Dana Capobianco
by Sherif Awad
-I have three sisters. And I'm the third one. We moved up to Westchester, (from the Bronx NY) seven days before I was seven. My family was and is still very close. My father passed away two years ago.
-Now, I have three older children, a twenty-one years-old son and a nineteen years-old boy and girl twins. I recently had a fifteen months-old daughter.
- I have been interested in lifting weights since I was fourteen. I did the typical...press and curls (lol).
But it was really when I ran into the one and only 'Gregg Valentino' AKA, The Rambling Freak, who became my mentor, best friend and Godfather to my daughter. It was in his gym (at the time), around 1987 at Peekskill Fitness. I also think it makes perfect sense now, as I am an artist by trade. And BB should be (above all) viewed as art!
-I competed in my first show in 1991. And it was all over from there. I also will add, Gregg has been there for me from the first till present.
From a year before my first show, I designed a very strict training regime breaking down each body part one after the other. And NEVER out of order. That still remains true to this day, (btw)!
- During the first few years I competed, I was very aware of who's who in the BB World but never became overwhelmed with anyone in particular. I think it's just due more to my personality. I then had my first child when I was twenty-seven years-old. And during that time I learned I had Chronic Variable Immune Deficiency (CVID). Which of course both things made competing more challenging but this year will be my 30th competition anniversary. Hint hint!
-Though I decided around 2001, my goal was not to do whatever necessary to win an IFBB card. It was also about then, I found my niche in the BB Modeling aspect of the sport. And that at least does take care of most the expenses we endure… My joke always was and still is...If the finances only equaled the stardom lol.
-Thankfully I've never had any issues where my femininity was concerned. Mostly just a lot of long hard stares lol. There was one time in the summer, I was on my way up North to do a photoshoot with Awefilms. And as a ritual, I sip on red wine until the shoot is over. So, I stopped at a local liquor store before I got there and from the moment I stepped out of the car I felt like an alien from another planet. Every person that was in vision of me, stopped in their tracks. Some started to slowly move but still looked and one guy actually bagged smack into his car that he was walking to. It could have been a clip in a movie. It was a moment I'll never forget.
-Being involved in sports for so long, it's not surprising the amount of changes, like with anything. But if you asked me 20 years ago, I would have been sure that sports would have been more well known and important to society. And surely not less!
-As far as a prize, it's funny. I have an extremely clear memory of my first show but I can barely remember the last. But in 1994, I won the Pocono Classic and the prizes were definitely more extravagant than most. I won a 6ft trophy, a jacket, a whole bag of stuff and a trip to the Poconos.
-Yet my main goal in continuing this sport was always to conquer the feeling of being on the highest swing in the world. And as the decades went on, an added goal became to look better then the year before... but for myself!
-As far as balance, luckily in 1999, my love for both training and sculpting the body became my livelihood as well since in 2013, I opened my own personal training gym. I find myself more and more (as the years go on) stressing to people/clients and especially young ones...Both breaking your muscles down on a regular basis, and your food choices are #1. Everything else is a secondary participation. If #1 is not met, it doesn't matter what else you do. And most certainly not for the long run. That goes for the visual as well as health. Basically it needs to be 80% job #1 and 20% #1 everything else, not the other way around. This seems to be one of the biggest mistakes out there.
-There were few years back where I contemplated doing professional wrestling as I had an opportunity. It was already pretty late in my career (meaning twenty years plus in). Had it been ten years or so prior, I would have been very interested. Although I still do from time to time, arm wrestle for some cash.
And the day guys don't ask me to arm wrestle anymore, is the day I won't find myself saying, "YES, I will arm wrestle you but first you need to put $100 down and if I win, I take it" !LOL
Dana Capobianco (aka) Lizzy 😘