A little bit about myself and my fitness journey: I grew up in a small town in East Palo Alto, CA which was once the murder capital (just to give you an idea of my town). I am of mixed race and was raised by my single mother. I have two older brothers and one younger sister. I am a dual sport competitor in powerlifting and bodybuilding. 

    When I was a child I knew I was different than most people. I didn't know why or if it was a bad thing, but I just knew. I remember sitting in church one day and the preacher saying "God has given everyone a gift and once you know your gift that will be your calling in life." I thought to myself hmmm how do I know my gift? Will I ever figure it out? What is God's calling for me? I told myself, in time I will know. 

    

Here are a few stories of some of the unfortunate events that have happened and that have formed me into the woman I am today: 

 

    In June 2007, I was on a small Cessna plane flying from Montana to Idaho. I didn't want to get on this plane (for various personal reasons) but my dad (whom I hadn't seen since I was young) made me. I pouted and soon fell asleep. My grandpa was flying the plane and we flew for a while. After reaching a certain altitude, I began dozing off while listening to my iPod. Suddenly, my iPod switched from music to a sermon my friend gave me from her church, which I had forgotten to delete off my iPod. In that moment, my iPod glitched and made a loud sound in my ear and I woke up in a panic. At this point I was staring out the front of the plane watching the ground get closer and closer. The back of my grandpa and dad's head was completely calm with no alarm or panic. I couldn't unscramble in my head what was going on and why. Then it hit me as we got closer ....."I WAS GOING TO DIE!". The plane hit the mountain but I don't recall the impact. Suddenly I realized I couldn't walk and I was pinned. My grandpa was nowhere to be found and my dad was unconscious for 20 seconds which felt like hours. He soon woke up and unpinned me and told me to run but unfortunately I couldn't walk. Out of nowhere, five people rushed to the crash, pulling me and my dad out and finding my grandpa and dragging all of us to safety. I was hospitalized and wheel chaired bound for a while wondering if i will ever be 100%. My doctor sat me down and told me I would always have pain and need to stay away from any heavy lifting, at this point all my dreams for my active lifestyle fell apart.

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You see that day was not like any other day. It was filled with a lifetime of miracles.

-The plane did not explode even though gas was spewing out the sides while the engine continued to run 

-The people that saved us were not supposed to be on their farm that morning

-I broke my back in one of two places where I luckily didn't require surgery 

-I am alive and healthy

 

Here's another story: 

 In May 2013, I graduated from SDSU with my degree in Kinesiology. I was on my way to my graduation riding my motorcycle when I hit a turn and there was so much gravel my bike slid right under me. I stood up and looked down and noticed my knee was bleeding everywhere and I was convinced I had broken my leg. I called my roommate a told her in a calm voice "I just crashed and I think I broke my leg but I need to get to my graduation". I don't know if it was determination or adrenaline but at that moment I was adamant to walk the stage. I wrapped up my leg, threw on jeans and walked the stage. I started coming off the adrenaline and looked down and realized I was bleeding through my jeans. I walked to the nearest exit and rushed to the ER. The nurses then asked what my visit was for as they looked at me weird because I had my cap and gown on and flowers in my hand. I told them I fell from my bike and needed to be seen. I waited in the room for 30 minutes and started to bleed more, feeling faint. I stood up to ask what the wait time was and she said "how fast did you ride your bicycle for you to bleed like this?" I laughed and replied I was on a motorcycle. Long story short, I had torn my ACL, LCL, and meniscus. Different doctor, same verdict: I'll be in a lot of pain and no heavy lifting.

 

Last but definitely not least, in 2016 I was hit by an older man running a stop sign who didn't see me on my motorcycle (unable to share too much because on going case). This was probably the worst of my accidents. Regardless, I am alive and well today. 

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"EITHER GOD LOVES ME AND HAS BEEN SAVING ME EACH TIME OR DOING A BAD JOB AT TRYING TO KILL ME" lol

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Fitness Journey:

 

    I got into powerlifting and bodybuilding around 2014. I remember graduating from college and feeling So insecure, hateful, depressed, and just all around unhappy in every aspect of life. I was in and out of doctors offices because of knee and back pain and at this point I felt so weak and helpless. I had two very important people in my life who knew me very well turn to me and say "if I continue to be this unhappy, mad, and miserable I will be alone for the rest of my life and being around someone like that makes them feel uncomfortable." 

    I told myself NO MORE. I can't live my life like this. I got a counselor because I felt I needed a safe place to vent and be myself, where no one but a paid professional would hear my deepest thoughts and I could properly release my negativity. I thought to myself, I hate how I look and how I feel. My stomach issues were flaring up and I had no consistency or dedication in ANYTHING. 

    I always made excuses in life to not go after what I wanted. I was broke, out of shape, had no time and I realized it wasn't any of these that were stopping me from moving forward. It was just pure fear to succeed (like the poem Our Deepest Fear), but I told myself I'm going to sign up for a bodybuilding competition and get a coach to hold me accountable. This was the BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE!!!

    The gym gave me something to look forward to. It gave me drive and dedication, and the hard work gave me balance emotionally, physically, and mentally.  My life changed in an instant. My outlook on life became more focused, structured and positive. I don't mean to make the gym sound like a fix all; it was more so me facing my fears and stop allowing myself to live in the dreams and the "what if's".  

   My life went from being the broken girl with pain, constantly telling myself I can't do this, I can't do that, and continuously hating my body, to a confident woman with reduced pain, stronger body, and loving how I look and feel. I then won my first bodybuilding competition and thought to myself what else can I do? I dated a powerlifter at the time and he always suggested i try powerlifting too but again fear  got ahold of me. I thought my injuries, fear to fail, and giraffe like body type would stop me, but this new Ashley was unstoppable and being in an uncomfortable place was just the place I wanted and needed to be in. 

   I signed up for my first meet in 2015 and didn't take it too seriously. I said to myself "yeah right, I'm a giraffe. There is no way I could do well in this sport. The women here are a foot shorter than me with the same body mass and no injuries". I ended up finding an amazing gym, a gifted and dedicated coach, I trained HARD and guess what? I won first place. I realized nothing can stop my hard work and in that instant, i knew my gift from God.

 

He gave me resilience, passion and love, he also gifted me a way with people to bond in a way I cannot explain. 

    I love to help people get strong and help them see their own strength. I want to be the inspiration or the energy that pushes them there. This is my true calling in life: to empower and help any way possible. I built Iron Misfits to show strength on all levels and that sometimes we don't fit your everyday mold. I know me being the powerlifting giraffe that I am doesn't fit the mold. It's like an oxymoron but I feel we are all misfits these days and it's about enhancing your inner giraffe (oddball) and making it strong.

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