Interview Sylke Kempe

Geschatte leestijd: 14 minuten In the FITsociety app, expert coaches are ready to guide you to your goals. Coaches like Sylke Kempe, bikini fitness athlete, and lifestyle coach.

Sylke Kempe

I’m Sylke, 24 years old. I live with the love of my life and 2 cats in the delightful Heerhugowaard. You can find me in the gym 5 times a week, and I’m passionate about everything related to nutrition and fitness. I enjoy helping people and challenging myself to be the best version of myself. I managed to completely turn my life around, from non-athlete to bikini fitness athlete and lifestyle coach.

“Fitness? That wouldn’t last long, would it?”

When I was about 15 years old, it was diagnosed that I have arthritis in my hip joint and starting in my knee. I suffered a lot from this at the time. I was a gymnast at a high level, but unfortunately, I had to quit because of the complaints. “You have to learn to live with the pain,” they said. Unconsciously and consciously, I started to avoid more and more movement. I stopped doing sports at school, skipped cycling or walking, and whenever possible, I took an easier path. I was always seen as the girl who preferred to be lazy rather than tired, and when I told them I had started fitness, I was actually laughed at first. That was nothing for me, and I wouldn’t last long. In my relatively short life, I have experienced quite a bit. It has shaped me into who I am and who I want to be. I have lived in different places, always searching for a place, someone, or something where I would fit in, where I would belong. In terms of work, I couldn’t find anything that truly made me happy. That’s why I’ve had many different jobs, and here too, I was known as the one who always had something else in no time. So, I didn’t really have real discipline and perseverance, and I preferred to flee, only to throw myself into a new adventure.

“Not suffering, but leading”

At some point, of course, the fleeing from yourself stops. I had experienced some pretty intense things in my personal life, I was overworked, and I ended up in a black hole, a form of depression. This was my wake-up call, and partly because of this, my love for fitness actually originated. Looking back, I’m actually very grateful for this. It was time to work on myself. Physically and mentally. Time to stop fleeing and to choose myself. Not to suffer my life, but to lead it the way I wanted. So, first, I tackled the physical part. I wanted to feel good about myself again, be proud, and look in the mirror with a good feeling. So, I dived into the gym. I found it terrifying, the threshold was high, but I did it! I liked it much better than expected! Physically, it slowly brought me some results, but mentally I mainly had a goal to get out of bed. Something to strive for. I also noticed that it eventually had a positive effect on my arthritis and that it was finally a form of exercise where I had little trouble. I started to enjoy it so much that I searched the internet for information, about training, but after a while also about nutrition. I wanted to know everything. I wanted to learn. I wanted to be the best version of myself. In the gym, but also outside of it. Nutrition has become my passion, and at the moment, I can’t imagine life without it anymore. The importance of nutrition is so underestimated, and yet it is the most important aspect of your fitness journey.

Lifestyle coach

At some point, people around me started to ask me for advice. “How do you do that? How do you stay motivated? How do you eat?” I liked helping people, and I got a lot of positive reactions. People saw me changing, saw me getting better, saw me feeling better. And that feeling, that positive energy, is contagious. And I think that’s how it started. I started a blog, Fitbeautymind, where I wrote about my journey. I shared everything. Good things, but also less good things. I wanted to show people that everyone has their struggles. Everyone has moments when they don’t feel like going to the gym, moments when they want to eat an entire chocolate bar or a bag of chips, and that’s okay. You have to accept that, but also learn to deal with it. Slowly but surely, I noticed that I wanted to do more with this. I wanted to help people. So, I followed a course, did another course, followed a workshop, and I finally became a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach. I started guiding people, and now, a year later, I have my own company. I help people with their fitness journey, with nutrition, with mental health, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. It gives me so much energy, so much joy. It’s my passion, and I hope to be able to do this for a long time. I want to inspire people, motivate people, and let them see that they can achieve whatever they want. If I can do it, so can you. You just have to believe in yourself, work hard, and never give up. And, of course, have fun. That’s the most important thing. Fitness should be fun, and it shouldn’t feel like a punishment. Is it time for a change for you too? Time to take yourself in hand and time to change course? Then you’ve come to the right place with me. I’m only satisfied when we’ve found a way that works for you, when you can be proud of yourself. Until then, I’m here to support you in that journey.

