Andrea Shaw 3X Ms. Olympia Is Building Her Legacy! Interview by Ron Harris
Andrea Shaw
3X Ms. Olympia Is Building Her Legacy!
Interview by Ron Harris
‘I am blessed to be doing what I do and I’m grateful to everyone who has been part of my journey so far. Women’s Bodybuilding is alive and well and I plan to help it grow.’ -Andrea Shaw
Women’s Bodybuilding seemed to be fading off into the sunset not long ago. The Arnold Classic held its final Ms. International in 2016, and from 2014 to 2019 there was no Ms. Olympia contest. Since then, Olympia and Wings of Strength owner Jake Wood has brought the women’s sport back from near-death and breathed new life back into it. In this new era, a new champion has emerged in the form of Andrea Shaw, who has won not only the Ms. Olympia but also the Rising Phoenix contest for the last three consecutive seasons. I spoke with Andrea a couple of weeks after another convincing Olympia victory to find out more about the best female bodybuilder in the world right now.
I want to start with an interesting statistic. There have been 38 Ms. Olympia contests held, and 21 of them were won by women born and raised in Michigan: Lenda Murray with eight wins, Iris Kyle with 10, and you have three so far. Not bad for one state!
Yes, and we have another notable. Nicole Wilkins won four Figure Olympia titles. We have done very well.
Your mom was a personal trainer and a nurse, correct?
Yes, she’s still employed as a nurse. I had been living on a farm in Kansas with my dad, and when I got back to Detroit my mom had this whole new life. She picked me up and took me to the gym and said, this is what you’re gonna be doing after school. Her dad was getting a bit too old to watch me by then, so she decided I would just go to the gym with her. I was only 12 or 13 years old, but pretty soon I started working out, using mostly machines. The gym was my babysitter, and that’s kind of how it all started.
You actually wanted to be a fashion model, but apparently 5’6” isn’t tall enough?
No, you need to be at least 5’7” or 5’8”. The taller the better when you’re talking about the runway.
I have to ask, did your mom have a muscular build?
Yeah, and she had aspirations to compete, but she pursued her education instead to make sure I had everything I needed. Now she gets to live vicariously through me.
Did she also have a friend who helped you out in the gym and got you on track?
My mom had a trainer who was a female bodybuilder. You know how it is when you’re young. You go to the gym, you stop going, you want to party and stay up all night then still go to the gym. I finally got to the point where I wanted to be consistent, and that’s when my mom set me up with her trainer. We had some differences of opinion. She told my mom she didn’t think I had the heart to stick with it. All it takes is one person to doubt me to make me want to prove them wrong. I still keep in touch with her from time to time. I’m grateful, because she lit a fire under me.
What made you want to start competing?
I had started reading the late Robert Kennedy’sOxygen magazine and loved the look of the women they featured. I sent him an email asking how one could get into the magazine, and to my surprise he emailed me back. He said his photographers went to a lot of shows and were always looking for new talent. Right then I said OK, then I’m doing a show.
But first you took care of your education. You got your degree in Exercise and Sports Science at Wayne State University, and like a lot of kids, you put some weight on.
Oh yes. The “freshman 15” turned into 20 or 25. I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror and decided I had enough knowledge at that point to take my fitness more seriously and be consistent. I solidified my habits and started meal prepping and making sure I got enough sleep every night. No more parties, no more drinking.
Women’s Physique hadn’t been created yet when you started competing, so you started off in Figure. How did you do?
I was always placing in the top five locally even though I only dieted for four weeks at my first contest. That told me I was working with something. At my second show I came in fourth, but I hired a dietitian for that show, and he literally starved me. Breakfast was 2 ounces of tuna, 6 egg whites, and half an orange. That was dinner too, with 1 cup of lettuce instead of the orange. I was doing cardio three times a day and still got onstage at 140 pounds with big quads. I saw I was never meant to be a small girl, and that I was too big for Figure. I quit competing for eight years and just kept training and learning the craft. By the time Women’s Physique came around, I had developed enough muscle that I knew I could get onstage again and win. I started with a local show in 2016 and came in fourth. Now my upper body was dominant and my legs were lagging. I worked on that and by 2018 I decided I was going to go for my pro card. I had a full-time job and could afford it, and my life was stable. IFBB Pro John Simmons, who I had worked with on and off before, got me ready for five shows that year and I got my pro card at the last one, the NPC Nationals.
You only did one pro show in Physique, taking 11th place at the 2019 Toronto Pro. But it was there that Lenda Murray, Margie Marvelous, Alina Popa and Irene Andersen all told you to move to Women’s Bodybuilding – which you did within weeks and took second at the Chicago Pro.
Bob Cicherillo even whispered that to me onstage in Toronto. I told him, “Bob, I was in the second callout, I get the message.” Again, I was doing tons of cardio and going heavy on the fat burners trying to fit the look of Physique when my body wanted to grow. I had just doubted I would be competitive in Women’s Bodybuilding. I didn’t really want to go into that division, but now I saw that was the best fit for me. I made the move just three weeks later in Chicago.
Did you not think you were big enough for bodybuilding?
It was uncertainty and lack of confidence on my part. Women’s Bodybuilding had been taken out of both the Arnold and the Olympia at that time. Did the sport have a future? My goal was to get to the Olympia, and Physique gave me the avenue to do that. I didn’t know that Wings of Strength was in negotiations to bring the Ms. Olympia back for 2020.
That’s right, from 2014 to 2019 there were no Ms. Olympia contests held. You did one more show in 2019, taking seventh at the Wings of Strength Rising Phoenix, and you’ve been undefeated ever since with three wins there and three Ms. Olympia titles.
