In 2005, MTV networks contacted Cathy Savage to star in a feature of
“MTV True Life: I want the Perfect Body”. Aspiring Fitness competitor
Rebecca Swimmer would be the focus of a documentary on her journey to
achieving the body of a fitness athlete.
MTV wanted to profile a woman who wanted the perfect body and is willing
to go beyond the normal standards of exercise, without resorting to
surgery or drugs. “True Life” producer Patrick Lope told the Boston
Globe that when he began looking for his fitness guru, all roads seemed
to lead to Cathy. “We talked to 100 competitors. Everybody spoke so
highly of Cathy, he told the Globe. “She has a way about her around
the girls-you can tell how much they respect her”. Cathy and her team
of Savage Girls were instrumental in preparing Rebecca for her first
fitness event.
Savage and her team of athletes have experienced significant success
in the sport of fitness and figure. Savage, a former competitor, herself,
began coaching girls over ten years ago and currently operates Cathy
Savage Fitness which prepares women on all aspects of fitness and figure
training.
For months, Rebecca endured intensive training, stage presentation
drills, as well as a nutrition plan. Without any dance or gymnastics
experience, Rebecca was able to perform a choreographed routine, by
Savage, that best fit her style. After a few months, Rebecca mastered
her strength moves and with a beautiful costume and suit from designer
Christine Marsh, she took the stage in her home town in Chicago with
flair and grace. MTV captured the event and the show aired in July 2005.
The show is on a rotating schedule and is continuously being viewed
all over the world.
“The best part of the MTV experience was that Rebecca showed young
women that you do not need to be a gymnast or dancer to participate
in this sport”, says Cathy. “MTV also allowed the world to see this
sport as it truly isn't a mainstream event yet”. Since the MTV show,
Cathy has been featured on television new stories, magazines and documentary
projects on health and fitness. She is currently traveling throughout
the country and Canada for appearances and giving lectures on the sport
she clearly loves. In addition, she holds CAMP SAVAGE several times
a year for women just like Rebecca, who aspire to compete!
CLICK HERE
to see photos from the show!
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Trainer in competitive fitness events to highlight
circuit on MTV show
The Boston Globe
In the world of fitness competitions, nothing can be left to chance
-- not even walking.
Walking is an art form, Cathy Savage told a collection of buff women
lined up at Core Fitness in Walpole, where she recently held a camp
for fitness fanatics preparing for regional and national events.
''You don't just walk like a truck driver. It's a balance beam walk
. . . You are a diva. Be confident," she said.
With that encouragement, 80 women wearing the 6-inch-high clear plastic-and-glass
shoes required in competition strutted toward Savage. They stopped,
posed, turned, and walked back to their places.
The scene was captured on video by an MTV crew that is following Savage
and one of her newest clients, a Harvard neuroscience doctoral student,
Rebecca Swimmer, who is preparing for her first major fitness competition.
Savage and Swimmer will be the focus of a documentary-style show called
''True Life: I Want the Perfect Body II," slated to air in June
on the cable TV channel.
Savage, who has a national reputation for consistently grooming winners
on the fitness circuit, is hoping MTV will give a broader audience a
glimpse into the world of fitness competitions, which are like beauty
pageants with muscles. If you look good in a bikini and can do a one-arm,
one-leg push-up, go into a handstand, and drop into a split, you've
got potential.
''It's going to show an untapped market of mainstream people what
we do," said Savage. ''You try to tell people what you do and they
look at you like you have five heads. They don't understand the sport."
Savage, who operates Savage Choreography at Core Fitness, teaches
her clients the ins and outs of competitive fitness events, which test
strength, flexibility, and athletic dance ability.
She helps them build their bodies, teaches them to eat properly, and
offers advice on everything from the best music for routines to the
best places to order custom-made swimsuits -- costing from $100 to $450
-- designed to show off chiseled physiques.
Last weekend, women of all ages and backgrounds traveled from all
over -- New Hampshire, Iowa, Canada, Georgia, California -- to take
part in Camp Savage. Katrina Stachowiak, who also competes in marathons
and triathlons, came from Michigan. Melissa Randall, an investment firm
portfolio assistant who once weighed 200 pounds, came from New York
to find out how to take her exercise regimen to the next level -- now
that she is 124 pounds.
Some of the participants already are celebrities in the fitness world.
Toneka Pires of Avon recently won the Fitness New York competition and
the Ms. Bikini New York title, and has five other titles under her belt.
Pires, who has a muscular ballerina's body, trains with Savage several
times a week. The 5-foot-5-inch Nextel corporate data executive once
weighed 135 pounds, but after years of training with Savage, she's at
115. Pires, who also helps Savage prepare other contestants, and Swimmer
are among several of her clients in training for the Fitness America
South Beach Pageant in April.
When Swimmer, 24, came to Savage Choreography, the 5-foot 8-inch,
142-pound former soccer player was looking for a new physical challenge.
She had no idea it would lead to MTV.
MTV wanted to profile someone who wants the perfect body and is willing
to go beyond the norm to get it, but without resorting to surgery or
drugs. Savage recommended Swimmer. Taping began in December and will
wrap up in April with the competition at Miami's South Beach.
''True Life" producer Patrick Lope said that when he began looking
for his fitness guru, all roads seemed to lead to Savage. ''We talked
to 100 competitors. Everybody spoke so highly of Cathy," he said.
''She has a way about her around the girls. You can tell how much they
respect her."
Savage, whose married name is Savage-Eysie, lives in Norwood and has
two children, ages 1 and 2½. She was a dancer, cheerleader, and
gymnast during high school and college, and received a degree in marketing
and communications from Boston College. But her love of competition
drew her back to athletics. She began participating in fitness competitions
in 1989, when the sport was emerging as a popular outlet for female
body-builders who preferred a more feminine look.
Even competing without a coach, Savage placed in the top 10 of all
10 shows she entered. Her choreographed routines were so popular that
other competitors began asking for her help. She stopped competing and
began coaching in 1993 while teaching aerobics part-time.
In 1998, she began training competitors full-time. She started with
about 10 clients. Now she has more than 100 nationwide, including Alicia
Denson, a Ms. Bikini Universe champion who is on the cover of the March
2005 issue of Oxygen magazine.
Despite the long list of winners she has helped, Savage, 41, makes
a point of telling women that the sport is a hobby and that it is not
just about winning trophies, trips, and money. Making friends along
the way is just as important. ''The journey is just as good as the destination,"
she said.
Not all of her clients have athletic backgrounds, she said. ''A lot
of girls who work out want a goal. This takes them beyond the mainstream,"
said Savage. ''This is for girls who want to show off their hard work."
Savage gives them all equal encouragement.
''One thing Cathy gives all these girls is a sense of empowerment,"
said Swimmer. ''You walk a little taller in all aspects of your life."
