robert Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Denise Turner (SeaSiren) from this forum, won the 2005 Vegan Fitness Model Search. You can check out her winning profile on www.veganbodybuilding.com Here is a bit about her and a photo: My fitness pursuit began several years ago. I wanted to pursue a fit and healthy life and found better ways to feed my body and thus I began to pursue exercise. My pursuits for a healthy diet eventually lead me to a vegetarian lifestyle and finally a vegan lifestyle. I began to enjoy the benefits of healthy vegan foods also including many raw foods as part of my meals. Becoming vegan has changed my life for the better in so many ways, aside from meeting so many people with like dietary lifestyles from so many diverse backgrounds, I have enjoyed living a compassionate lifestyle knowing I am helping to lessen the amount of animal suffering. I have enjoyed more strength, less sickness, clarity of mind, and am at peace with my lifestyle choice. I grew up in a meat eating family and ate as they did, eating all that greasy food and lived on a lot of fast food. Weight lifting and exercising was not something my family pursued. I watched them begin to become sick with headaches, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. I was told this “runs in the family” and knew I could expect the same fate as them. This was when I began to lift weights, run and adjust my diet. I did become healthier then I was, but still suffered from headaches and fatigue. One day at a routine physical, I was given the dreaded news that I too had high blood pressure and high cholesterol; I too would have a lifetime of medicine. I was shocked that after my efforts I would suffer the same fate as them. I had eliminated a lot of animal products from my diet by then, too much fat, too high in cholesterol. I had read a bit about vegetarianism and decided I would pursue it. I did and my levels came down. When I became a Vegan my levels were awesome. No medicine for me, I had beaten my perceived fate! My Vegan diet eventually pored over into the rest of my style of living. Becoming educated on the fate of animals in factory farming has changed my life forever. I can no longer buy, or wear something that once lived. I donated all my old leather clothing and have never looked back. I did some amateur modeling for a few years and then decided to pursue building my own company, a Scuba Diving Center, which I currently own and operate. I enjoy introducing so many people in exploring our underwater world. I would like to continue to pursue fitness and spreading the word to mainstream markets how Vegans can be strong, beautiful, smart, and of course, we are compassionate. I hope in spreading the word I can educate people on how the Vegan lifestyle can be a viable, healthy option for them to pursue. Website: DeniseNicole.com http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/imgs/albums/2005%20Vegan%20Fitness%20Model/denise7.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compassionategirl Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Seasiren, you look SMOKIN in that pic above working out on the beach. Man how I would love to work out on the beach like that with the ocean behind me. A very big congratulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert Posted December 28, 2005 Author Share Posted December 28, 2005 I want to say congratulations as well. We've had some awesome winners of a bunch of different contests. Some of the winners have been Joanna Luge, Kristopher (Topher) Flannery, Crystal Hammer, Paul Katz, and many others. I haven't had many contests lately. I got caught up in the filmmaking process for my movie and my own bodybuilding contests this past fall, but I'll get more up there for 2006! Congratulations Denise, you do look smokin and in awesome shape! -Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compassionategirl Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 By the way I love how you mention that even though you initially started on the vegan path for health reasons, you have since embraced the entire lifestyle (not just the diet part) for compassionate reasons as well. And, I am deathly afraid of being underwater, especially diving head first. That freaks me out. I remember being in the Dominican with an ex many years ago, and he tried to teach me how to dive. The closest I got to diving, even in shallow waters that would come up to my hips if I were to stand straight up, was belly flopping! I thought i was doing pretty well, until he pointed that out! Maybe one day I will come to your scuba diving resort and you can help me conquer my fear and turn me into an expert diver!!! Something among many things that I really want to do. nice work seasiren. I dont think any of the other men (or ladies) have seen this thread yet. I am sure the flattery will be forthcoming soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offense74 Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 (edited) Congratulations !I like the "Don't mess with me!" kinda look on the picture ! Your story is much like mine. I started of by loosing a lot of weight, eating more and more vegetarian. Cut out meat. Cut out fish. And now only occasionally eat dairy or eggs. As you express the sensation is awesome and one really feel how important it is not to poison oneself with all the junk out there.It's fun to think how a grocery store would look if everyone ate like me (or most people in here) !As any human being that is aware of factory farming, I share your concern. Go get 'em!! http://www.crownvic.us/forum/images/smilies/august/cheerleader02.gif http://www.crownvic.us/forum/images/smilies/august/cheerleader02.gif http://www.crownvic.us/forum/images/smilies/august/cheerleader02.gif Edited December 28, 2005 by offense74 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daywalker Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Congratulations, Sea Siren!Smokin' pictures indeed My favourite is the one Rob posted