Rising Star

Darrian Tissenbaum is a young up and coming talent on the fitness scene. Representing the Pittsburgh area, she has set her sights on making an impact at the Fitness American and Fitness Universe Pageants in 2012. Look for her routine at the Kumite Classic later this year.

Fitness America

Andi Wagner awards the 2011 Kumite Classic Fitness Pittsburgh title to Aubrey Worek on the main stage. Congrats to all the girls who performed. We look forward to 2012.

Fitness America Pageant Pittsburgh, PA.  Kumite Classic Champion Aubrey Worek

Background on Aubrey Worek, Pittsburgh, PA

Education:  B.S.  Exercise Science; Minor 1:  Dance; Minor 2: Gerontology; Slippery Rock University. Occupation:  President and founder of Wellness Solutions at Work, Inc.  Corporate Wellness Company (www.wellnesssolutionsatwork.com).  Aubrey is a sponsored fitness competitor & ambassador through Cathy Savage Fitness (www.cathysavagefitness.com).

I implement worksite wellness/fitness programs for large employer groups.  I strive to improve the health and well-being of the employee population in order to increase work productivity, decrease their amount of sick days and lower their overall health care costs.

I have been competing with Fitness America for the past 4 years.  In that time I placed in the Top 10 at FAP Vegas 2008 and 6th Place at FAP Miami 2009.  I placed 4^th in the Fitness America NY Show 2010.   In May 2011, I place 1st in the Kumite Classic, FAP.

The first year I competed, I placed 1st in Bikini America short-class & 4^th in Fitness at the Kumite Classic in Pittsburgh, 2007.  I had such a great time that it has inspired me to continue to compete…primarily because I enjoy performing and being on stage; I also love meeting new people from across the U.S. and across the world at these events.  We all have common interests and passions.  Competing in Fitness allows me to fulfill my desire to entertain and enables me to strive to be in the best shape I can be.

I have earned many health and fitness certifications with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA).  I have a diverse background in teaching group fitness classes, such as BodyPump, BodyCombat, Spinning, Zumba and YogaFit.  Fitness is truly my passion and I have made it a successful career!

Lifetime Ambitions  I am working towards becoming a successful fitness-model and am in the process of opening my own Yoga and Dance studio in 2012.

I feel that every time I step on stage, I am a winner.  I believe in myself and strive to be a true inspiration to all women who dream big and desire to achieve more.  I feel that my hard-work and determination have brought me so far; however, I have not done this alone.  Thanks to family, friends, my husband and personal trainer, I am here today.  I truly believe I am only competing against myself.  The moment I step on stage, I know I have won – I have done my best, and really, that’s all that matters to me!

One of my main goals in life is to help empower women of all shapes, sizes, races and ages to build their confidence and reach their fitness and business goals.  Above all else, I wish to maintain healthy relationships with my supportive husband and my loving family and friends.  I recently got married on 11.11.11. in theCaribbean!

She’s a knockout

Dessie Mitcheson took home the Kumite Classic Model America crown in 2011. The Kiski Area High School grad is making her mark in the modeling industry. Dessie is a new face of Playboy Intimates and a Miss Tropic Beauty, Las Vegas.

Dessie Mitcheson Recent calendar work includes: Tropicbeauty swimsuit calendar, Matco Tool and Burgh babe cover model. You can see her in magazines such as Belle Morte, Gladys, Smokescreen, Allaboutbikes.

Dessie Mitcheson on stage at the Kumite Classic

Natural Muscle

The Kumite Classic is proud to promote natural body building under the banner of Muscle Mania. Here is some info about the Muscle Mania Organization. Celebrating its 20th season, it has become the leader among natural bodybuilding events. With exclusive, international television coverage by ESPN International, TSN RDS Canada, Sky Sport Britain, Star Sport Asia and other worldwide networks, Musclemania is more recognized than any other natural contest worldwide. And with this popularity, Musclemania continues to expand throughout the world with regional and international events this year.

HISTORY

Musclemania began in 1991 as bodybuilding’s first and only tour of world class level staged competitions. Early on, Musclemania took a bold and challenging step forward by declaring that this exciting event would become a natural event. It would soon become America’s most popular natural bodybuilding competition.

Past Champions represent some of the industry’s most respected natural athletes, among them including:

JUDGING AND PERFORMANCES

At the prejudging all contestants will be equally and fairly judged within their division and classes. This will include (1) an initial line-up, (2) mandatory poses and comparisons, (3) selected grouping comparisons and (4) individual posing routines. The process is rigorous and demanding, but with the sole intention of selecting who deserves to be a Musclemania Champion.

Musclemania judging criteria is based upon four, equally scored categories:

• Symmetry 25%;
• Muscle Mass 25%;
• Condition 25%;
• Posing Presentation 25% (Top 5 Finalists Only)

At the Finals all contestants will be introduced to the audience and participate in a Class Posedown. The Top 5 Finalists in each Division and/or Class will perform their individual posing routines. Routines are limited to 90 seconds.

Musclemania is known to be a world class stage event. This reputation is earned, in part, due to state-of-art audio system, provided by Digital Dolby. It is recommended that you take advantage of this available technology by having your music edited and dubbed by an audio technician. Only CD-R disc music will be accepted (do not use CD-RW discs). Music may NOT be provided on cassette.

AMATEUR QUALIFICATIONS

Events on the Musclemania World Tour are open to any amateur natural bodybuilder. Whether you have past or present bodybuilding federation affiliations, are an independent athlete or a first timer, we invite you to compete against the best natural bodybuilders from throughout America and the world. There are divisions and weight classes for all bodybuilders including Open Men & Women, Novice, Masters, Grand Masters, Junior and Mixed Pairs.