On to the WBFF

Who doesn’t know them, those beautiful models with wings. I’m sure that almost every man and woman is glued to the TV once a year for that one famous show. The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Beautiful creations, with or without fantastic wings, worn by gorgeous Angels. To belong there once, is the dream of almost every girl. Almost. My dream is to participate in a similar show, but one that distinguishes itself on a very large scale, namely in physique. Fashion meets Fitness. And that… you can only find at the WBFF! Sound familiar? Maybe for some, for others maybe not. In short, this is an international federation that organizes competitions all over the world that revolve around a combination of fashion and fitness. A show with lots of glamour & fashion, but where the physical and modeling aspect also has a major influence. The shows are held in the most beautiful locations, the athletes are truly put on a pedestal, and they claim to be the best of the best.

WBFF UK Show

I have decided to pursue my dream. After 2.5 years of enjoying competitions with the IFBB, I am switching to the WBFF. On May 27th, I will participate in the WBFF UK show in London. The WBFF is not yet very well known in the Netherlands, because the shows have not been held in the Netherlands yet. However, this year there is also a show in our country, which is why I will take you along in my entire journey to the competition in May. Inside info about the federation, my journey, everything that comes with participating in such a competition, posing… I will take it all with me in my stories. So.. Let’s get that Pro-card! Love, Sylke Ps. If there are things you would like to know or read about; feel free to let me know.. I’d love to hear!

WBFF, London

Just a few more weeks to go, then I will do my first show in London! I have never been to London before, so secretly quite exciting. However, I mainly find it very cool and fun, and I am very much looking forward to it. The WBFF shows can be found all over the world. It’s also getting bigger and more countries are joining where the WBFF shows itself. Like the Netherlands, for the first time this year! On September 8th, there will be a show in Amsterdam, where people from other countries can also participate. That makes it very interesting in my eyes. It offers a lot of opportunities and you get to know a lot of people. I have chosen to do a show in London first, to gain experience and hopefully even get my Pro-Card. That way, I am just ahead of the crowd from the Netherlands and I already know what it’s like if I decide to participate in the show in the Netherlands.

Glitter & glamour

Before you can participate, you have to arrange a lot of things. One of those things is, of course, your accommodation. The federation always arranges it so that there is a fixed hotel where all participants stay. This is not mandatory, but of course, highly recommended. This way, you score an extra point. In this hotel, the registration and tanning are also held, both the day before the competition. The hotels and the locations of the shows are really top-notch. Super luxurious and beautiful. Purely to give that feeling of glamour. In London, this is a beautiful 5-star hotel in the center. Everything is arranged down to the last detail for the participants. The fun part is also that you get to know a lot of people in the hotel right away, and I think you immediately feel a kind of connection. It’s also easy that you can just walk straight to the registration and you don’t have to hassle with your tanning. The WBFF always claims that it’s only for the best of the best and that it’s about Fashion and Fitness. They certainly live up to that in this way. The video below from last year gives a good impression.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-JxR6_gAjs

Dress to impress

Like the location, the registration is also chic and glamorous. Here, you are supposed to come in evening wear and really dress up. It’s your ‘first’ introduction to the federation, other athletes, and especially, to the jury. It’s really their first impression of you and it has to be absolutely on point. Your partner can come along, but it’s also expected that they dress neatly in style. Something to definitely keep in mind, also in the preparation and choosing of clothing. The location of the show (in this case, indigo at the O2 in London) is really superb. Spacious and chic, perfectly fitting with what the WBFF wants to convey. For here in the Netherlands, we can also assume that it will be at one of the most beautiful locations in the country. A place where the athletes are truly the stars of the show and treated as such. I love that! My hotel is already booked, one of the first things I took care of. It can’t hurt to be organized! The tanning, hair and makeup, and registration are up next. Slowly but surely, the puzzle pieces are falling into place, and the countdown is really beginning.

Beauty is in the skills of the poser

In this blog, Sylke takes us through posing for WBFF competitions, including a video of her posing lessons. Left, right, hands on hips, shoulders back, and pose! One of the most important things about the competition I’m participating in is definitely the posing. It’s important to present yourself in the best possible way. Your physique may be amazing, but if you can’t pose, unfortunately, you won’t make it. For me, an advantage, because let this be the part I like the most and the part that I’m pretty good at. Those minutes on stage are really my thing, and creating my own poses and routine is, let’s say, ‘even more my thing’.

https://youtu.be/SFC0rI6dvyY

With the IFBB, I was used to a certain way of posing, fixed poses that kept coming back and that you absolutely couldn’t deviate from during the comparisons. Of course, you can also make that somewhat your own, but the basics are the same for everyone. In the I-walk, you can do something more your own thing, but even here, there are always a number of basic poses that come back. I never actually had posing lessons myself. I only participated in a clinic organized by the federation once. I wanted to give my own twist to the poses, and that’s why I think I was a bit too stubborn for actual posing lessons from someone else. I did practice at home, though, always busy with the mirror in the living room going over the poses and checking my physique. Fortunately, my ‘stage performance’ has always been pretty decent, and for this, I have also received compliments from the federation. Super nice to hear, and that also gives me confidence for the upcoming journey.

