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Tara Scotti Video Clip
Article care of tarascotti.com
Tara Scotti Biography
Stats
Birthday: February 18th
Birthplace: Queens, NY
Residence: White Plains, NY
Hair: Dark
Eyes: Dark
Height: 5’ 51/2"
Weight: 128 contest
133
off season
Measurements: 34-26-35
EDUCATION
A.A.S. in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing
Berkeley College, New York, NY
A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
Competition History
2003 NPC Eastern USA Figure Championship
1st Place Tall and Overall
2003 NPC East Coast Figure Championships
1st Place Tall and Overall
2001 National Figure Championships (Team Universe)
4Th Place Tall
1998 NPC JR. USA Fitness
1st Place Tall/ Overall
1997 NPC Bev Francis Atlantic States
3rd Place
Magazine Coverage:
Flex
Ironman
MuscleMag
Oxygen
Women's Physique World
NPC News
Flaunt Magazine
GQ
There
was a little girl in Queens New York, who just loved to perform in front
of a crowd. She took dance lessons such as Ballet, Tap, and Jazz from
the early age of two until she was a teenager. . She performed at recitals
every year and felt very natural and comfortable on the stage. She loved
the crowd's reaction and the feeling she got when all eyes were on her
even more than the actual dance. As she became more mature, she would
enter talent shows and competitions, as she was very competitive by nature.
She possessed an inherent drive to win whatever competition she entered,
and would work very hard at making sure that she would. In college she
organized Fashion shows and was the MC at most of them. Performing in
front of a large audience was euphoric. After college, there was a period
of her life where there were no crowds, no audience, and no competitions.
It seemed like it was all but in the past. That is, until she discovered
Fitness Competitions.
Hi, that girl is me. My name is Tara Scotti, and I am a fitness model/Figure
competitor and personal trainer from New York. I have been on the fitness
scene for the past 6 years, (On and off). I started working out about
10 years ago and became a gym rat almost instantly. I started seeing changes
in my physique right away and it got me so excited that I wanted to train
harder, learning as much as I could on any topic related to fitness and
nutrition. Consequentially, I became obsessed with muscle. My trainer
Gerry was very instrumental in the early years. It was he who encouraged
me to get certified and become a personal trainer. I was working unhappily
in the garment district of NYC at the time, utilizing my college major,
which is Fashion. Gerry also encouraged me to do my first fitness competition,
a decision that changed my life.
June 1997. My first NPC show, The Bev Francis Atlantic States. When I
took the stage to do my routine, the adrenaline rush was intense. At that
moment, I knew competitions would be a part of my life in the years to
come, as I took third place in my class. More important than my placing
was the feeling I got from being in front of a crowd once again. I continued
competing and excelled. I never placed out of the top 3 in any fitness
competition I entered. My highlight was probably the 1998 NPC JR. USA's.
I took 1st place in the tall class, but by then, I started to see a change
in the fitness division. Most of the routines were gearing toward gymnastics.
Now to be straight up with you guys, I can't do a somersault correctly.
And I saw some of these girls doing flips in the air. I have no background
in gymnastics training, and wasn't interested in learning at that point
in my life. I stopped competing for a little while, but then they introduced
a new division called figure. Basically, it constituted the same look
as fitness, without the routine. I thought this would be perfect.
I trained my ass off and entered the 2001 National Figure Championships
(Team Universe). This was the first national figure show ever, and I really
thought I was going to do well. The show was great as Steve Weinberger
and Bev Francis always put a great show on, but this one had excitement
in the air. This show was big. The venue was the Tribecca Performing Arts
Center in NYC- My hometown. I had a lot of friends and family in the audience
supporting me, and I was ready. After the prejudging, I felt great. Then
they announced the winners, "4th place goes to Tara Scotti".
I was floored. I mean really, really disappointed. I honestly thought
I deserved a higher placing then 4th, and I was very upset after the show.
I was keeping my composure backstage after the show, when a judge came
up to me and said, "Tara, you looked great, you will have a great
future in the division, but you came into the show a little too hard."
When I inquired why they gave the short class to a person who came in
very hard, the judge's response was, "Well, your competition suit
could have been a little better also." At that moment, I decided
to quit competing for good. Let me just say, before I start to sound like
a baby, I put a lot of pressure on myself when it comes time to compete.
