Vietnamese Bodybuilder Nicknamed Muscle Barbie Shuns Stereotypes

Story By: Lisa-Maria Goertz, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Central European News

Credit: CEN/@ny.tranthi.5
Credit: CEN/@ny.tranthi.5

A female bodybuilder from Vietnam says nothing can stop her achieving her dreams, despite her parents saying she will never find a husband looking as she does.

The 21-year-old Bodybuilder Tran Thi Ny, nicknamed ‘Muscle Barbie’, is from the town of Bien Hoa in the southern Vietnamese province of Dong Nai.

The young athlete says that she was a sickly child and decided to hit the gym to gain strength.

As a teenage she then saw a bodybuilding competition in person, and quickly became fascinated by the sport, making the decision to give up university after graduating high school and become a professional bodybuilder instead.

She gave an interview to local media where she admitted that her parents were very against her decision because they feared that she wouldn’t be able to find a husband looking like that.

Credit: CEN/@ny.tranthi.5
Credit: CEN/@ny.tranthi.5

She also received some disapproving comments by social media users, who called her “scary,” and wrote “who would dare marry such a big girl?”

However, the young bodybuilder says she is no longer affected by the haters.

She wrote: “It turns out that what scares people most about me is the thing I’m most proud of. I don’t care about what people say. What I care about is the effort I put in to get better.”

Ny says that to achieve her defined physique she used a combination of intensive workouts of four to six hours a day, with a strict diet low in carbs, sugar and salt, mainly eating chicken breast, fish, boiled eggs, vegetables, fruit and protein shakes.

Ny says she likes wearing make-up and going shopping, she even says he friends describe her as girly.

She said: “People assume that girls in this discipline will be tough. But femininity is not determined by your body, rather by the way you are and your personality. The medals I won have helped me to overcome negative comments and stereotypes.”

Credit: CEN/@ny.tranthi.5
Credit: CEN/@ny.tranthi.5

She has now been a bodybuilder for three years, during which time she won various medals at fitness competitions.

When asked about relationships, Ny said that she is not scared being a bodybuilder will affect her changes because real love isn’t about what you look like.

She wrote: “Be yourself and the right person will come.”

Ny says that in the future she would like to work as a fitness coach and help people to reach their potential.

She often shares tips on social media with her 15,000 followers about exercise and healthy eating.

Credit: CEN/@ny.tranthi.5
Credit: CEN/@ny.tranthi.5

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