Brittany Diamond: StrongWoman AthleteRankings: 2nd in the US middleweight Woman

Upcoming contest: Strongman Arnold World Championships March 4-6, 2016 Social Media:

Instagram/twitter @B_DimezFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/britdiamondfitness

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8d_9ZLPY4qGc4A-QD6LBPA

In this packet: Bio, Sponsorship information, Media Coverage (TV/RADIO/PRINT), written articles

Arnold Sschwarzenegger taking a selfie with me at the Arnold Classic March 4, 2016

Bio:

I have been a competitive athlete my entire life. Being an athlete and living in the mindset of one is something that impacts every decision I make. I have earned the title of “one of the strongest” women in the world and I have a goal: to be the strongest women in the world. In the midst of working to achieve that, I have spread my knowledge and love for the strength world to others. The strength world is not just a passion of mine; it has given me a reason to live.

Being an athlete is something I was born into. I started running when I was very young as a way to offset my ADHD, instead of taking medication, running became my outlet. I ran track and field throughout middle and high school and stood out in the middle distance races because they required both strength and endurance.

Due to a hamstring injury, I wasn’t able to get a track scholarship to college but knew I wanted to belong to a Division I team. I heard that collegiate rowing had walk on tryouts for their novice teams. I ended up going to URI on a rowing scholarship that was merit based. It was at URI, where I found my athletic calling: lifting weights. Something about getting under the bar, seeing others lift, feeling the team chemistry, and learning about different lifts fascinated me. I liked rowing and it taught me how to push my body to its absolute limits, but something about lifting—it fired me up, I loved it and I couldn’t get enough.

I signed up for my first strongman contest the summer of my junior year: 2013 Massachusetts State Championships at Total Performance Sports. I would be in the women’s novice division. I had never tried any of the implements prior to that show, and ended up taking first. During that contest, I knew, this was the sport for me. I fell in love with the crowd, the people, the way competitors helped each other out, everything. I knew as soon as I graduated college and rowing was over, I would 100% commit to this beautiful sport.

Fast forward to the summer I graduate URI: May 2014, where my journey into strongwoman just begins. The week after I graduated, I started my first corporate job and knew I had to start a program right away to keep me focused. I chose the same MA show as the year before to compete in, only this year I would be in women’s middleweight. I trained for 12 weeks and was amazed with the progress. In the process I also joined nonprofit organization, NEWS (New England Women of Strength) which I now help run. I end up taking first at the MA state championship shows which qualified me for NAS Nationals. I didn’t think I was “ready” to go to a national contest, I had just started this sport, but the gym owner, CJ Murphy came over to me and told me, “B—you go, it’s a learning experience but I think you may surprise yourself” and those words I will never forget. I ended up placing second at nationals, qualifying me for the 2015 Arnold World Championships.

When I qualified for Worlds, I made a pact with myself that I will give everything I can to this sport. At that time in my life, I was undergoing a lot of personal change. Change is never easy, I felt lost, and somewhat hopeless. Training for the Arnold forced me to wake up every day with purpose. I wanted to go to work, to train, to compete. It helped me minimize the negative circumstances in my life because I was focusing on something so much bigger. I had many people tell me I inspired them, and that propelled me forward.

Going to the Arnold, introduced me to the strength world on a whole new level. The community the strength world brings is like no other. My best friends and people I look up to most are those I’ve met in the strength world; training partners, coaches, gym owners, etc. I aspire to be the best and in my journey I am proud to know I have helped other men and women get the courage to enter the strength world. I realize not everyone is going to have the same winning mentality that I do, but i believe everyone can unlock their purpose in life and get more confidence through strength. It’s amazing what the power of the internet can do in the 21st century. I get countless e-mails, and messages a day from people that have found me on Instagram, saw me on the news, or read about me in another publication. I love what I do and want to be the best, but it means even more knowing that I am a positive role model and have giving people confidence and determination to reach a goal. I am excited to see where else my journey leads me in life.

