Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Rene.
Hi Julia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
From the ages of 15-18, I was the only girl on an all boys wrestling team. Now, I’m a Pro Bodybuilder & content creator on my journey to the Olympia stage. I would have never imagined my life would turn out like this. It all started in the game room of my childhood home where my brother and I would wrestle. He had just joined the wrestling team and I was the little brother he never had. He would practice new moves on me and my feisty personally wouldn’t let him have the upper hand. One day my brother said “Julia you have to join the wrestling team”. As a teenager, all you want is to fit in and wrestling did not seem like the best way to do that so of course I denied. After not making the volleyball team at a whopping 5’2 I was back at square one. Athletics was all I knew. It was at the only thing at the time I knew I was good at. I reluctantly joined and my life was never the same.
As a woman in a male-dominant sport, it’s hard to earn respect. So, how did I do that? I trained like a maniac and ended up being 8th in the state. The years of starving myself to make weight, training like crazy, and sore muscles wore on me and I quit. The passion was gone. Ironically I went a completely different direction and became a hairstylist. I finally thought I had found my passion, but the universe had a different plan for me. I hit an all-time low. I hated my job. I hated the person I’d become. I hated how terribly I was treating my body. After looking in the mirror and not being able to recognize the person looking back at me I knew something needed to change. I started working out again, eating healthy and started focusing on my personal development. Then, I was happy again. It wasn’t because I changed my physical appearance. It’s because I began to trust myself again, feel confident and grateful. I felt like well…me. I’m the type of person who goes all in, so the next step in my fitness journey was to take it to the next level. This is what lead me to bodybuilding. I attempted to compete in my first show in 2020. I was three weeks out from my show when covid hit and we went into lockdown. This is where I learned I had a Binge eating Disorder.
None of it made sense at the time. I felt out of control, lost, and out of touch with reality. I seeked help and learned that I had been struggling with this since I was a feisty 15 years old. All those years of starving myself to make weight for wrestling had impacted me greatly. I had been in the same cycle for years and didn’t even know it. Now, you might be thinking…what is a bodybuilder with a B.E.D doing competing in shows. Trust me I thought the same thing. After contemplating quitting my dream of becoming a Pro bodybuilder. I realized something. I wasn’t going to let this setback keep me from my life’s calling. Was it going to be hard? Yes, but I can do hard things. I spent two years working towards this goal of becoming a pro bodybuilder and healing from binge eating, and I can truthfully say… I did it. Now, I own my own coaching business, have a published book, a binge eating support group, my ifbb pro card. We often think life is going to be one thing then it throws you in a direction you never thought you’d go. Life is funny. It will whisper in your ear and show you signs of where your next path will take you. Now comes the hard part is will you listen?
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The hardest struggle was the identity crisis after quitting wrestling then going into a career I thought was going to be my calling. Then completely switching careers and becoming a content creator, coach, and bodybuilder. After this big switch there were times where I didn’t know if I was going to make rent. Then, I signed my first client and the rest is history.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a full-time content creator, bodybuilder and health coach. I’m known for being the bodybuilder who struggled with an E.D. I’m most proud of the community I’ve created on social media.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My fiancé and my family have been my number one fans. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them.
Contact Info:
- Email: inquire.juliarene@gmail.com
- Website: buffbabeacademy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_juliarene
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCoYOXiV-3Aj659_-JpU0opg
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/cctt55/
