6) My mom was approached by my grade-school gym teacher about having me train for the Olympics in track.

7) My mom beat me in a running race when I was in high school. 

8) We put ex-lax into cookies once, and somehow it got to our relatives visiting from Germany.

9) I would sit in the closet at parties when I was a kid and cuddle with the fur on all the jackets. 

10) We rode down our street naked with clown wigs and rubber rain boots when we were in grade school. Don’t tell my mom.

BH: If you could relive your life, what career would you choose?

CE: I would have been a reconstructive surgeon to help disfigured children.

BH: How did Jeff Everson help ignite your bodybuilding career?

CE: Jeff was the first person to really make me focus on my talents. As a result, my self-awareness and confidence increased. Before Jeff came into my life, I was shy and insecure and lacked self-confidence. 

BH: He must  have helped you when you were in the hospital for the first time with your blood clot illness.

CE: When I was in the hospital, he camped out at my side for weeks. He kept telling me to focus on my internal strengths and mentally guide myself to heal. I believed in me mostly because he believed in me. As I recovered, I don’t think anyone was ever as proud of me as Jeff.

BH: What do you consider to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience?

CE: Definitely, it would be landing on the nuclear aircraft carrier with my sister Camy. The catapult take-off was amazing and scary.

BH: What do you regret not doing?

CE: I was invited three times to fly with the F-18 top gun pilots and Thunderbirds. I declined every time—fear of getting sick.

BH: Do you have any obsessions?

CE: I’m obsessed with promoting older-child international adoption. Too many people fear adopting these kids. They are truly a gift, and we end up being the lucky ones to have them in our lives.

BH: Do you have any other obsessions?

CE: My neighbor Erin and I are always saving stray dogs. I can’t stand to see a dog without a home. 

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