Lea Waide

Lea Waide was born in West Point, Miss., to Jim and Jacque Waide. She spent her younger years at the Dancers’ Studio, the studio her mother owned, where she trained and traveled all over the nation as a competitive dancer.

At the age of 13, Lea moved to Somerville, Tenn., where she continued her dance and acrobatic training at the Karen Thorpe School of Dance, Memphis Classical Ballet, and the Mid South Academy of Performing Arts. She was a UCA All-Star cheerleader, ran track and played volleyball during her junior high and high school years at Fayette Academy. Graduating as an honor student, she left for the University of Tennessee Knoxville where she pledged Kappa Delta and joined the nationally ranked UT Dance Team.

After spending 3 years at UT, Lea moved to Las Vegas to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. She auditioned with Dick Foster Productions for the show “Imagine,” which was featured at the Luxor Hotel and Casino and landed a job as a dancer, acrobat, and aerial artist.
Meanwhile, she graduated from the University of Nevada Las Vegas with a B.S. in Marketing. She began competing in fitness competitions and after winning several state titles, eventually won the NPC Fitness USA, qualifying her for professional status with the IFBB. She worked as a model and booth hostess for leaders in the industry such as VPX, Optimum Nutrition, TwinLab, Met-rx and Premier Nutrition just to name a few. Using her credentials as a licensed dance instructor, Lea taught classes at many different levels and judged international dance competitions. She continued her certifications by completing personal training and stretch therapy courses.

Lea’s fitness goals have transitioned from the stage into the sport of triathlon; she placed 7th at her first race in Long Beach, California and most recently placed 16th from a highly competitive field in the SheRox series triathlon in San Diego. She is currently preparing for the 2014 race season and looks to make a great impact there as well.

Lea has now made Los Angeles her home and wants to share her passion for beauty, health and fitness.