BEN YOSEF: Okay, here we go! The biggest congratulations to you on your showing at the IPL Florida contest this past July! What you delivered to the stage was amazing! How are you feeling about the look that you brought to that show?

MENDI SHORT: Thank you! I’m very excited about it! I had a lot of growth and change, both physically and mentally. But I know I can do better. There is always room for improvement. I’m excited about competing Pro next!

BEN: Awesome. How long did you prep for this show? And what was your diet/nutrition like? Do you count calories or macros?

MENDI: This show was a little different because of quarantine. So, I was in prep for a longer period of time. I honestly lost track of weeks and months it turned into. I eat 5xs a day. I measure and weigh all my food.

BEN: What is your fitness background like? Have you always been athletic? And you have such strong muscle maturity. Have you always trained with weights?

MENDI: I have always been into working out. I genetically have always been muscular, even if I’m not in the gym. I train light weights and recently just started training upper body. I just always have built muscle really easily.

BEN: Nice! What an awesome problem to have! –laughs-You are going to make a lot of people jealous when they read that! So, you were only training lower body? Like legs and glutes? And what made you start training upper? Was your symmetry getting thrown off?

MENDI: I was only training lower legs and glutes. I started training upper body just to see what I could do. I back off a little because I still want to look feminine.

BEN: So, you dominated in both Figure and Athletic at this show. What was it like being on stage for each? And do you have a favorite division between the two?