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Christina Taylor
Written by Hans
Photography by James Cook

These days, it seems like every female bodybuilder you see onstage has at least one tattoo somewhere on their body. But when it comes to ink, there aren’t many female bodybuilders that can compete with 27 year-old Christina Taylor of Kentucky, who placed sixth in the lightweight class at Junior Nationals recently.

“I just love tattoos!” Christina says. “People ask me all the time if I regret getting them.  I say no, they are a part of me.  I just like making life a little more colorful.  I cover my tattoos when I get onstage, which is a lengthy process, but if I diet for 20 weeks, I am not going to let someone knock me down a few points just because they don't like them.”

Christina got her first tattoo – the tribal piece on her right leg - at the age of 19, and her interest in body art, especially oriental tattoos, grew from there. “I love the tribal look,” she says. “My back is Polynesian. The flower on my lower back is an orchid, my favorite, so if any guys read this and want to impress me, bring me an orchid!  My right arm has a Geisha, which was originally drawn by a guy named Sailor Jerry who worked out of Hawaii back in the 40's.  The cat on my left arm is a Japanese Good Fortune Cat.  I also love the cherry blossoms on my elbows. I fell asleep while getting those and yes, I was sober!”


Christina Taylor was born on October 30, 1977 (“the perfect birthday because there is always a Halloween party somewhere”) in Pikeville, a coalmining town in eastern Kentucky.  As a teenager she was a cheerleader and gymnast, but hated her body. “I wasn’t fat, but I always had big quads and a bubble butt,” she says. “I actually used to be ashamed of my legs because in the sixth grade, they called me ‘blubber legs.’”

After graduating in 1996 she moved to Lexington, Ky., to go to college to study accounting but quit when she “found this great thing called a social life.” The tattoo parlor in Lexington where she got her first tattoo happened to be looking for someone to train to be a body piercer, and within three months, Christina was working there. In 2000, she opened her own body piercing shop called Heavenly Steel, but decided she needed something more in her life and went back to school to train to become a nurse.

In 2002, Christina and her boyfriend, who she had been dating for six years, got engaged, and she closed her business and moved to Indianapolis with him after he finished college. That’s when Christina started working out twice a day to get in shape for her wedding. “I wanted to be a buff bride,” she says. Then, exactly one week before the big day, her fiance came home from work and told her he wasn’t in love with her. “I believe his exact words were, ‘All you do is spend time at the gym, and I hate the gym,’” she says.“I packed my shit the next day, moved back to Kentucky, and vowed never to date anyone who doesn't love the gym as much as I do!”

Later that year, however, Christina got bronchitis, asthma, and started breaking out in hives.  She went to an allergy specialist, who put her on prednisone. As a result, she put on a lot of weight, going from 135 to 155 pounds in two months. At that point she hired a personal trainer, who taught her how to lift and to believe in herself. “He is who taught me to love the gym,” she says.  When she had first started working out, her only goal was to look good in her clothes, but soon she was thinking about competing in fitness shows.

In December 2002 Christina moved back to Lexington and started working for Powerhouse Gym, where she was introduced to Richard "Tricky" Jackson, a national level bodybuilder.  He suggested she give bodybuilding a try and encouraged her to enter a show he promoted, the Bluegrass Muscle Classic, the following year. “I needed something to do other that sit in my apartment feeling sorry for myself,” she says. “I started dieting at 13 weeks out, and for the first time in my life, I had abs! I was sure proud.” The morning of the show, she got a bad case of last minute nerves, but thanks to her best friend Jessica she finally got up onstage - and loved it. “It was the most awesome thing that I had ever done!” she says. She placed second in the lightweight class.

After placing second again in the Kentucky Muscle Classic later that year, Christina took the next year off to put on some more size, did the same show in 2004, and won the lightweight and overall. This year she did the Bluegrass again and won the lightweight and overall, and then went on to Junior Nationals, her first national-level show, weighing 115 pounds at 5-foot-0. She now plans to go ahead and compete at the North Americans in Cleveland in September.

Christina now has one year of nursing school left, and also works as a personal trainer at Jefferson Fitness in Lexington. She admits she gets frustrated by the attitudes of the general public towards female bodybuilders (“I sometimes get tired of being called a dude”) but says the stares and comments are more than worth it for the benefits bodybuilding given her. “I have more self confidence, and for the first time in my life, I feel like I have something that is all mine,” she says. “I love this stuff.  I was always very negative towards my body.  I can finally say that I love myself and am proud of who I am.” As for her ex-fiance, he hasn't seen Christina since she began bodybuilding. “I wish he could see me know so he could eat his heart out,” she laughs. “Someday, I will send him an autographed picture!”

Would you like to send a fan letter to Christina Taylor? Here is her email! realgirlsdocurls01@yahoo.com

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female muscle, shawna walker, larissa reis, michelle jin, wrestling, tracey toth, kira neuman, female bodybuilding, cindy phillips, britt miller, casey daugherty, lyris capelle, jill brooks, olga guryev, olga guryeva, kristy hawkins, cheryl faust, lindsey cope, lindsay cope, veronica miller