Andi-Fit

Meet Andi Wager (Kumite Classic Head Fitness Judge).
Andi has been involved in fitness competitions for over a decade. She has a Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology, and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. She is the owner of Andi-Fit Personal Training and Fitness Coaching and serves as the Pittsburgh area CSF ambassador. A former Health and Physical Education teacher, Andi uses her experience as an educator, to give our clients the knowledge they need to be successful, in a way that best fits their needs.

As a competitor, Andi has competed in over 30 shows, and has been a top 5 finalist in several national level competitions. She is a former Fitness America Pageant ESPN Series champion, and has placed 2nd at the Fitness Universe Pageant 3x, and 2nd at the Fitness America Pageant World Championships once. She has switched roles, and is now on the coaching side of fitness, but has left the door open to make a comeback sometime in the future.

Education: Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Pittsburgh Occupation: Andi-Fit Personal Training and Fitness Coaching Family: I am married to my best friend, Chad Wagner. We have one son, Nash, who was born on 10/19/05.

My Story: I guess you can say I am an old-timer in the fitness arena. I have been competing in Fitness America Pageants since 1999, and plan to continue as long as my body allows. I decided to enter my first competition after seeing it on ESPN. I had been a dancer from age 4 through college and fitness competitions seemed like a great way to continue performing and entertaining, which I love to do!

I entered a local competition, and took 3rd place. I was hooked immediately. However, back in those days, resources for fitness competitors were scarce! It was kind of trial and error with everything – diet, tanning, bikinis, etc. – no websites, dvds, or camps to guide us. That just made me work even harder, and in 2001 I finally made it into the Fitness America Pageant National finals. Since then, I have continued to improve my placings, with the highlights being an ESPN Series victory in 2002, and being the runner-up at the Fitness Unvierse in 2003. I did try my hand at the Bikini Universe in 2004, placing 3rd behind the beautiful Alicia Marie and Jennifer Lee. Not too shabby if I do say so myself! That year, I also competed at the Fitness America National competition, placing 8th among a very strong group of girls.

In October of 2005, my husband and I had our first child, Nash. He is the sweetest little man in the world! We are so blessed! With my new role as a mom, I am learning to maximize my time and make sure to get my workouts in. We have a gym in our basement, and for the most part, I am training for my next competition at home. I am still working as a personal trainer part-time, but it is difficult to get any time for myself at the gym. I teach two Spinning classes each week, and I get some routine practice in whenever I can. Throughout my pregnancy I gained 35 lbs. I ended up having a c-section, but I recovered quickly and started exercising again as soon as I was allowed. I am pleased with the progress of my physique, and feel I’m right on track to be stage-ready in May for the Pittsburgh Fitness America show, and in June for the Fitness Universe. I absolutely can’t wait!!!!!I have found that having the support of family and friends is so important when competing in fitness (or anything for that matter). My family is wonderful, cheering me on from the audience or the telephone if they can’t be there! I have also found fellow competitors to be helpful in the journey to the stage. While living in Pennsylvania, I had the pleasure of training with an awesome group of girls with the same goals as me. We called ourselves Team Pittsburgh, and we were fierce! I trained with Sheri McCall, Amber Ameredes, Anne Boland, Lisa Stugart, Lisa Butz, and Ellie Gerdes. The support was amazing, and we truly pushed each other to be the best!

Andi Martin

Sonshine Fitness

Stasi Longo (Kumite Classic Head Judge, Bodybuilding & Figure). We are blessed to have Stasi as part of the Kumite Classic team. Her experience is world class, and she is a great ambassador of the Pittsburgh bodybuilding and figure community.  Stasi is certified through the National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT) and has managed health clubs and fitness centers all over the tri-state area since 1978. She has over 30 years of experience in developing and administering personalized fitness training programs for every type of client, from beginners to professional athletes. She is co-owner of Sonshine Fitness with her husband Larry.  Stasi has coached many local, national and pro level bodybuiling, fitness, figure, model, and bikini champions.  Stasi graduated Cum Laude from Slippery Rock State College. She completed the Nautilus Sports Medical Industries Training and Management program in Lakeland, Florida. In addition, she was  a  World Natural Bodybuilding Federation (WNBF) professional bodybuilder; an American Natural Bodybuilding Conference (ANBC) professional bodybuilder. Stasi placed 4th in the WNBF Pro World Championships in 1999 and 2000. She placed 2nd in the 2000 WNBF Pro International Championships and 5th at the 2001 WNBF Pro Internationals. Stasi is the 1998 WNBF Pro Natural Miss Universe Overall Champion; the 1997 National Gym Association (NGA) All-American Heavyweight Champion; the 1995 NGA All-American Overall Master’s Champion; the 1994 ANBC PRO 3rd place winner; the 1991 ANBC Pittsburgh Overall Champion; the 1991 National Physique Council (NPC) Pittsburgh Heavyweight Champion and she holds numerous other titles.

Stasi has served as a competition head judge since 1991. She is an IFPA Pro Head  Judge (Bodybuilding/Figure) a Head Judge and Head National Judge for the OCB, (Bodybuilding/Figure/Ms. Fitness/Fitness Modeling, Bikini), Head and Pro Judge for the NGA, (Bodybuilding/Figure/Fitness), Head Judge for MUSCLEMANIA (Bodybuilding/Figure/Bikini/Fitness America/Model America). She has also served as Head Judge for the INBF, ANBC and NABF.

Stasi has been featured in numerous news and magazine articles, locally, nationally and internationally.  Stasi is a regular featured guest on Pittsburgh television talk shows due to her natural bodybuilding achievements, fitness, diet & nutrition knowledge and expertise.

Stasi was honored in 2010 to be voted “One of the Greatest Natural Female Bodybuilders of All Time” on www.bodybuilderexaminer.com