Sponsorships

Starting Strongman (Jan 2015-Present)

Free apparel/ entry fees paid from time to time Increased apparel sales 10% in three months through company promotion on social media

with personal discount codes Published articles:

Big N.E.W.S in Strong(Wo)Man: Empowering women through strength Strong(Wo)Man Strong Life 2014 Arnold World Championship Writeup 2015 Nationals Write up

Total Performance Sports (June 2015-Present) Free gym membership in exchange for social media engagement and attracting new

strength athletes/members

Cerberus Strength (February 2016-Present) Free training accessories (wrist straps, knee sleeves, etc) in exchange for sales tracked via

promo codes

Affiliates

New England Women of Strength (N.E.W.S) April 2015 - PresentOutreach Coordinator

Lead, promote, and instruct Intro to Strongman Workshops and training seminars to teach

women the sport hands-on

Conduct interviews, shoot footage, and edit with Microsoft Movie Maker to produce videos Increased Facebook following from 289 to 1,000 in two months

Print Coverage Gloucester Daily Times, “StrongWoman: Gloucester’s Diamond competing at Arnold

Classic,” March 4 2016 Boston Globe (North), “Medford Woman Joins World Class Strongwoman,” March 22,

2015 WBUR Only A Game, “Dressed in all Pink, This Strongwoman Takes on the World,”

March 21, 2015 Gloucester Times, “Crunch Time,” March 11, 2015 Gloucester Times, “Gloucester Strong: Brittany Diamond Competing in Amateur Woman

Strongwoman Championships,” March 4, 2015 The Medford Transcript, “Shouldering the Weight,” February 19, 2015 Boston Magazine, “Medford Woman To Compete in the Strongman World

Championships,” February 18, 2015 WBZ, March 27, 2015 Boston Magazine, “Strong Suit,” August 1, 2015

Television Coverage WCVB, “Medford Woman Raising the Bar in Strongwoman Competitions,” March 4,

2015 WBZ-TV Robi On The Road “Female Strongman Competitors Proving This Sport is For

Everyone” March 27, 2015 America’s Got Talent (will be aired July 2015)

Other https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl7KKjlTb4k (Training Day I hosted through NEWS

where I am outreach coordinator)

Strongwoman: Gloucester's Diamond competing at Arnold Classic

By Nick Curcuru Sports Editor

Over the last year, Brittany Diamond has turned herself into a completely different athlete.

The Gloucester native and nationally renowned strongwoman competitor was just starting out in the sport last year and trying to find her niche. 

"Last year it was such a new thing for me and I was fortunate to make it where I did so quickly," Diamond said. "Now it's completely different. I'm trying to build myself and my business, it's kind of like a second job."

Fast forward to the present day and Diamond is still a nationally recognized competitor. But her skill set is completely revamped.

Related

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Gloucester Strong: Brittany Diamond competing in Amateur World Strongwoman Championships

It all started by chance.

The former University of Rhode Island rower started out as a lighter, quicker competitor specializing in the endurance drills. With another year of training under her belt, Diamond has added more power and muscle that is now strongest in the events that require brute strength.

She is putting those skills to the test this weekend at the Arnold Strongman Classic in Columbus, Ohio. Diamond earned a spot in the competition with a second place finish at a recent national competition.

Diamond will be competing on Friday and, if she qualifies, on Sunday against 24 other competitors from around the globe. The top four finishers in Friday's opening round of competition advance to Sunday's final. Last year Diamond just missed a spot in the second day.

At the Arnold competition, Diamond will be looking to earn a trip back to the competition for the foreseeable future as former champions do not have to qualify for future events.

To do that, she will have to overcome three-time champion Alana Casey. 

"She has a reputation for being untouchable so I'm really excited to compete against her," Diamond said. "There's another competitor who edged me out at a national competition. She has a very similar skill set to me. That's my biggest competition and the two competitors that I have my eye on. My goal is to win so I will have to beat the best to do it."

This is her second time competing in the competition and this year, she is looking forward to competing in a completely different set of events.

"The event I'm looking forward too this year is actually the one I was dreading last year," Diamond said. "It's a 355 pound deadlift on an axel bar. My body has changed so much over the last year. I'm 20 pounds heavier and a lot stronger."

Diamond was able to evolve as a strong woman competitor thanks to a more focused training regimen. 

The GHS graduate has her preparation down to a science with the goal of achieving optimal performance in the heat of competition.

