THIS season has seen many spectacular achievements already but perhaps none can match the debut campaign enjoyed by bikini athlete Christie Hands.
Having trained for nothing more than a photoshoot previously, Hands and her new husband, Danny, decided that 2024 was the year she was finally going to compete.
The pair had earmarked the 2Bros Hardbody Classic as her debut competition. But 10 days out, Hands decided she would try her luck at the PCA Universe. She is glad she did.
Hands, 28, not only won her class at the PCA Universe qualifier, she also won the overall. But it got better than that.
The next day, Hands, who is sponsored by Per4m Nutrition, again won her class at the PCA Universe – and again won the overall, winning with it her PCA pro card. Twenty-four hours earlier, remember, Hands was simply a first timer. She finished third in the pro line-up later that evening.
She then went on to win her classes at the Hardbody Classic and the Haider Mehdi Warrior's Cup last Saturday.
In an exclusive chat with frontdouble.com, Hands said: "I was completely overwhelmed. I was shocked. I could not believe it. Every single emotion in the world was absolutely obscene and you can see that from the reel I posted on instagram. I just dropped to the floor and just could not understand how anyone could ever think that I was better than any of those other athletes I was stood next to. They were all of an absolute insane calibre. I just could not get over it at all, still can't, still haven't processed it.
"I look at the profile we have got on the wall and I still cannot get my head around it. We have the swords, we have the medals, the trophies, the [PCA] pro card. I went on and made my pro debut and got third place and still cannot believe that myself. Madness."
A month on and Hands still cannot believe what she has been able to achieve.
She said: "To be honest, I haven't really processed anything. I haven't really had any time because I've almost had back-to-back shows. I did the PCA Universe qualifier and then I did the Universe. And the week after that was the 2Bros Hardbody Classic, so I did back-to-back peak weeks, which was very, very hectic. So I didn't have time to process anything.
"The look between PCA and 2Bros is a little bit different. So we had to attempt to soften out a little bit between those two shows. The Hardbody Classic, which was initially the first show I was going to do – originally I wasn't even going to do the PCA Universe, I only decided to do that 10 days out – my prep brain kicked in. I was a bit all over the place and I hadn't really processed anything. So I wasn't really all-in on that show if I'm honest with you.
"Also, softening out is something that is really difficult to get your head around, especially as a female. Putting a sparkly bikini on and strutting your stuff on stage is difficult as it is without having to gain a little bit of weight.
"So I wouldn't say I was more confident, but I went ahead and won both of my classes and just missed out on the overall. And that was because of my walk to the back. That was because I had put all of my effort and energy into my posing for my PCA because we had decided 10 days out that I was going to do that one. So I put all of my effort into practising posing for that and I did neglect my 2Bros posing.
"So the feedback from that show [2Bros] was to improve the walk to the back and to come in a little bit sharper, which is what we did for the Haider Mehdi last week. I haven't got my feedback for that yet, but I think I was a little bit too sharp when looking at the line-up. So you never know, bikini is very, very difficult to find that balance. And it always depends on who shows up on the day.
"But for both the Haider Mehdi and the Hardbody I did the Novice category and I also did the Open category and I won both of them. In the overall at the Hardbody, I think I came second or third. And same again for the Haider Mehdi. But they don't confirm that, it is just where you are stood in the line-up."
Hands was – and is – pretty relaxed, despite her new-found success. She appears to be very level-headed and comes across very well indeed.
She added: "Going into these shows, I was very, very relaxed. I had absolutely no expectations whatsoever. As a first timer, I just wanted to get up on stage and I wanted to fit in. I wanted to look like a bikini girl, that's all I ever wanted. I've been training for many, many years and it [competing] was kind of just like a bucket list thing for me really.
"I've done plenty of photoshoots during that time and have leaned out, but not to this level. And I just thought why not go for it. The stars have kind of aligned this year and that's kind of the point that we'd decided that this year was going to be the year. We had saved plenty of money and we'd moved ourselves down to Brighton to base ourselves closer to Braywick and Gatwick so we could fly to other competitions."
Now, however, there is just one more competition on the horizon for this season. That is, unless the temptation she discusses finally gets the better of her.
She said: "I am going to do the Portugal pro qualifier in two and a bit weeks. That will be where I am tapping out for this season. I have been dieting for a very, very long time, from October through to my wedding, which was in February. So I had a little bit of a diet break, then and had a little diet break over Christmas as well. And it wasn't too much of a heavy prep. It was a little bit more flexible, more of a lifestyle diet really in the initial stages.
"Then when we came back from the wedding, that's when we started the official prep for the competitions. It's going to be July when I finish [dieting], so I am going to have to tap out. I am very, very tempted by the PCA Worlds [in November]. But I want to see how I fare on the big stages in Portugal. But I will be tapping out because I think my husband might leave me afterwards! It's a lot of stress on the body, mind, the relationship. And it's time to get our life back as newlyweds."
Name: Christie Hands
Height: 169cm
Occupation: Online coach
At what age did you start bodybuilding and why?: 28 – this is my first season. I have trained for many years and did a few diet phases for photoshoots but never took it all the way to stage condition. I got married to my husband Danny Hands, who is an MP athlete and we decided that this year was going to be the year we put everything into bodybuilding. We live in the Isle of Man so we relocated to the UK for eight weeks to be in better gym environment. Closer to our coach, close to the shows so that we can attend more shows and also take part in more shows.
Competition titles: PCA Universe Qualifier – Bikini Tall – Winner PCA Universe Qualifier – Overall Bikini – Winner PCA Universe – Bikini Tall – Winner PCA Universe – Overall Bikini – Winner PCA Universe – Pro Card Win PCA Universe – Pro Debut – Second Place 2Bros/NPC – Hardbody Classic – Novice Class - Winner 2BrosPro/NPC – Hardbody Classic - Bikini Tall Class – Winner 2BrosPro/NPC – Hardbody Classic - Bikini Overall – Second Place. Haider Mehdi Warrior's Cup – Bikini Tall Class – Winner – Novice – Winner.
Hobbies: An obvious one! Training! I also enjoy a good bottle of whispering angel or Aperol spritz in the sunshine, or walks with coffee.
Current training routine: 10-day training split as provided by my coach.
What is your off-season diet like? I have never done a structured off season before.
What is your prep diet like? It differs for everyone so probably best not to go into too much details. But my food sources remain consistent throughout – carbs are all rice based, fats from either dark chocolate or beef mince and protein sources are from my sponsor Per4m. Or from either turkey mince or beef mince.
Favourite music: Quite varied, I couldn’t give you just a genre or type – I do love Lana Del Ray though.
Best films: Anything Disney!
Favourite foods: Probably cream of rice lol.
So proud of you ❤️
Such a driven lady Im so proud of you & Danny you saw your future & took it ❤️
❤️❤️❤️
Congratulations Christie 🥰 you are simply the best. I am proud of you❤️
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