even had feature articles on South Australia’s best, published in Australian Ironman magazine. 

My role models in my early competition days were mainly IFBB pros like Cory Everson and Donna Oliveria and the top NABBA figure girls of the time like Anita Lawrence and Terri Roberts. 

So much so, that I wanted to see these amazing ladies in the flesh so I went to my first NABBA World championships in 1990 (this show was the inspiration for wanting to compete at the International level) and then to the Ms Olympia in New York in 1988. 

I went to my second Ms Olympia in Atlanta Georgia in 1994, where I also had the opportunity to work with the media crew at the Mr Olympia and got to meet a great many of the professional athletes that were competing that day, like Dorian Yates, Chris Cormier, Kevin Leverone and Shawn Ray to name a few.  So you can see bodybuilding has been such a huge part of my life.

Then in 2009 I had the urge to compete again as it would have been 20 years from my first show.  I wanted to see if I would still be able to do it, the discipline, the structure, the motivation.  I had intended just to do the NABBA South Australia state show, however I won the Masters Over 35 AND the Overall title!  I then went on the week later to the INBA state show and won the Open and Overall Figure.  I placed fourth at the INBA Australia and then, I finally achieved a goal, I placed second in the WFF Australia Over 40 figure.

These results ignited the flame of competition, I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed it. 

My new goal was to win a National class and I did this at the 2010 Southern Hemisphere, I won the WFF figure class 2. It was such an emotional moment for me, I was holding back the tears while being presented the trophy.  It felt so good; I couldn’t wait to try again and won the WFF figure class 2 five months later at the 2010 NABBA/WFF Australian championships.

By now, my goal of competing at an International level seemed doable.  I set my mind on the 2011 WFF Universe.  If it was going to happen, I had to make it happen and started fund raising to ensure I would get to Austria. 

I had to requalify and won my class at the NABBA/WFF Grand Prix Adelaide, I won my WFF class and Overall Title at the NABBA/WFF International, placed second at the Southern Hemisphere and then, I achieved a goal I had held onto for so long, I competed at my first Universe.  Just being there was enough for me, however I placed third and was rapt with my placing.

Competing at the Universe was such an amazing experience; it is one that I want to repeat so my future goal is to go again in 2012.  And this time, I would like to win!

Along the way of my nearly 30 year bodybuilding journey, I have been blessed with so many memories, good and bad, many travel adventures and a fit and healthy lifestyle.  But most importantly, I have met the best people.  There are so many generous souls in the bodybuilding scene, and I’m fortunate enough to now have these people as friends.

I’ve also been lucky to have sponsors helping me out, Suzi Q Posing costumes,  Redbak/Ladybird supplements and Re-Energize Fitness centre.  I appreciate their ongoing support.  Also, I have a Facebook fan page – Janelle McLean – Journey to Austria – if anyone is interested in contacting me.

I’m looking forward to what my future in bodybuilding holds!  Thank you.