Leslie Rae Newton Athlete Profile

Leslie Rae Newton
IFBB Pro Fitness Competitor

All of my life I have been a dreamer. As a young girl, there was one thing different: the dream. It began with images of Tina Turner and Stevie Nicks; I wanted to be a singer. This dream was quieted by everyone in earshot, so I turned to the stage of Miss America. “Gracie Lou Freebush” and I shared so much in common. I too was rough around the edges, and the judges were looking for more than talent and personality. Yet, Miss Congeniality was not a sad story. My passion for the stage and performing never escaped my dreams. I only had to find how my God given talents fit into success on stage. God, through the people in my life, directed me to fitness competitions.
My athletic background, though extensive, did not feed to the demands of a fitness routine. I could not dance, tumble, hold myself off the ground, do one armed-push-ups or bend anything in any direction not directly related to standing, sitting or lying down…but I had enough heart and desire to change. At the ripe ole age of twenty, I added an adult gymnastics class to my list of collegiate athletics. Within a year, I traded in my rugby cleats for a spring floor and my tackling practice for dance lessons. The following year found me on stage in Washington DC at a competition I had no business entering. It was for veterans. I didn’t care. I didn’t place, but I didn’t care. I had done something that is only supposed to be a dream, a pipedream.
Four years, and several fitness competitions later, I had won appropriate titles and placed well enough to qualify to upgrade from a local/regional competitor to a national level competitor striving to, one day, turn pro. That was my destiny. To be a leader and a role model, an accountable role model. I wanted the opportunity to show girls, and boys alike, that you do not have to have the perfect background to have and achieve a dream.
For the past seven years, I have had my eye on earning a pro card. 2006 has been my year and Team Universe, in NYC, was my show. I showed up in my best shape ever, following the critiques of the judges, and was rewarded a second place finish qualifying me for pro status.
The sacrifices have been huge to get me this far but my drive has been bigger. I am a walking example that genetics and natural ability are not the only keys to ultimate success. I was told from the beginning that I was too tall, too inflexible, too old, and too bulky to compete. Well, here I am. The support of friends and loved ones has pushed me through the tough times when my heart was teetering with defeat. Now I am at a turning point where my passion has the opportunity to become my career. I have never been so confident with where my life should go, and I look towards the day when I can stand on a pro-stage and know that I am exactly where I should be, at the top.

Birthday January 11, 1980
Height 5’9”
Weight 152 (contest)
Occupation Personal Trainer @ Bally Total Fitness
Trainer Tim Sparks @ Die Hard Gym & Fitness
Marital Status Single
Home Town Franklin, N.C.
Residence Phoenix, AZ
College Western Carolina University (B.A. Liberal Arts)
Sport History 4 year Collegiate All-Star Rugby player; Collegiate Basketball Cheerleader
Contest History
2003 NPC Metrolina 1st place tall
2003 NPC Jr. USA’s 3rd place tall
2004 NPC AZ St.
Championship Overall
2004 NPC USA’s 10th place tall
2005 NPC Orange Co.
Classic Overall
2005 Team Universe 6th place tall
2005 NPC Nationals 7th place tall
2006 NPC Jr. USA’s 4th place tall
2006 NPC Jr. Nationals 2nd place tall
2006 Team Universe 2nd place tall