"I have much more respect for my body now," Diamond said. "I'm not just trying to hit personal records and have a great day every day. I'm training smarter and it's really helped. But I still have the same mentality, I'm just a completely different athlete now."

Battling misconceptions

As Diamond has climbed the ranks in the sport she has become a recognized name and social media presence.

That publicity has introduced her to the good and bad of the social media realm.

"If you want to build a brand you have to be on social media," Diamond said. "It's great to get your name out there but there's also an ugly side to it."

The world ranked competitor has had to battle several misconceptions from internet commenters. 

The most frequent is accusations of steroid use.

"The accusations are pretty disgusting but it's just part of the world we live in," she said. "A lot of people accuse you of taking steroids just because I'm strong and have muscle. I think it denigrates the work I put in. I'm strong and I do it naturally."

She has also had to battle stereotypes.

"There is a whole stereotype to this day that women in our sport are manly," Diamond said. "I'm still very feminine."

Medford woman joins world-class strongwomenBy Erica MoserMarch 22, 2015

Brittany Diamond’s Instagram highlights plenty of things popular among 23-year-old women: cats, eating at Chipotle, and “pink & sparkly things.”

But the predominant theme you’ll find if you visit her social media account is far less common: the 5-foot-7-inch, 160-pound Diamond is a strongwoman, fiercely dedicated to lifting and carrying as much weight as possible.

“I have two brothers and they’re huge,” she said. “One’s 6-foot-3, 300-something pounds, and he’s like, ‘How does my little sister lift more than me?’ ”

Diamond recently placed seventh out of 17 in her weight class at the 2015 Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championship in Columbus, Ohio.

She competed in events whose very names sound bone-crunching: the dumbbell clean and press, Farmer’s Walk, yoke walk, and three different dead lifts. Diamond set personal records in all but one event.

The Farmer’s Walk meant running as fast as she could with “two implements by her side, almost like big metal suitcases,” said Eric Dawson, owner of Titan Barbell in Medford, where she trains. The yoke is a bar that goes across her back and carries two pillars, each of which holds weights. Diamond had to carry 450 pounds for 60 feet.While she did not make it to the finals — only the top four qualified — she is determined to do so next year.

Diamond, a Gloucester native who now lives in Medford, has been an athlete since childhood. She ran track in high school and rowed at the University of Rhode Island, where she studied communications and business.

She stumbled on the website Starting Strongman her junior year of college and from there found New England Women of Strength (NEWS), a strongwoman community founded by Diamond’s now-friend Gina Melnik. NEWS was having a local competition in August 2013, and Diamond signed up for the novice division.Melnik recalls being both “blown away” and somewhat nervous about how Diamond dove into the strongwoman world headfirst.

“Oftentimes, women — and men, for that matter — look at the weights for these contests and feel a little intimidated, but Brittany’s just gutsy,” said Melnik, who also competed at Arnold. “Not only did she excel, but she actually ended up winning the novice class.”

From there, Diamond fell in love with the sport.

With another year of school left, “I kept it in the back of my mind,” she said, “and literally as soon as I graduated, as soon as my rowing career was over, I took two days off and then I got right into training for strongman.”

She prepped for 12 weeks leading up to the Mass State Strongman contest, held last Aug. 9 at Total Performance Sports , an Everett gym where she also trains.Two days later, she started her first post-college job.

“I was embarrassed because everyone was commenting and asking questions about the bruises all over my body,” Diamond said, “and that’s when I told them I compete in a weird sport.”

Diamond is on the marketing team at looped in , a mobile payment app geared toward college students. In August, the company got a new chief executive, John Feloni, and Diamond thought he looked familiar. It turns out he also works out at the Everett gym and had seen her compete before.

It was the people at looped in, Diamond said, who persuaded her to go to nationals, and the company even sponsored her trip to Ohio.

“Brittany’s an amazing employee,” said Feloni, a former bodybuilder. “She’s a great worker. She hooked up our ambassador program at BU, BC, and now Harvard. She’s a champion, and when she won a spot at the worlds, who else but us should sponsor her?”

She is known for being positive and enthusiastic both at work and in her training.

“I don’t know that you could have a better attitude towards anything than [she does],” said C.J. Murphy, owner of Total Performance Sports. “She’s always got a smile on her face. She’s always trying to learn and get better and get help from somebody who might know a little bit more than her, and to me, that’s the sign of a true champion.”