Posing for the WBFF

But then you come to the WBFF, Completely different. That takes some getting used to! No fixed poses anymore, you can just come up with and do everything yourself. Everything to make your body look as beautiful as possible. Looking for the poses that work for your body, and this makes each participant unique on stage, I love it! You have 2 different rounds. Definitely in bikini (more about that in a next blog) and in addition, I do a round in evening wear. The first round consists of your own routine and then the comparisons with a so-called Pose down. In the comparisons, you have the front, side, and back pose that you all go through. However, how these look is completely up to you. In the posedown, all the ladies come forward and do a kind of battle in 1 minute. Within that minute, you have to show your best sides and poses and make sure that you are the one who stands out in the whole group. The evening wear round is more like a parade, you walk onto the stage in a kind of half circle, with some intervals, but still one after the other. On stage, you then take a pose and then you can move on. Secretly a lot easier than the bikini round!

Posing lessons

By now, I’ve been in prep for a few weeks.. And I’ve even started my cutting phase. Which means I’m 10 weeks out. Posing was really something I had to pick up as soon as possible. Whereas some athletes sometimes practice their poses and routine for a year, I have a total of about 20 weeks. In recent weeks, I’ve had my first lessons. With my own coaches Miquel and Esther from Posing ME Performace and a clinic with WBFF Pro Evelien Nellen. I also have to face it because I probably won’t make it on my own this time. If I want to get my pro-card, my posing just has to be on point. Fortunately, I’m doing well, also because I practiced a lot, but now it’s really about paying attention to the details and dotting the i’s. Everything has to be right, the way your leg is positioned, how you look, what your arms are doing.. really everything. Interesting, educational, and a really fun challenge. By now, I’ve put together my routine, and from now on, it’s constantly going through everything; the poses, the transitions, the way of walking, the speed of movement, and especially the styling to finish off the movements. This involves a lot of influences from the dance world, which is quite new to me. Fortunately, I have my coaches supporting me in this, and with them, I’m sure this will work out. I have full confidence that this will go well for May 27th, and I can’t wait to get on stage and show my routine.

Just 1 week until WBFF London!

And before you know it, we’re a few weeks further. Meanwhile, just 1 week to go until the competition, and therefore more than time for an update. After the competition, I will definitely write a blog about how it went and how I experienced it all. The past weeks have mainly been about focusing and persevering. Not that the prep itself was necessarily tough, but unfortunately, some unforeseen circumstances made it not exactly easy. In addition, the weeks fly by, and it was especially important to set priorities. I have the competition very high on my list of priorities, and therefore, a lot of other things had to give way.

In the picture

I’ve been busy with my workouts, posing, but also with using social media to the best of my ability. Playing yourself up a bit for the competition is quite important. The WBFF is a huge organization, but they’re very present on social media. I find that so nice, they seem to really put their athletes on a pedestal and be proud of their athletes. Even the athletes who are in preparation are occasionally shared. So, I had a banner made by the organization. You can use this as promotional material, but it also immediately makes it clear to them (and fellow athletes) which competition you’re going to participate in. Nice to follow fellow competitors and nice to play yourself a bit more into the picture. For each competition, there are customized banners, and you send in your own photos. Ultimately, it’s actually about making sure you’re seen, purely to leave a bit of a first impression.

The final checks

With just a few weeks to go, it’s really important to start arranging the final things. My dress had to be taken in, final touches to the bikini, last-minute shopping, planning the route for London, laying out outfits, packing suitcases, and not to forget, making sure the hair, nails, etc. are done so that you look absolutely stunning for the competition later on. In between, the final workouts and posing, and of course.. also a lot of resting. The days are quickly too short, but also far too long because you really want it to finally happen. Around me, I receive a lot of good luck wishes, and you notice that it’s uncomfortably close. The final checks are being done, the dress rehearsal with the posing team has taken place, and the butterflies are really starting to come. As the schedule looks now, I have my tanning scheduled for Saturday. This has to settle for 8 hours, and then you can shower. So, I’ll be able to shower just before registration so that my tan is nice at the time of registration.

