My next interview is with a woman I feel is one of the most dynamic, influential, inspiring, motivating and humble (and I could go on and on) individuals in the industry. I really believe the positive message and contributions she is helping to spread are not only ground-breaking but also extremely important. I couldn't wait to sit down with her so she could share it with all of you!

R: First can you tell us about yourself?

K: My name is Kai Powell, and I am 33 yrs old. I was raised in Massachusetts and currently reside in Houston, Texas with my husband Jason Curtis Powell and our son, Daene! I was a Competitive cheerleader from high school through college. I won an NCA Collegiate Coed National Championship with FAU and was a competitive Coed Partner Stunt champion, as well as a cheer instructor. I've always loved performing and entertaining. I’ve been in many commercials, music videos, movies and television shows. I have worked as a judge and choreographer for many years and was also a top 25 finalist in WWE’s RAW Diva Search!

R: I understand that both you and your husband, Jason, are not only pro-level drug free physique competitors, but also have full-time careers, and recently became new parents to an adorable baby boy named Daene. In addition, you put a great amount of time and effort into furthering the natural physique and athletic movement through your "Real" organization, and more recently, the “Cronus: God's of the Stage” bodybuilding competition. Can you please talk about why you and Jason created "Real" and "Cronus", what makes them unique in our industry, as well as what you hope to accomplish through your tireless efforts?

K: What a great question! Jason and I first created "REAL" because of the gaps that we saw in how natural competitions were being run. Our industry is full of politics, organizations that do not drug test, and empty promises. We wanted to provide a fun and fair stage with a legitimately level playing field. We wanted to showcase our athletes and not treat them like cattle. Our competitors are not only incredible athletes, but solid role models, active in the community and intelligent, wonderful, caring people. We wanted to showcase their stories and personalities along with their marketability.

As for "Cronus", here is a little back story. My husband, Jason, has been a competitive natural pro bodybuilder for over a decade. He is one of the faces of Optimum Nutrition and is a well known figure in the industry. As a pro competitor he was sick of the politics and other negative things he witnessed, like prizes that were promised but never awarded. Bodybuilders put themselves through intense workouts, precise dieting, tireless posing practice, not to mention the great financial commitments there are to the sport. There are also over thirty natural organizations in the U.S alone. All have a “world champion,” so there is no way to really know who is the “best of the best”. He had a vision of not splitting the industry further, but bringing everyone together by inviting all of the “best” to compete on one stage for one night. Jason had to make a tough decision to step out of the competitive circuit in order to see this dream of his come true. With the Cronus, we provide the professional treatment that all pro athletes deserve: No tanning fees, no entry fees, free competitor meals, free custom merchandise, special dressing areas, free exhibitor space and a lot of special one-on-one attention so they had as little to worry about as possible. We provide an awesome stage for them to showcase their hard work! We had over 23,000 viewers on our live web cast!!

Our goal in all of this is to change the industry. The natural world is so fragmented. There are currently too many egos to make it all work. Since the industry is so saturated, there isn’t a singular place for everyone to go. Simply put…we want to propel the natural movement to its deserved level. It’s not about me or Jason. It’s not about “REAL". Everyone who knows us truly understands what we stand for and what our intentions are. We know this will be a tough road. We’ve caught a lot of slack and have a lot of haters. We’ve even been threatened. But we will not waiver and will forge ahead as we know what we are doing is right.

R: We all know that the Natural Organizations along with the competitors don't get as much "hype" and-or credit in the industry that they so rightfully deserve. How do you feel about this? In your opinion why do you think this is and what do you hope to see happen in the years to come?

K: That is SO true. It is incredibly frustrating for us. Naturals are the ones who do it right all the time. They respect the sport, themselves, their fellow athletes and more. It seems silly to me that it is those who are not natural that are in the limelight. These are our role models? That honestly makes me ill. It’s this sad reality that makes those in the general public look at some of the naturals who have phenomenal physiques and say, “They must be on steroids”. A lot of people don’t know that “natural” really exists. My hope is that all naturals start taking the reins and advancing the movement. Be proud of what you do and educate the community. If you don’t agree with non-tested events or organizations, don’t support them. It is your money that helps them keep going. The natural movement is more important than just us. We need to reach our youth before they get all of the wrong information and become romanced by taking the short-cut. It is our duty to do all we can to teach our youth what natural is. If you’re a high profile athlete, use that platform to get out there and educate.