Dressed in all Pink, This Strongwoman Takes on the WorldBy Karen GivenMarch 21, 2015YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkg2_sZXMGk

Brittany Diamond is a strong woman, and I don’t know many men who are stronger. When we first met a few weeks ago, Brittany told me about her last deadlift set: 315 lbs. That’s nearly double her body weight. She said it felt “light and easy.”

Brittany might be strong, but she’s definitely still girly. When we sat down to chat, I wondered how she found the time to style her long blonde hair into perfect soft waves. She apologized for her messy make-up, which was still more put together than mine on my best day.

And then there was the pink. From head to toe, fingernails to socks, Brittany Diamond was wearing a lot of pink.

“You know it started with rowing,” Brittany told me. “I was like, alright, I’m just going to wear all pink all the time. It is my favorite color and it just kinda stuck with me and it’s almost like a joke now. You know what, some people wear all black to intimidate people. I’ll wear all pink. It works for me.

A lot of times when people think of strongman they don’t think of women. Back in the day it was all men doing this, and it’s just really cool because people look at you and they’re like, “You can do what?”

I’m not a bodybuilder, that is the complete opposite. My sport has nothing to do with aesthetics, which is why I love it. Which is another reason why I also think its empowering. A lot of men, in particular, are intimidated by that, and that’s fine because my mom raised me to be strong, do whatever the men can do. I have two brothers. People think, ‘you’re a little crazy,’ but I’m fine with that.”

Brittany started training as a strongwoman in July, as soon as she finished college and was no longer committed to her school’s rowing team. She works in marketing and sales for a start-up company, and her boss used to be a weightlifter, so he gets it.

Brittany won the first real event she entered, which qualified her for nationals. She placed well at nationals, which qualified her for the Arnold Strongman Classic. When Brittany and I first met, she was about to hop a flight for Columbus, Ohio. We sent a reporter to follow her at the Arnold as she faced some of the strongest middleweight women in the world.

Three days later, Brittany and I met up again. Her voice still hadn’t recovered from the travel and lack of sleep and, oh yeah, the emotions of competition.

“I think I accidentally swore,” Brittany said apologetically. “And I’m so sorry. So embarrassing. You’re just in a different level. Like you can’t really control your emotions when something like that happens. I was, like, crying and screaming and obviously normally I wouldn’t swear, but I was just, like, I was just flabbergasted.”

Brittany Diamond is a strong woman, and there’s nothing wrong with admitting that she cries.

“Oh yeah, it’s incredibly emotional for men and women,” Brittany said. “You know when you put that much time and effort and dedication into something, and you really give it your all, certainly you’re going to get emotional. If you didn’t, then I don’t think you’re giving the sport your all.”

Brittany’s goal was to make it to the finals. The top four women qualified. Brittany came in seventh. Not bad considering her first day of dedicated training was a little more than eight months ago. Eventually, Brittany says, she’d like to win the Arnold. But more than that, she’d like to stay in the sport long enough to see women compete in a pro class, just like the men do. The sport’s growing rapidly, Brittany says, so she’s praying that development comes in the next five years.

Crunch TimeBy Nick CurcuruMarch 11, 2015

Diamond cracks top 10

Gloucester’s Brittany Diamond had a rock solid showing last week at the Arnold Amateur World Strongwoman Championships in Columbus, Ohio.

Diamond, a 2010 GHS grad, entered a field of 25 competitors from around the world and turned in a seventh place finish in the middleweight division (140-180 pounds).

The Gloucester native competed in five events last Friday, the Longbar Deadlift, Austrian Oak, Cyr Dumbbell, Timber Carry and Bale Tote. Diamond did not qualify for

Day 2 of the event but she was more than pleased with her first showing at a world event as she cracked the top 10. She vows to be back in the competition in 2016 with another year of experience under her belt.

“I didn’t make it to day 2, but I am the seventh strongest middleweight in the world,” Diamond wrote on her facebook page. “I’ll be back to worlds next year and I will make it to day 2. Everything was worth it.”

Medford woman raising the bar in strong women competitionsBy Bob HalloranMarch 4, 2015

She’s a marketing and sales representative by day, but a 22-year-old Medford woman is raising the bar in strong woman competitors.

