TATIANA CHATTOO 
For as long as I can remember I’ve been a competitor. From board games to sports, it has always given me a crazy rush to know that I was in competition with another person as well as competing against myself. The first organized means of competition for me was gymnastics. I competed for about 3 years and soon thereafter transitioned into team sports. I played recreational basketball and softball but it was softball that became engraved on my heart. I briefly played travel softball followed by playing for my high school.
Tragic yet magic, the end of my senior year I had a freak accident. Just before a game I squatted down to get a loose ball by one of my teammate’s feet and she accidentally swung and the end of her swing caught the outside of my eye. It was gruesome. Immediately my vision was gone and I couldn’t see anything through my left eye. I truly thought my eye was gone. All my teammates could hear me say was “oh my god, my eye, eye.” I had said it so calmly, they thought I was joking. Once they looked I don’t doubt it was nearly as scary for them as it was for me. The outcome was no fracture but a ton of stitches.
I came back a few weeks later to play in and hit a game winning, base clearing, stand up double to right-center field. We won our first Division title in 27years. After my senior year ended I decided to take some time off from sports and injuries and not compete on the collegiate level.
It was a weird purgatory for me after college. I had this want and desire for that competitive thrill but had no outlet. After several years the whole idea of bodybuilding and transforming the body really began to peak my interest. I loved the gym and knew that would be the easy part but I just wasn’t sure if I was capable of doing the dieting for such a long period of time.
I bit the bullet and decided that once the calendar year began that I was turning 30, I would either do it or stop talking about it. I did it. I began preparing for it by way of diet and training with an absolutely incredible coach leading me through the entire process. That October I competed in my first bodybuilding show. It was incredible. I finally had that feeling I had been seeking for so many years.
Everyday I pushed myself a little harder. I felt my progress day over day and week over week. I could see my progress as my body continued to morph. It made me genuinely happy. Competing gives me purpose in the gym, diet, and all other realms of health & discipline.
You train daily to compete against competitors you know nothing about until you see them the day of your competition. This always brings the focus back to me. There’s no one to focus on but yourself. You can only work your hardest to bring the best package of you."