R: As a new mommy who is busy with so many different projects, how do you find balance and time for yourself and still manage to keep it all together?

K: I wish there was an easy answer to this, but there’s not. Caring for a newborn while producing two events and handling daily operations for our companies is extremely difficult. There is a balance that every mom has to find and I am still trying to find it. Working off of a newborn’s sleep schedule is incredibly tricky. The best thing to do is what I’ve always done…create lists and knock off what I can. I get done what I can during my little breaks and try not to let it bother me if something doesn’t get finished (which is hard to do!) My work is important, but I’ve got one shot with my son. There are no do-overs and I refuse to get it wrong. Mommies need to realize that it’s ok to take time for themselves, even if it’s for short breaks. You’ll find that it makes you a better mom, wife and person.

R: You look amazing and I wouldn't have guessed you just had baby a short time ago. How did you manage to bounce back so fast? Any tips, motivation or advice you can give to our fitness minded mommies to be?

K: Granted, caring for a new baby is exhausting, but like with anything else, you’ve got to make the time to take care of yourself. If you’re not healthy and happy, you are no good to anyone, including your baby. I waited until my six week appointment for clearance to workout and once I got it, I hit the gym. I started with 30 min of cardio and kept my normal training split, but eliminated heavy rotations. I substituted them with moderate or volume rotations. I kept eating well and didn’t cut calories as I was also nursing and didn’t want to jeopardize my milk production. For the moms out there I recommend getting back in the gym to get your blood flowing as soon as you are able. It will do wonders for you. If you can have someone watch the baby for a little bit, hit the gym. If that’s not feasible, take the baby for a walk in their stroller. The fresh air and bonding time will be great! And if none of those things work go and get some basic weights, a step, bands, etc for your home. The goal in the beginning is just to get moving! Don’t be upset if you don’t lose it right away!!! Put it this way, I gained over 30 lbs during pregnancy and just two weeks after delivery I had lost over twenty of it without doing anything. Until my six week clearance, I was basically walking for cardio. Shortly after my son was 3 months, I was back to pre-pregnancy weight but there are a lot of physical changes that remained such as skin discoloration, stretching of the skin, etc. That was something that was very hard for me to deal with, but know that it is just temporary. If you continue to keep working out it will go away…I promise! Now stretch marks are a totally separate animal, but luckily I didn’t get any of those and I thank my lucky stars!

R: What inspires you the most and keeps you going every single day?

K: Currently, my son inspires me. As exhausted and “brain-fried” as I am, I just look at him and know what it is I was meant to do. For the previous four years, it has been my husband, Jason who has inspired me. His resume is unreal, yet he doesn’t share most of it as he feels he shouldn’t profit off of other peoples’ names. He is an amazing father despite a less than picture-perfect childhood. He is selfless in his sharing of knowledge and helps whoever he can. As much as he’s been burned in life, career and basically every other avenue, he still trusts first and asks questions later. He is humble to a fault, intelligent and just basically “good”. I am awestruck daily at everything about him. He silently inspires me to be better. To me, that’s part of what marriage is. Lifting each other up and inspiring one another to be better. I know that I can never equal his accomplishments, and that’s not the goal. I desire to be the mom my son needs. I dream that with our hard work, this vision of ours will come to fruition. I aim to be pound-for-pound one of the biggest forces to be reckoned with in our industry! We are trying to change the game and that takes work. I welcome the challenge and that is also what keeps me going!!

R: Kai! Thank you for so much for taking the time to chat with me. You are truly an inspiring and empowering woman and it has been an absolute pleasure to sit down and chat with you about the amazing projects you co-founded as well as your continued efforts and accomplishments in the industry.

We truly appreciate all the incredible things you and Jason are doing for natural athletes around the world and look forward to seeing these organizations, and the "Natural Movement", grow in success, numbers and recognition.

K: Thank you for having me!-

Related Links

• www.IamREAL.org
• www.theREALspot.org
• www.facebook.com/iamreal.org
• www.thecronus.com
• www.facebook.com/thecronus
• www.facebook.com/StefphMiranda