That first impression

Tonight is the dress to impress and the real first impression so it should already be perfect. After that evening, a good night’s sleep in the hotel and then the next morning at 10 o’clock all my makeup and hair; on location! This means that I am already early in the O2. The competition itself doesn’t start until around 6 o’clock and around half past 3 there is a kind of meeting on stage with some final instructions and explanations for the athletes. From that moment on, it’s waiting until the hall is full and the show can begin. The show lasts about 4 hours and after your 2 rounds you immediately hear the results. So, all in all, not waiting too long to find out more. Backstage, only relying on fellow athletes, as coaches are not allowed backstage. Also no mats and air mattresses, but benches and more just socializing with others. Super exciting!

Let’s go!

Of course, I’m aiming for that first place. However, I know that I have some strong ladies standing against me and I know it’s a judged sport. Again, very new guidelines, they may be looking for very different things than I know from the IFBB and that makes it very exciting. I can at least say that I have done everything to present myself as well as possible and I am incredibly curious about how the day will go. And then suddenly you realize that the competition was weeks ago. Even after a competition, time flies. So it’s high time for an update and especially time to share my WBFF experience!

Competition day

The weekend of May 26th was the day. Finally, my first WBFF competition in London. We flew over there on Friday and the official party would start on Saturday. On Friday, we took it easy at the hotel, to conserve energy and prepare for the 2 days to come. On Saturday, it was already time to go to the tanning early. At 11 o’clock, the first 2 layers were applied. A nice deep color that had to be absorbed into the skin enough to be able to shower after 8 hours of drying. Unfortunately, I couldn’t shower before we had the registration. This was on Saturday afternoon from around 5 o’clock. Dress to impress, semi-formal. That was the dress code for that evening. First, it was up to all athletes to register, arrange their stage photos, and pick up the number you would wear on stage. After this, there would be a welcome speech by the big boss himself; Paul Dillet. Registration went very smoothly. Well organized and clear. Everyone was very nicely dressed, some already tanned, others not. This moment was of course your first impression. From other athletes, but of course also from the jury. All in all, it passed by quite smoothly. Afterwards, some photos were taken and around half past 8 we were outside again. Time to eat and go to bed on time, because the next day was show day!

Show day

On Sunday morning, we left early for the show location. Coaches are not allowed backstage, nor are family or friends, so you really have to rely on each other or yourself. This was a bit exciting, but when we arrived, I quickly noticed that the atmosphere was very good and cozy. Everyone was very helpful. At half past 10, I had my hair and makeup done by a team affiliated with the WBFF. Here too, you notice the extremely friendly atmosphere. Compliments are flying around you all day long. It gives a huge boost and really makes you feel like a princess. At 12 o’clock, the last layer of tanning was applied. In the morning, I could just shower, so the tanning now gave a nice sun-kissed effect to the skin. Over this, a top coat was applied that gives a shiny effect. Really the finishing touch. Then it was time to put on the bikini, make sure the right food goes in, and relax and look around. So many beautiful bikinis passing by, everyone is truly unique. I found that very nice to see. How everyone had done their best.

Showtime!

Around half past 2, it was time for a short rehearsal on stage. The opening parade was explained and done once and we received information about the route you had to walk during your own routine. Nice to have that extra information just before the show. After this, we still had a short time to do the last things and then it was showtime! First the own routine, then the comparisons and then the posedown in bikini. After this, there was a short break and then I had my gala round. Immediately afterwards, the prize for best evening gown was awarded and then the prize-giving for the class. All in all, the show lasted about 4 hours. Not too long and the results came quickly, which was very pleasant. I went home with the prize for the most beautiful evening gown (yay!!) and also a 3rd prize in my category; ‘bikini tall’. I am incredibly happy and proud of both. Of course, I went with the goal of that pro-card, but unfortunately, that was not the case (now). I have enough points for myself to work on and that pro-card will come!

Diva

All in all, I really enjoyed the competition. I found the atmosphere incredibly nice, pleasant, and cozy. I felt like a diva all day long, everyone was incredibly beautiful and really belonged on that stage. The show was very well organized, you got a lot of time on stage, and actually, I can’t mention many negative points. However, it’s really a pricey affair, which means I can’t just go to a new competition easily. But I will definitely come back to pick up my pro-card!