Gloucester Strong: Brittany Diamond competing in Amateur World Strongwoman ChampionshipsBy Nick CurcuruMarch 4, 2015

It all started by chance.

Gloucester’s Brittany Diamond was setting up an event for a gym where she worked in Rhode Island during the summer of 2013 when she stumbled upon a nearby Massachusetts strongwoman competition that was to take place later that summer.

Diamond, a member of the University of Rhode Island’s rowing team at the time, figured she would give it a shot, as she was already in excellent physical shape being a Division 1 athlete.

Without any knowledge of the sport’s techniques, Diamond was able to take home first

place in the women’s novice division at the State Strongman Championships on sheer strength alone, and from there she was hooked.

“I went into that first competition blind, I didn’t know what to expect and I ended up coming in first,” Diamond said. “I just fell in love with it from there and. My competitors were great, they were supportive and on that day I decided that I wanted to pursue the sport.”

The Gloucester native went on to compete for the URI rowing team for one more season and, after she graduated from the school in May of 2014, she devoted her time to the sport, which is a combination of all strength sports including squatting, deadlifting, clean and press, loading carrying and flipping/pulling.

Fast forward to the present day and the 23-year-old Diamond is one of the most prolific amateur strongwoman competitors in the entire world. In August 2014 she placed first in the women’s middleweight division (140-180 pound) at a National competition in Reno, Nev.

More recently she placed second in a National competition in the 140-160 pound division to earn a spot in the Arnold Amateur Strongwoman World Championships, which begin on Friday in Columbus, Ohio, and run through the weekend.

Diamond, who is on the smaller side of the middle weight division at 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds, will be competing against 25 women from around the world — including 10 from the United States — in Columbus this weekend. Although she has been training intensely in the sport for less than a year, she has quickly shot up the ranks and is currently the No. 10 ranked amateur in the world.

The top four finishers in Friday’s opening day of competition will qualify for Sunday’s final.

Support in the office

Diamond almost did not even go to the national competition in Reno last summer.

She balances training with a full-time job in the marketing department at “looped in”, a startup mobile payment application company out of Andover. She did not want the competition to interfere with her work, but fortunately, looped in not only supported her journey to this weekend’s competition, it also sponsors her.

The CEO of looped in, John Feloni, also happens to be a strength sports aficionado and has supported Diamond’s athletic endeavors.

“I am so lucky that looped in has been so supportive,” she said. “My CEO, John Feloni, is really into strength sports as well and he encouraged me to go Nationals last summer. I see him as both a boss and a mentor.”

Rigorous training regimen

The 2010 Gloucester High School graduate already had the raw skill in place (she can deadlift 800 pounds) at her first competition back in 2013, from there she needed to master techniques.

To learn those techniques Diamond trains at a pair of gyms, Total Performance Sports (TPS) in Everett, and Titan Barbell in Medford, where the gym’s owner and her coach, Eric Dawson, is a professional strongman.

Training sessions take place 4-5 times a week for 2-3 hours at a time and feature various lifts and event specific training.

“We take a very scientific approach to training because it’s easy to get injured when dealing with all that weight,” Diamond said. “Some of the events can be awkward too because they are made to be spectator friendly. My coach, Eric Dawson, is a pro so I have all the trust in him. He has helped build my strength and improve techniques for each event.”

On Friday, Diamond will be competing in a variety of different events including the Yoke Walk, where competitors carry around a set amount of weight on their backs; the farmers carry, where competitors carry oversized dumbbells in each hand, and the Car Deadlift to name a few. Being a rower with a background in endurance, the Yoke Walk and Farmer’s Carry are the two events she is looking forward to most.

Starting close to home

Diamond became interested in her strength and endurance at home in Gloucester.

As a student at Gloucester High she was a member of the track team, but her passion was rowing, and she became hooked on the sport the first time she rowed seine boats at the St. Peter’s Fiesta.

Diamond rows for Oar’Dacious, who has dominated the women’s seine boat field over the last half decade plus winning seven of the last nine women’s titles.

“Gloucester athletics kind of helped me get ready for this,” Diamond said. “I fell in love with rowing at St. Peter’s Fiesta, (and) started lifting to get stronger for seine boats. If it weren’t for rowing, I may not have found a strongwoman competition to compete in.”

