The transition from “tomboy” to figure professional was a stretch, but Mary Bell made it happen. Now Bell will be one of the leading contenders for the figure title at the spectacular 2009 WNBF Pro Natural Cup Bodybuilding and Figure Championships( www.uscupnorcal.com/) on September 26 at the historic Crest Theatre in Sacramento.
“I was always into the ‘tomboy stuff,’ motorcycles and such, instead of sports” says Bell. “I still love to travel and ride my motorcycle along the cost and take my bulldogs out in my 1973 Ford Bronco for beach days, so maybe there is still a little tomboy left in me.”
Born in Omak, Washington, (pop 4,706), Bell, 36, grew up in the State of Washington and Washington, D.C. She dropped out of school in the 7th grade, returning to secure her GED at 18, and fighting her way through college on a 7th grade knowledge base to earn a BA in Art Science and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Maryland, School of Social Work.
Mary became involved in figure competition in the summer of 2000 when a bodybuilder friend dared her to enter a show. Her first competition was all she needed to become hooked on the sport. However, Figure was still relatively new at the time, and many of the current rules were not clearly defined, so she had to learn the ropes on her own by watching what the other competitors did and following their lead.
Now, as owner of Center Stage Figures (www.CenterStageFigures.com ) in San Diego, Mary is a lifestyle and competition coach. Her earlier personal experience of having to learn things on her own, lead to her perfecting the Art of Figure Presentation and becoming one of the first women to specialize in training aspiring Figure competitors. She has made a reputation in the sport as "Best Figure Coach!”
Mary has won many figure titles with the USBF, NABBA, OCB, and INBF includi
ng the 2003 NABBA USA Figure Championship, the 2003 Ms USBF National Figure Championship, and the 2004 Northeast America Figure Championship, among others, and she was the overall winner of the Best Swimsuit competition at the 2006 Natural Mania. She has placed highly in many other events and earned her WNBF pro card to qualify her to compete in professional figure competition. She is also a figure, fitness, and bodybuilding judge for OCB and USBF.
When asked about why she prefers to compete in natural (drug-tested) contests, Mary responds, “I choose to compete in natural organizations because I want to show women that they will not get bulky lifting weights. I want to know that the woman standing next to me fought just as hard to get her level of conditioning naturally and without drugs as I did. I feel he WNBF has the best natural athletes in the sport, and I am honored to stand next to these women on stage. I see using drugs to make gains, cheating.”
Mary was recently 
showcased in E! True Hollywood Stories, Female Bodybuilders. She is currently the only Pro Figure athlete in the WNBF to host her own Body Building/Figure and Pro Figure competition - The Natural North America (www.TheNaturalNorthAmerica.com). She is also one of the first Figure Coaches in the industry and has a Figure posing DVD, “The Art of Figure Competition” that she sells with a percentage of the sales going to a national stopping child abuse organization.
Mary is a single “mom” to two four-legged “children” – her English Bulldogs Moulin-Rouge and Asscher. It is said that books and movies can sometimes tell a lot about a person, and Mary’s favorite book is The places that scare you by Pema Chodren, a Buddhist nun. Her favorite movie is Men of Honor. “I love the dedication and drive depicted by Cuba Gooding to reach his goals,” says Mary. For those who haven’t seen the movie, it also says a lot about the intense drive inspires Mary to achieve her own goals.
“I love the challenge to get bigger, better, and stronger naturally, and I’m still fighting for that first place in the WNBF. But,” she adds, “I believe that, first or last, you did the work and no one can ever take that from you.”
Bring on the competition.
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