By Ocean Francoeur
Allison Ethier has been bodybuilding for close to 20 years. After winning first place in the Fitness category of the Vancouver International Federation of Body Builders Pro competition, she has qualified, for a second time, to compete in the 2018 Olympia.
“It is THE competition, with a capital T-H-E,” laughed Ethier.
Ethier, originally from Halifax and a ‘true maritimer’, as she puts it, has been settled in the Townships with her family for the past 18 years. She began bodybuilding when she was still a cheerleader at the University of Western Ontario.
“Bodybuilding is really an umbrella term. When we hear it, we think of everything related to physique. Really there are tons of divisions. I’m a fitness competitor, which also combines dance,” she explained. “The bodybuilding community used to be very small. It still is pretty small, but it’s grown from underground to something more mainstream. Now there are divisions for teens to people in their 70s.”