Shouldering the WeightBy Christopher HurleyFebruary 19, 2015

Brittany Diamond will carry the weight of the world on her shoulders, and then some, as she delves into the world of the international strongman.

The Medford resident will be among 40 of the top female athletes to compete at the sixth annual Arnold Amateur, March 6-8, in Columbus, Ohio. This will be her first foray into worldwide competition, after previously acing a pair of regional qualifiers.

“I’m excited,” said Diamond. “I’m going into this with a clear head, and I’m better prepared than any other competition I’ve been in. It’s going to be a great learning experience no matter what happens.”

The Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships, which debuted in 2010, will feature over 60 of the world’s top male amateur strongman athletes from more than 25 countries, including at least 20 athletes from the United States.

The Arnold Strongwoman World Championships will take place alongside the men’s competition. Standing in at 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds, Diamond will compete in the Heavyweight Division (150+ pounds). The Wellington Square resident is ready to take on all comers.

“This is going to be a little different since it’s an international competition and so big,” said Diamond, 22, a Gloucester native who moved into Wellington Circle a month ago. “I’m going up against two women that are pros that have won before, so I’m a bit nervous, but I’m going into this competition prepared, having a while to train for this one.”

Diamond has learned to expect the unexpected when competing at these events. Her short stint in the circuit has been an adventure; she’s lifted arduous objects such as sandbags, axels, logs and truck tires. She’s even dead lifted a car.

The awkward weights haven proven to be real crowd pleasers for competitors and fans alike, creating a buzz around the arena.

“Lifting a car is pretty damn cool,” said Diamond, who first attempted the stunt at the TPS State Strongman show, Aug. 9, 2014, with limited success. “I actually passed out after doing it, which was funny because I’d never really done it before. Unfortunately I zeroed on that (that day), but I was really happy when I got better at it from multiple reps at nationals. I worked on it twice a week.”

Practice had made perfect for this Gloucester High graduate (’10). But her penchant for lifting really heavy things didn’t really come into focus until her junior year of college, while attending the University of Rhode Island.

A Division I scholarship rower, Diamond first caught the power lifting craze in August 2013, after coming across a local strongman show that featured a women’s novice class. A weightlifting enthusiast herself, she entered a local competition on a whim during the off-season.

From there she was hooked. And after fulfilling her rowing obligation her senior year, Diamond traded in her oars for a pair of circus dumbbells and the rest was heavy lifting history.

“The day I graduated college (May 2014) my rowing career was over,” Diamond said. “I took two days off, and started up another training regiment for my first real competition.”

Diamond delivered the goods in her first national qualifier, placing first in the middleweight women’s class at the TPS State Strongman show, August 2014. But the title wasn’t nearly as satisfying as she’d hoped, winning her division by default.

“I trained 12 weeks for that, giving it my all,” said Diamond. “But the day of the competition, a few people dropped out because the weights were so intimidating. So I was actually competing alone, which was not fun.

“I wasn’t allowed to enter the Women’s Heavyweight Division because I was too light,” she added. “So I automatically qualified for nationals. Which was one of the reasons why I wasn’t originally going to go.”The other big reason was her new job.

Just two days later, a battle-weary Diamond put her Strongwoman dreams on hold as she began her new marketing job at “looped in,” a mobile payment app company in Andover.

“I dressed really nice for my first day, but everyone kept asking why I had bruises all over my body,” Diamond said. “That’s when I told them ‘I compete in this weird sport. I actually qualified for nationals, but I don’t think I’m going to go because I don’t want to take off six weeks into my new job.’”

But just when she thought she was out, her co-workers pulled her back in. The Andover-based startup not only encouraged Diamond to pursue her dream, but also offered to sponsor her trip.

“Everyone in my company was so supportive,” she said. “So it was funny, because my company made up my mind for me. To be honest, I was very apprehensive about going, because although I qualified I didn’t feel that I really earned it. So it was a last-minute decision.”

A determined Diamond competed at nationals six weeks later, scoring second in the women’s 140-160 weight class, while placing sixth overall in the middleweight standings, against 30 other competitors.“I was shocked,” Diamond said. “My goal going there, because I hadn’t been training for long, was not to come in last. I never expected to place in the top half.”

