Just so you know, Brandy Leaver can kick my ass. So to pigeonhole her as "just another Figure competitor" without mentioning her other skills — namely Muay Thai kickboxing — wouldn't be doing me any favors.
And yet, it's on the stage where she shines the brightest.
Her list of accomplishments could lead you to believe she's been competing for half a decade or more.
Last year, she won the overall at the Stingrey Classic and placed in the top twelve at the USA's — her second show ever. She most recently won the FLEX Bikini Model Search at the Olympia. And before all of that, she was honored with the USA Title for Miss Hawaiian Tropic.
But Brandy Leaver is just getting started; in fact, it's only been two years since her very first competition.
Oh, and did I mention she has a four-year-old daughter?
With help from her Pro bodybuilder husband, Brandon Curry, she's ready to go for her Pro card in November.
FigureAthlete recently talked with Brandy about training, pregnancy, competing, and everything in between.
So I heard you were a pretty big tomboy when you were younger. Is that true?
Oh yeah! I started playing flag football when I was seven and have pretty much been an athlete my entire life.
Wait. Flag football?
Well, that and I boxed for eight years. And I walked on to the wrestling team in high school.
So you just gravitated to these traditionally "masculine" sports? That's awesome.
Yeah, but I didn't really discriminate. I played volleyball, basketball, did a lot of surfing, and horseback riding. I threw shot-put and discus and was even a cheerleader at one point.
Where I grew up in Hawaii, it was just really, really country. It was literally just a mountain and a beach with a bunch of fields to play in. It was a pretty rough town, so I just naturally gravitated toward those types of sports. And when I figured out I could beat the boys it just fueled me to push harder and became even more fun.
And now you're a model, a mom, and fitness competitor. That's a pretty impressive jump!
Thanks! A year after my daughter was born I won the USA title for Hawaiian Tropic and that's how I got into the "female" aspect of modeling and bikini stuff. But it was a natural progression; I mean, I'm still not a full "girly-girl," and I really don't think you have to be.
Good point. So what happened after the Hawaiian Tropic thing?
It's funny; even though I was Miss Hawaiian Tropic I still felt a little out of place, you know? I was more athletic than most of the girls in that competition. So when my husband encouraged me to do a Figure show, it felt like it was more "me." I entered one in Hawaii and won the overall.
From there I just had fun with it. I did my first big competition — the USA's — and placed twelfth. Then I competed in the Tournament of the Champions last September and placed third. After that, I competed in the Flex Bikini Model search at the Olympia and won first place.
That's fantastic. That happened relatively in a short amount of time.
Yeah, it was pretty amazing. Brandon and I told each other that we'd get contracts with big companies and start winning competitions, and after six months we did it.
What's it like being married to a pro bodybuilder? You must have one healthy family!
It's simply amazing because we understand each other's lifestyles so well. I mean, we even eat on the same schedule! We'll head to the gym together — I'm his workout partner, believe it or not — and we just push each other to work hard.
I think some women might meet a little resistance from their partnerswhen they start adopting these newer, healthier habits like going to the gym and eating at certain intervals.
For sure. And it's easy to get frustrated because of their lack of support or motivation, you know? But most of it comes from them not understanding the things you're doing. I think that if women who are ready to commit to this lifestyle, they really just need to come out and show their husbands the benefits and kind of lead by example.
All the dieting, the training, the time away from home and the kids and what not — it's a lot to contend with. And then there's the mood swings! But if they understood how rewarding it is for the women in the end and the whole life upgrade, I think they'd appreciate it and support it more. They may even start adopting some of your habits!
And sometimes we get too tired and slip up a little bit. If they understand what you're going through, they'll be there to pick up the slack and keep you from falling behind.
Let's shift modes for a minute. I think a lot of the women here would like to know how you trained and ate while you were pregnant. Care to indulge?
Sure! I actually still ran around the track until I was four months pregnant. In fact, I was still doing some modeling up until I was five and half months pregnant, because you couldn't really tell. The only things that really grew were my boobs and my butt, which sort of helped out with the photos!
But I still lifted weights and did some higher repetitions and a lot of cardio throughout my pregnancy. I didn't want to do anything too intense, of course, but I just couldn't lay off completely. I had to stop surfing, too, since you have to lie on your belly to paddle out.
