Height – 5’3” Weight – 108 lbs Residence – Port Moody, BC Website – leighbrandt.com Twitter – @leighbrandt
The IFBB’s bikini pro division was created with athletes like Leigh Brandt in mind. A hard-training girl with a passion for the sport, Brandt couldn’t keep enough weight on her 5'3" frame to make a push for the top spots in the figure class, but when she made the switch to bikini in 2009, Brandt won her very first contest. She hasn’t looked back since.
M&F: When did you get hooked on the gym? LB: I used to be a wrestler in high school. My brothers wrestled, and I followed in their footsteps. That’s how I got into the gym—my brother used to take me with him when he had to watch me and my parents were busy.
Wait. What? You wrestled? Yeah! A lot of girls wrestle in Canada. It’s not uncommon. It’s not like I was on the guys’ team and wrestling a bunch of dudes. I was on an all-girls team. I wrestled only other girls. I won the province championship and lost at nationals.
Why didn’t you turn pro? Pro wrestling? Ha! I guess I could be a Diva. I hadn’t thought of that. I’m into competing onstage right now, and I love the sport. I don’t see myself going away from it.
What’s the biggest thing people don’t understand about your lifestyle? People always ask about my diet. They want to know what I’m eating, so they can eat the same thing, but I lift five to six days a week and do 30–45 minutes of cardio every day. My meal plan won’t help them. It might be the same foods, but it won’t be the same portions or the same number of meals. You need to build a diet based on your own needs.
