Danelle Dison
6
Florida Fitness Photography
Share with us a bit about your contest history and most memorable show experience:
2010 - NPC Midwest Open; Open figure tall class - 4th place
2010 – NPC Wisconsin State; Open figure tall class – 4th place
2013 – NPC Midwestern States; Open physique tall class – 1st place
2013 – NPC North Americans; Masters Physique Tall class – 6th place; Open Physique Tall class – 9th place
2014 – NPC Jr USA’s; Open Physique Tall class –
My most memorable show was my comeback in 2013 after being diagnosed with breast cancer in
2012. I was prepping for a competition when I was diagnosed in January, 2012. It was found completely by accident and there is no family history so to me this was a total shock. I had a mastectomy and four reconstruction surgeries that year along with cancer treatments. Doctors kept telling me not to be surprised if I wasn’t able to compete again for a couple of years, but obviously they didn’t know me and my drive to get back on that stage again and prove them wrong. My husband is my rock and without him I probably wouldn’t of gotten through a lot of the days, he was so determined to help me get better he began searching everything he could on cancer. Over the course of 2012, I continued to amaze my doctors at how fast I would recover from each surgery and how quickly I was able to get back into the gym and do some moderate training. After my initial surgery, I was back in the gym doing some light cardio five days after surgery. Through healthy eating and as much training as I could tolerate I got the green light in March, 2013 from all my doctors that I could begin back my intense training regimen and do a competition. I have come to realize that now it takes me longer to prep for a show and I have to be closely monitored by doctors to make sure I’m not over doing it but my goal came true to get back up on that stage again and show my best. There is no stopping me now!
What motivates and/or inspires you to workout, diet, and compete in fitness? Early on the motivation to work out and compete was driven by my wanting to see how much I could change and improve my physique. Being a competitive athlete drove me to always want to improve and compete with myself, plus each experience was unique in the people that I met and their stories of how they got started competing.