Competition History
2005 Team Universe - 3rd Place Class B Figure
2005 National Competition North Americans - 2nd Class B Figure
2005 USA's Figure Championships - 3rd place class B
2004 NPC Nationals Fitness - 3rd place Med. Class
2004 USA’s Fitness Championships - 15th place Med. class.
2004 Colorado State - 1st Class B Fitness & 1st Class B Figure
2004 Orange County Classic - Overall Fitness & 1st Class B Figure 2004 Northern Colorado 2nd place Fitness, 3rd place Figure

Athletic Background
2003 Danskin Triathlon 4th place
2003 Glenwood Springs Triathlon 8th place
2003 Crawfish Man Triathlon 1st place age group winner, 10th place overall
Millsaps Collegiate Volleyball Team: 1998 Academic All-American, 1998 Most Dedicated Player
High School 4- sport varsity Athlete; Basketball, Volleyball, Track and Swimming

Biography
I was a military brat for the first 10 years of my life moving from Del Rio, Texas to Fort Walton Beach, Florida by way of Arizona and New Mexico while my father was in fighter pilot training school. While in Florida my father introduced me to T-ball when I was 5 and I was the only girl to make the all-star team and the only girl in the all boys baseball league. When my father asked me if I wanted to play soft ball with the girls I threw a fit and after much negotiating with the league they let me play with the boys. I made the all-star team that year too! That began my competitive spark and I have never looked back. When my dad decided to get out of the military to fly for United Airlines we moved to Saudi Arabia for one year and I ran my first 5K race with my dad at the age of 7. We finally settled down in Covington, Louisiana where my parents were born and raised.

Covington and the South is where I will always call home. I come from a big family. I am the oldest of three girls and my entire family lives within a 5 mile radius of each other in Covington. All my aunts, uncles and cousins live in Covington are helped raise me too!

My mom and dad really promoted athletics and my sisters, Kristin and Molly, were and still are as active as I am. I started playing basketball, volleyball, running cross-country and swimming competitively in 5th grade and continued throughout high school while taking gymnastics for fun a few nights a week.

In high school I was very involved in my athletics. My coach, Charles Strohmeyer was a 2nd father to me and coached me in three sports. He taught me to give 110% in every practice, game and in the class room. He was very strict and kept me focused on sports year round. Nothing came very easy to me, I have always had to work extra hard and go the extra mile as I do today in Fitness. Coach Charles and my mom instilled many values and morals in me that I hold today. I was athlete of the year my senior year and I received a partial scholarship to play volleyball at Millsaps College.

While in college I had a bad break up with a high school boyfriend that at the time seemed like the end of the world. I gained a 20 lbs my first year of college and I was suffering from depression by the end of my Sophomore Year. I could barely get out of bed to go to class. It was very hard to deal with being that I came from high school as an honor student and excelled in anything I put my mind too. I just could not shake this and I started counseling and began taking medication for my depression. During this time I lost many friends and pulled away from those I loved. I gained another 20 pounds and was spiraling out of control. I would eat for comfort and developed very poor eating habits. Overweight and unhappy I remember thinking that I needed a goal, something like in high school to compete in or a new active hobby to help me. I began working at a local gym and started teaching aerobics and spinning classes. I began an internship underneath the aerobic director and I met some great trainers. I was doing cardio one day and was reading Muscle and Fitness. I looked at some of the girls and dreamed of one day looking like them and even possibly competing but it did not seem like a reality. Also in the magazine was an article on the fittest states and Colorado and California were listed #1 and #2. From that moment I wanted to get out of the South and go find out more about the fitness industry. I graduated with a degree in Business Administration and began taking nutrition classes my last semester. I was determined to change my life and make my new love for the fitness industry my career.

Upon graduation I applied for a job at 24 Hour Fitness in Denver, Colorado. I moved to Denver in July of 2000 and was an operations manager for 24 Hour Fitness. During the summer I began training with a trainer and learning even more about nutrition. I met one trainer who had just trained for a natural bodybuilding show and I was fascinated. We would do cardio together and he would tell me all about his training. I must have asked him 100 questions and I still do because we have been married almost 3 years now! Jason made me feel beautiful and gave me confidence again. Jason inspired me to compete and encouraged me to find a coach, someone who knew more about fitness and figure. I met IFBB Pro, Carla Sanchez and I have been training with her for over 1 year now. She is truly amazing and an inspiration to our entire Performance Ready Team. She made me believe that I can not only get on stage but that I can achieve anything I set my mind to. I train with Carla twice a week, take gymnastics class, Carla’s Red Rocks workouts and I still train with my husband. He is my best friend and we share so much together through our training.

My struggle with food and suffering from depression not only lead me in the direction of fitness and a healthy lifestyle but it increased my spirituality and belief in God. I told my mom when I was dealing with these issues that God put this in my life for a reason. Today, I truly believe it was in order to help and inspire others that are struggling with food, weight and depression. I now own a personal training studio with my husband and I am able to give back and help my client’s everyday. I thank God for the opportunity to do what I love and to help and inspire others. I love the challenges of training for a competition and I remember every training session where I came from and how healthy and in control my life is now.

I hope you enjoy my website. Please email me with any and all questions you have.

Cheers to good health!

Brooke Paulin