But I want women to know that my pregnancy wasn't the easiest, as I'm sure theirs weren't either. I still gained 75 pounds. In fact, I think I weighed in at 206 right before I gave birth!
My daughter came out nine and half pounds and I ended up losing all of the weight by the time she was four months old.
Did you succumb to a sweet tooth or did you keep your diet on point the whole time?
I ate clean until maybe the last three weeks. Then I had some girlfriends that would come over to walk with me at night, and they'd bring me Reese's pieces. I think it's great to spoil yourself every now and then, especially when you need it most during your pregnancy, but eating healthy was such an ingrained habit of mine that I felt weird if I didn't keep it up.
How difficult was it to get back in shape after having your daughter?
Well, I lost twenty pounds by the time I got out of the hospital from the fact that she was so big and all the water weight I was retaining. Breast-feeding helped a lot too!
I started doing some cardio a few weeks after she was born, but only forty-five minutes or so. Not much, at all. But I was still healing inside and couldn't do too much. I did like getting back into my old habits — I don't think it would've been as smooth of a transition if I didn't' take care of myself during my pregnancy.
She's my little cheerleader now. She's always coming up and saying things like "it's time to go the gym, mommy" or "it's time to eat, daddy." It's adorable.
Tell us about preparing for your first competition.
Well, I was hired to work at a booth at the Olympia a couple of years ago and started talking to Brandon. We'd known each other and were good friends since high school, but it was cool seeing him in this whole different arena.
At this point I was still the Hawaiian Tropic girl, but I was looking around at all of these fit, beautiful women and thinking "I feel at home." And I'm looking around, this is you know, after I had won Hawaiian Tropic, so I'm still a bikini girl.
I asked Brandon if he thought I could do the whole figure thing, but I knew absolutely nothing about it. I still lived in Hawaii at the time and he was in Nashville so he just started emailing me workouts.
I built a lot more muscle, especially in my upper body, and started changing my diet around. I dropped fat really quickly and began sculpting my body. I was pretty amazed because I'd never really understood how to diet, and it just made an incredible difference.
I saw him again at the Arnold three weeks before the show, and I just really didn't know if I was going to do it. I had no idea how I was supposed to look. I didn't really feel ripped or ready. But then I was looking around at all of these girls, and my excitement just got the best of me.
So we went and bought suits, and tanners, and I ate my last real cheat meal. Then I just started kicking butt and preparing for the show. I entered the competition, and boy was it a challenge. I had no idea how to pose!
So what'd you do?
Well, I had friends that competed in figure, so they were back stage showing me how to pose and flex my muscles. I learned it all an hour before when I was backstage. It was nerve wracking.
How was the transition from the doing mostly athletic based workouts to actually trying to sculpt your body through weight training?
I really liked it. I was anxious to grow and when I actually saw how the process worked, I just got more and more into it and excited and just continued to learn.
What's your current training routine like?
I've been doing quite a bit of circuit training.
But I'm working on bringing up my weaker points, too. So we're actually doing shoulders three times a week since they're not as developed as the rest of my body. I've always had strong and muscular legs, so we really don't do too much for them.
Here's what a normal week looks like:
Monday — Chest and shoulders
Tuesday — Back and biceps
Wednesday — Abs and cardio
Thursday — Shoulders and triceps
Friday — Leg Circuit
Saturday — Off
Sunday — Abs & cardio
I'm also really involved in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). Up until a couple of months ago all my cardio was Muay Thai training five days a week for three hours per day. But I got too bruised up and had black eyes and stuff so I had to cut that out.
What was the benefit of doing kickboxing instead of more "traditional" cardio exercise?
I just like being more active. With Muay Thai or boxing I feel like I'm actually learning something instead of just going through the motions. I don't do it just for the purpose of "doing cardio".
I want to see how much I can learn and how to apply it to other areas. I still use the Stairmaster and the treadmill sometimes, but there's no real skill in running on a treadmill or riding a bike.
You're going after your Pro card in November. What's that feel like?
I'm incredibly excited. Things have been happening so fast and I'm just waiting to see how far I can take everything. To be honest, I've lived most of my life through faith and never really forced myself in any direction.
I kind of go with the flow and do what I feel is right. So I'm never really worried about anything. I think a lot of women are like that; they're strong and can accomplish whatever they set their mind to.
Very true. Thanks for the interview Brandy!
Thank you. And to all the women on FigureAthlete: Keep working hard and kicking butt!
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