A bodybuilder himself, looped in CEO John Feloni has been an inspirational figure in Diamond’s training.“He’s offered me pep talks about mental toughness,” Diamond said. “Everyone in the company thinks it’s awesome what I do and the fact that they’re literally sponsoring me to go is amazing.”

Diamond has received plenty of athletic support along the way. In addition to her company, she has gotten an added boost working out at a pair of specialized gyms in the area.

Titan Barbell in Medford has provided just the place for Diamond to master her techniques. Gym owner Eric Dawson, a pro strongman himself, has been instrumental in guiding her along the way. C.J. Murphy at Total Performance Sports in Everett has also helped give Diamond plenty of polish.

“I’m really lucky,” Diamond said. “Not only do I have the support of my company, but I also have two really good gyms around here.”

Diamond’s family has been surprised about her newfound profession.

“They think I’m crazy,” she said. “They don’t understand how I do it. I have two brothers that are 6-foot-4, one is 320-pounds. He doesn’t understand how his little sister lifts more than him.”

There are an estimated 6,000 amateur strongman athletes in the United States that compete in 125 events throughout the year. Diamond feels the sport offers a refreshing change of pace.

“The thing I love the most is the sport itself is constantly changing,” said Diamond. “No two competitions are ever the same, because there are hundreds of events you can possibly do.

“But why I stay in the sport and don’t plan on leaving for a while are the people,” she added. “It’s the most supportive group I’ve ever encountered. It’s an independent sport, yet you feel like you’re on a team, because even your biggest competitor will cheer you on, which is not something you ever find – especially once you get to that level.”

Diamond plans to work feverishly this week, with intense heavy lifting sessions, before taking next week completely off as she gears up for the big event.

“I plan to be fully rested and ready to go,” Diamond said.

And you can count on Brittany Diamond to carry that weight a long time.

Medford Woman To Compete in the Strongman World ChampionshipsBy Andrea TimpanoFebruary 18, 2015

For lifelong athlete Brittany Diamond, fitness is more than just a way of life: It’s like a second job.

The 22-year-old Medford resident is in full-time training mode for the 2015 Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships, a weekend-long international strength competition that begins

March 6 in Columbus, Ohio. Diamond, a marketing professional whose trip is being sponsored by her employer, an Andover-based startup called Looped In, has been logging serious gym time nearly every day to prepare—with good reason. When she faces her female competitors in the 140 to 180 weight class in just a few weeks, Diamond will need to outperform other athletes in a series of events, including a 450-pound yoke walk and lifting a 4-door sedan for multiple reps.

That’s right. She’ll be lifting a car. And more than once.

Although it’s Diamond’s first time competing at the invitation-only World Championships, she’s no stranger to physical challenges. She ran track in high school, and was a member of the Division I women’s rowing team at the University of Rhode Island. Diamond says she discovered the Strongman while surfing the web one day during the summer after her junior year. She stumbled across the website for a group called Starting Strongman, which offers a free 12-week training program for beginners.“I started doing some research and found a local competition. I decided to compete that August and, from there on out, I kind of fell in love with it,” she says. “I had one more year of rowing and as soon as my career was over, I took two days off and literally just did a complete turn and started training for this sport.”

Diamond says she chose to move to the Greater Boston area after graduation because of its proximity to two gyms with the necessary training equipment: Titan Barbell in Medford, and Total Performance Sports (TPS) in Everett. Since her Strongman debut in 2013, Diamond has excelled in both state and national contests, including a first-place win at the TPS Massachusetts State Strongman Competition in August 2014. Some of her Strongman personal records include lifting a 250-pound Atlas stone from the floor to a 50-inch platform, walking 50 feet with 200-pound weights in each hand, and nailing a 350-pound dead lift.

Although she hopes to win, Diamond says that she’s most looking forward to the competition experience. One of the things that Diamond says she loves about the sport is the encouragement she gets from her fellow athletes.

“The support you receive is amazing,” she says. “There’s nothing else out there that your biggest competitor will literally sit there on the sidelines and cheer you on.”