Whether that is good or bad, that's just my style. I don't do anything
half-assed. I could have looked at it like," Tara, you just placed
4th in the first ever Figure Nationals, that is an honor. Take it in stride
and just try harder for the next big show." But I was foolish, and
I quit. I decided, it's not even a pro division, why bother anymore. By
the way, the top 3 in that show in my class were, 1st- Davana Medina,
2nd Jenny Lynn, 3rd Carrie Fickle. As you all know, Davana and Jenny are
the top 2 girls in the Pro Figure division right now. It would be an honor
for me to stand on stage with them again someday. I think Davana and Jenny
have awesome bodies, and I admire them in the sport. In hindsight, I wish
I was more grateful for my placing at the 2001 Team Universe. Who knows
where I would have been now if kept on competing, however, instead of
crying over spilled milk, I am using what happened as a learning experience.
I factor this episode into part of my growing up in a sense. I will not
act like a baby any more if I don't win every competition. I am here to
stay this time, win or lose. Ok, I am getting side tracked here.
Let us get back to August of 2001. After the Team Universe, I quit competing.
I completely removed myself from the whole fitness/ figure scene. I completely
submersed myself in my personal fitness business. And I was happy where
I was, but something was missing. I kind of knew what it was, but I still
tried hard to ignore the feeling. Ok, fast forward to August of 2003.
I am at a friend's house in Hampton Bays, NY. On a beautiful summer day,
laying out at the pool, margarita in 1 hand, salsa and chips in another,
totally enjoying life. I looked around for a magazine to browse through
while I enjoyed the sun. Maybe a Cosmo or a Vogue would do. But no, the
only magazine around was a fitness magazine. I stared at it for a few
minutes, then decided, "what the hell," and picked it up. Now
I don't want to sound too melodramatic. But before this moment, I have
not looked at a bodybuilding or fitness magazine in 2 years. So for me,
in my little world, this was a big moment. This is another moment that
changed my life again. In this one magazine, I learned so much. I learned
that figure was now a pro division. I learned that the IFBB was having
the first ever Figure Olympia in October, and that Davana, Jenny, and
some other girls I used to compete against are all top girls in the division
and will be competing at the Olympia. I also learned that Davana had a
Met-Rx contract, and Jenny had a GNC contract. I read that magazine cover
to cover. As I put it down, I had a smile on my face. I knew right then
I was coming back to competing. But I had to start at the bottom again.
It's a very humbling experience, but I think in the long run, it made
me a stronger person today. Anyway, it was time to get the ball rolling
again. I immediately called my people who helped me in the past with my
shows, including my trainer Gerry, and my coach Franky DiCiccio. I told
them I wanted to compete again. They were very excited and we put a plan
together. Since 2003 was almost over, and I missed most of the competitions
for the year, the plan was to get my little ass in the gym and start training.
And let's start in the beginning of 2004 with the competitions. My progress
was coming along very fast. Way ahead of schedule. To be honest, I never
got out of shape completely. I for the most part, live a very healthy
lifestyle, and since I am a personal fitness trainer, I have to stay in
some sort of shape. I want my clients to know nutrition and training pays
off. But I did put an end to my out all night partying in NYC, and my
favorite food in the world, pizza.
I decided to go out to the Olympia in October. I thought it would be good
for me to see what the top pros in the world are looking like these days.
I was very impressed. I was happy to see one of my all time favorite fitness
babes in the sport was competing. Monica Brandt. Yes, the former Miss
Fitness Olympia. She was now competing in figure. I saw all the new girls
in the sport, all of them looking really good and very conditioned. I
especially like the physiques of Dina AL-Sabah, DJ Wallis, and Mari Kudlow.
Overall, the Olympia was great, and I also ran into all the photographers
I used to shoot with back in the day. I told them I was coming back to
competing again, and I set up some photo shoots in the months after the
Olympia with them.
When I got back from the Olympia, Franky told me we are going to enter
2 shows in November. They were the East Coast figure Championships in
NJ and the Eastern USA Figure Championships in NY. They were one week
apart. He told me not to worry about my placing in these events. We were
not doing any type of pre-contest dieting tricks for these shows. He just
wanted me to get the feel of the stage and practice my quarter turns,
as almost like a big warm-up for the 2004 season. To make a long story
short, I won the tall class and the Overall at both shows. The Eastern
USA was especially nice, because it was held in the Tribecca performing
Arts Center, the same place where I last competed in 2001. Once again,
Steve and Bev put on another great show. A few days after the Eastern
USA, I signed an endorsement deal with Twinlab. So to say, the month of
November was a great one for me is an understatement. These events have
made 2004 look a lot more exciting to me. Since both the shows were national
qualifiers, I plan to compete in all 3 pro-qualifiers in 2004. Starting
with the JR USA's in April. My short-term goal is to get my pro-card.
My long-term goal is to be a top IFBB competitor. Only time will tell.
Stay tuned...