There was that transition time I needed to figure things out, because I had been dieting down so hard for Physique. There were gaps in my physique to work on, and even my posing wasn’t as bold. I hired Cydney Gillon as my posing coach to make sure I could “pose big” but still keep a feminine flair to it. Once I brought my legs up a little, sharpened up my condition and improved my posing, it all came together.
I’m curious about the Rising Phoenix show you’ve won three times now. Is it the same prize money as the Ms. Olympia?
It’s the same, $50,000, but the cool part is you also get a very nice vehicle. The first year I won a Camaro ZL1, a beautiful car. The second year I won a Corvette Stingray C8. That’s my pride and joy. For the third win I got a Chevy Silverado High Country. I sold the Camaro. I didn’t want to, but I only have a two-car garage. The truck is perfect for when it snows. Who needs to shovel snow when you can just drive over it?
You are also a top athlete for Mutant. How long have you been with Mutant, and how did that come about?
I’ve been with them just over a year now. It started with a call from Shawn Ray, who told me that with the resurgence of Women’s Bodybuilding it was time to talk about bringing me on. Once I got a chance to talk to Ian and Jim, it immediately felt more like a family than a company. I signed, and we do so many different types of promotional trips including three so far to the “Mutant Mansion” in Las Vegas. We also have Shaun Clarida now. Jim is a humble, solid guy who really believes in the products and supports what we do as athletes.
You are also an ambassador for Wings of Strength, and I feel that Women’s Bodybuilding is a hard sell to the ladies because they have five other divisions to choose from, and Bodybuilding requires the most time and effort to succeed in. How do you convince women to try it when they might be intimidated?
I ask them to go back to their “why.” Why did you start competing in the first place? There was something you believed you could do. Whether it’s going to take a long time or not, you shouldn’t let that go. Stick to the plan. If you don’t have a coach, get one. Otherwise, it’s too easy to under or overdo things with training and nutrition. You also need to be in this for the long game. I took eight years off to improve and came back, and for most of that time I was going to the gym seven days a week. My training partners and coach were U.S. Marines, so I had that sense of discipline and sacrifice. I tell the girls nothing is impossible, but you’ve got to be willing to give it all you’ve got. You never know how far you can go, but if you walk away, you will really never know because you gave up.
Let’s talk a little bit about your training. Are you particularly strong?
I would say so. For example, I can bench press 250, but I back off from the heavier weights once I’m in prep. I will sometimes go as light as 95 pounds and do sets of 20 reps. I move fast from exercise to exercise, and my training is much more efficient now. I would be in there for an hour and a half in the past, now I can get the job done in 45 minutes. I also love drop sets as a means to use more moderate weights to fully stimulate the muscle. In the off-season when my calories are up, I can get into some heavier weight and focus on building up in areas that need it. For this 2023 off-season I’m going to build my glutes more, refine my quads, and bring out my hamstrings. I feel pretty confident with my upper body.
As you should be. I’m guessing at your biggest and heaviest, your arms are 17½ inches?
Close, 18. I still don’t know how that happened because I don’t train arms. That’s all just from my chest, back and shoulder training. It’s a lot of old-school free weight movements.
Wow, imagine if you trained your arms twice a week?
They would probably get so big that they would make my legs look small.
I ask all multiple Olympia winners this: was it harder to win the first time, or harder to defend the title?
I found it harder to defend. Chris Bumstead and I had a conversation about that a couple of years ago and he felt the same way. You never know who is coming for your title. I ask myself at the beginning of each year, is this something I really want? Why do you still want it, and what more can you do to make sure you keep your title?
You’ve won three titles with perfect scores, but is there anyone else that you feel could beat you if you slip up?
If I slip up, anyone can beat me. As the champ, you always need to make sure you never get too relaxed, too chilled or too cocky. As soon as you start going down that road, you’re bound to miss something because your attention isn’t where it needs to be. You always need to remember what you want, and why you want it. And if it’s not that important to you anymore, maybe it’s time to retire. People ask me how many Olympia titles I want – 11 for the all-time record. That’s only if I still want it, and I feel good physically, mentally and emotionally.
You’re six years too young at 39 to enter the Masters Ms. Olympia this August in Romania, but would you have done it?
Oh hands down, absolutely. Why not? People ask me if I would ever skip the Rising Phoenix just to focus on the Olympia, and the answer is no way. If Arnold brought back the Ms. International, I would do that too. I call the Rising Phoenix my warm-up show for the Olympia, but it’s a big deal on its own. It lets me see where I need to make any adjustments. It’s a huge cash prize plus a sweet car. Jake Wood and the Wings of Strength team put on an incredible show out there.
It's been an amazing journey so far. In just four seasons as a pro, you’ve won the two biggest titles in Women’s Bodybuilding three years in a row and right now I don’t see anyone beating you any time soon. Normally if somebody told me they wanted to win 11 Olympia titles I would roll my eyes and consider them delusional, but in your case I don’t doubt for a minute you can do it, God willing.
Thank you so much! I am blessed to be doing what I do and I’m grateful to everyone who has been part of my journey so far. Women’s Bodybuilding is alive and well and I plan to help it grow.
Website: www.msolympiaandreashaw.com
Contest History
2018 NPC Nationals - Physique C Class, Second Place
2019 Toronto Pro - 11th Place, Physique
2019 Chicago Pro - Second, Bodybuilding
2019 Rising Phoenix - Seventh, Bodybuilding
2020 Omaha Pro - Bodybuilding Winner
2020 Rising Phoenix - Bodybuilding Winner
2020 Ms. Olympia - Winner
2021 Rising Phoenix - Bodybuilding Winner
2021 Ms. Olympia - Winner
2022 Rising Phoenix - Bodybuilding Winner
2022 Ms. Olympia - Winner
Andrea’s MUTANT® Stack
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Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram
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