Robi On The Road: Female Strongman Competitors Proving ‘This Sport Is For Everyone’By David Robichaud, WBZ-TV March 27, 2015 5:00 AM By David Robichaud

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/03/27/robi-on-the-road-female-strongman-competitors-proving-this-sport-is-for-everyone/

BOSTON (CBS) – They can lift a four-door sedan off the ground. It’s no problem for them to press 160 pounds of weight over their heads. And picking up a 170 pound stone to hurl it onto a shelf is no issue.

They are strong – very strong. They compete in the Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championship.

But they are not men – they’re women.

Related: More “Robi On The Road”

Brittany Diamond, a 22-year-old Medford resident, has exploded into the competitive world of weight lifting. She competes alongside her friend, 37-year-old Gina Melnik.

Brittany Diamond. (WBZ-TV)

“In a lot of ways I’ve become her mentor,” said Melnik. “We’ve formed a bond as we’ve been competing together. Not that we don’t try to beat each other during a contest. There’s a lot of good feelings there too”

Gina Melnick. (WBZ-TV)

Together they are among a growing number of women who love extreme sports.

Both belong to an organization called New England Women of Strength.

Diamond recently placed seventh in her division in the World Championship while Gina came in 11th place.

How do they feel about the term “Strongman”?

Melnik told WBZ-TV she admits it’s a little bit of a sexist term, but added that the strongman community has been very supportive of women.

Diamond found out about the competition on Facebook.

“People think women have to be a certain size, look a certain way. But the truth is this sport is for everyone,” Diamond said.

They train at a gym called Titan Barbell in Medford under the watchful eye of trainer Eric Dawson.

Strongman workouts include intense exercises, such as this tire roll. (WBZ-TV)

During a recent workout, Diamond and Melnick showed WBZ their intense training routine.

When she’s not training and competing, Brittany is a sales and marketing rep for a mobile app company called loopedin.

Melnick is a mom and wife from Jamaica Plain who is raising a 2-year-old daughter.

The pair said they hope to inspire other women, and maybe even send a message to the men along the way.

Diamond said her husband is “very supportive,” though she joked that they don’t get into many arm wrestling competitions.

“But to be fair, I’d probably beat all his friends so they couldn’t say much,” Diamond said with a laugh.

David RobichaudFollow Robi on Twitter New England native and Emmy Award-winning journalist David “Robi” Robichaud is WBZ-TV News’ Morning Reporter for weekday morning newscasts at 4:30AM, 5AM, and 6AM as well as being a general assignment reporter acro...More from David Robichaud

Strong SuitAt the State Strongman/Strongwoman Championships this month, men—and women—prove that might makes great spectating.

By Andrea Timpano | Boston Magazine | August 2015 1

Local strongwoman Brittany Diamond preps for the big day. / Photograph by Trevor Reid

When the annual Massachusetts State Strongman/Strongwoman Championships kick off on August 1, Herculean athletes from the commonwealth and beyond will convene in Everett to do what they do best: pick up heavy stuff. Really heavy stuff. For fun.

Those competing in the daylong event will face four grueling physical challenges, not the least of which is the tire flip, which involves repeatedly upending a bulldozer tire (4 to 6 feet high, up to 800 pounds) to move it down a 100-foot course in one minute. Then there’s the Atlas Stone competition, in which athletes hoist concrete spheres weighing up to 350 pounds each and lift them over bars of various heights. For traditionalists, standard deadlift and overhead-press events are also on the lineup. “If you tell somebody outside of the sport that you lifted 100 or 300 pounds overhead, they don’t really get it,” says event organizer C. J. Murphy, a former Strongman competitor himself. “But when you see that axle loaded up with all those weights, you’ll be amazed.”

Trending: This Week in Free Fitness: Week of August 3

Murphy says he expects at least 50 athletes to attend this month’s competition, which doubles as a fundraiser for the Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea. Among them will be Brittany Diamond, a middleweight contender who took home top honors at last year’s event. The 23-year-old Medford resident began her Strongman career in 2013 after retiring from Division I rowing at the University of Rhode Island. A lifelong athlete who also ran track in high school, Diamond says that part of the appeal and challenge of Strongman stems from its unpredictability. “No two competitions are ever the same,” she says. “It is a true test [of] all-around athleticism because it involves strength, speed, and agility.”

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