Rob, couldn't you show a few pictures of who came second and third? Who votes/judges the pictures anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrispyQ Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Congrats, SeaSiren! I agree with the others, that is one smokin' shot! Love your vegan story, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willpeavy Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Good work!!! The pic looks great, you definitely deserve to win it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert Posted December 28, 2005 Author Share Posted December 28, 2005 Rob, couldn't you show a few pictures of who came second and third? Who votes/judges the pictures anyway? Hey Man Who Walks in Day, I normally keep that private, so I don't show who "didn't win." But what I've done in years past is put up all the contest winners throughout the year. For example in 2004 we have 7 different contest winners, and two of them won multiple contests that year, and we had a poll up for website members and visitors to vote for an overall winner. So it was the Back winner, Chest Winner, Model winner, Triceps winner, etc. all up for top prize as Contest Winner of the Year. Topher won it that year. I may go back to doing a system like that. Normally just I choose a winner or my website guy and I choose a winner based on the bio and content, lifestyle changes, and fitness photos. I didn't have many online contests in 2005 because I got quite busy and didn't put them up. I also think I need to find a better way. Obviously, it's almost like a an actual bodybuilding contest, there are certain things I look for, but it is hard to say that one person is "better" than another, so I just got by the strengh of the bio and photos. But I'm still looking for a better way to run these contests. I've thought about doing a similar style of contest that VeganEssentials had over on VF.net, which I entered. It was a body transformation contest where you basically compete against yourself and then people vote on who made the biggest gains over a 12-week period, or something like that. Any suggestions on how you'd like to see future contests run? Let me know and in 2006 I'll try to bring out a bunch, because I love to see people achieve goals, I love to give away prizes, and I love to feature other vegan athletes. All the best! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesty leroux Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 Congrats Seasiren, you look awesome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted December 28, 2005 Share Posted December 28, 2005 I like the fitness photos, but what's with the 1/2 naked, pseudo pinup photos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Normally just I choose a winner or my website guy and I choose a winner based on the bio and content, lifestyle changes, and fitness photos. I didn't have many online contests in 2005 because I got quite busy and didn't put them up. I also think I need to find a better way. Obviously, it's almost like a an actual bodybuilding contest, there are certain things I look for, but it is hard to say that one person is "better" than another, so I just got by the strengh of the bio and photos. But I'm still looking for a better way to run these contests. I've thought about doing a similar style of contest that VeganEssentials had over on VF.net, which I entered. It was a body transformation contest where you basically compete against yourself and then people vote on who made the biggest gains over a 12-week period, or something like that. Any suggestions on how you'd like to see future contests run? Let me know and in 2006 I'll try to bring out a bunch, because I love to see people achieve goals, I love to give away prizes, and I love to feature other vegan athletes.Rob, what about a less competitive system? Instead of having a contest you could create a forum for vegan fitness profiles. Most people aren't into fitness for a competitive reason, and even those who compete are in such diverse sports that it hardly seems appropriate to have them compete against each other. If we want to feature vegan athletes, it seems counterproductive to limit ourselves to a selection of "winners." Why not allow each athlete's bio, lifestyle changes, and fitness photos to speak for themselves? I was in the body transformation contest, which I won, but I would have rather had the opportunity to "compete" against myself without having to compete against others. We each had different goals. I didn't out-transform any body. I just transformed my body. So your right, it is hard to say that one person is "better" than another. In fact, I think it's impossible. So why do we do it? I don't like have to be ranked all the time. On Vegan Fitness there's a contest and a comparison chart for almost every activity. I avoid those threads in favor of the Athlete Profiles and Training Logs. I also like that Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness has a section for Member's Milestones and Personal Bests. I would like to see less contests, and more encouragement for personal achievements. I think that way we can see a lot more people achieve goals and feature more vegan athletes. And if you like giving away prizes you could give a lot more of those out too if people don't have to "win" 'em . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compassionategirl Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 I like the fitness photos, but what's with the 1/2 naked, pseudo pinup photos? Sea Siren, I think all your pics are fabulous. I dont see anything distasteful about any them. You look great in all of them, and you should feel proud. Rob, I think it was perfectly fine to post all of them. FOUR kids??? You and Tiffaney have harder bodies than many younger women that I know that have NO kids. Fantastic. keep up the great work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 I wondered when that would bite, although maybe this is more a nibble (I may be wrong entirely)? The visual/object/physical thing. Maybe we'll talk about what it means to be in "shape" sometime... the etymology I mean. Meanwhile - Seasiren, your job sounds rockin' and the depth of incorporation of fitness and vegan diet into your life are impressive to me : ) Congratulations on your success! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compassionategirl Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 no responses on my inability to dive? isnt there anybody out there who is willing to teach me? Seasiren? Anybody? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert Posted December 29, 2005 Author Share Posted December 29, 2005 Rob, what about a less competitive system? Instead of having a contest you could create a forum for vegan fitness profiles. Most people aren't into fitness for a competitive reason, and even those who compete are in such diverse sports that it hardly seems appropriate to have them compete against each other. If we want to feature vegan athletes, it seems counterproductive to limit ourselves to a selection of "winners." Why not allow each athlete's bio, lifestyle changes, and fitness photos to speak for themselves? I was in the body transformation contest, which I won, but I would have rather had the opportunity to "compete" against myself without having to compete against others. We each had different goals. I didn't out-transform any body. I just transformed my body. So your right, it is hard to say that one person is "better" than another. In fact, I think it's impossible. So why do we do it? I don't like have to be ranked all the time. On Vegan Fitness there's a contest and a comparison chart for almost every activity. I avoid those threads in favor of the Athlete Profiles and Training Logs. I also like that Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness has a section for Member's Milestones and Personal Bests. I would like to see less contests, and more encouragement for personal achievements. I think that way we can see a lot more people achieve goals and feature more vegan athletes. And if you like giving away prizes you could give a lot more of those out too if people don't have to "win" 'em Wink . Thanks Daniel, Good suggestions. As a competetive bodybuilder I get caught up in contests, and winning and that kind of stuff and that is what I've had on the site for many years now. But recently I've been just featuring people on there like Alex, Brendan, Mike, Suzette, Ben, and others. I'll do more of that but I'll still try to incorporate some contests, but focus on individual goals and body/health transformation. Thanks for the input, it is helpful. -Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 CG don't sweat it. I got you if SS can't. : ) If I can get surfing down I'll show you that too. You end up with your head in the water a lot then. At least the way I seem to do it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compassionategirl Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 CG don't sweat it. I got you if SS can't. : ) If I can get surfing down I'll show you that too. You end up with your head in the water a lot then. At least the way I seem to do it I already have a lump in my throat. But, I am determined to conquer my fear of the ocean and would LOVE to learn how to surf, even more than dive. So ya, you must teach me when I am down in OR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Did I mention I was a Junior lifeguard at one point? I think my bro and sis were too. We're total swimmers. Did you grow up near the water/take swim lessons as a kid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compassionategirl Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 ya, when I was lil, but I only made it up to ...well... you see....um....the "tadpole" level. go ahead and laugh. I can swim, dont get me wrong, but my form sucks, I drink half the ocean by the time I am done, get really annoyed at water in my eyes and ears, and am terrified of diving head first into water. so you have your work cut out for you in other words. but i will be an enthusiastic student! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Tadpole level. So you've been in the water. Fantastic start! : ) This will all work out very well. I can tell already : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 surfing is fairly essy to get relatively good at... to the point you can show off and shit... it's fairly hard to get luda good at though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSiren Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Thank-you everyone. Everyone here is so encouraging, which makes it easy to continue my fitness pursuits! You all are wonderful! Compash, I'd be more than happy to hook you up, you'd be diving in no time. We have had students who didn't like getting their face wet, or had difficulties with mask removal and had them practice in a pool. So you certainly aren't alone. Once you get comfortable, you will love what you get to experience underwater. I can also set up a referral for you to train right where you are located. Just let me know and I'll locate a Certified Dive Center or Instructor in your area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarz Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Congrats Seasiren. no responses on my inability to dive? isnt there anybody out there who is willing to teach me? Seasiren? Anybody? Some things just aren't meant to be..... The thought of you trying to dive....... The opposite of a fish out of water springs to mind. Nah seriously, it would be cool if Seasiren or Aaron could teach ya. Think they might have their work cut out though..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compassionategirl Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Some things just aren't meant to be..... The thought of you trying to dive....... The opposite of a fish out of water springs to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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