Iron Couple: Dawn Alison & Brandon Best!

[Curt James]

Dawn Alison and Brandon Best are the 2016 Canadian Bodybuilding, Bikini and Classic Physique Championships Mixed Pair Bodybuilding Champions!

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On Saturday, July 23, 2016, Winnipeg, Manitoba was the proving ground for many hopeful Canadian bodybuilding competitors, as the city hosted the 2016 CBBF (Canadian Bodybuilding Federation) Bodybuilding, Bikini, and Classic Physique Nationals. The event, held yearly in varying configurations in any number of different cities across Canada, is the culmination of competitive efforts of most for the year, as it brings together competitors from their respective provinces who have earned their chance to take part in the summit event of the amateur level through their qualifying tier system shows.

And on this day, one couple, from Surrey, BC, secured the title of National Champions, as they won 1st place in a somewhat obscure division that is experiencing a slow resurgence, Mixed Pair Bodybuilding, also known as Couples Bodybuilding.

Husband and wife team Dawn Alison and Brandon Best traveled to Winnipeg from Surrey, to take part in the event. Originally intended as just Dawn's outing, when it was discovered that the division would be offered at this National event, Dawn saw one of several perfect opportunities for the pair, most importantly, the chance to grace the stage together.

Dawn jokes that this was their chance to dance together, as the two adhere to a strict time managed regimen that does not afford them any time to go out (neither are really nighttime people anyway). As many times as there has been intentions to go out dancing, it just never happens. Being on stage together to perform a 60-second routine was as close as they were going to get.

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But first, as a preliminary requirement, they had to qualify to go to Winnipeg; to do that, they had to first compete at a prior event, just three weeks earlier, the British Columbia Amateur Bodybuilding Association's BC Provincial Bodybuilding Championships. Their effort there garnered them a 2nd place finish, and the right to move on to the next level.

The duo own and operate Fit Body Training and Gear, currently training clients out of Flex Fitness Club, in Surrey. Dawn, now a three time National Champion, in three sports (she is also 1991 U.S. Women's National Powerlifting Champion, and 2013 Canadian Grandmasters Women National Bodybuilding Champion) has been competing for thirty years, while husband Brandon, a martial artist and Boxing exponent of thirty years, is in his fourth year of competing, finding himself well rounded, and having competed in every division that a male competitor can compete in during those four short years.

While the pair does work with the general population, their specialty focus is in preparing people for bodybuilding shows, in their chosen categories. Dawn can take it a step further, and also train people for competition in power lifting, having been excellently trained and led to her U.S. National title by her late ex-husband, power lifting legend Doug Young.

Likewise, Brandon is also not one dimensional, having founded the Fit Body Boxing Club, where he not only trains and coaches boxing, but also offers various martial arts training, and tournament preparation. The pair makes it a point to be a one-stop shop, with the ability to handle almost any need an individual may have or present.

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The competition in Winnipeg was the second time the pair has taken the stage together (the first being at the BC's). The turn at Mixed Pairs was the icing on the cake, as the original purpose of this show was for Dawn to compete solo, in Women's Bodybuilding, attempting to win the much sought after IFBB Pro Card. And as it turns out, Brandon qualified via the BC's for the show in the newest division, Classic Physique. It should come as no surprise that the two came to know each other through... what else? Bodybuilding!

To be specific, through an online bodybuilding community, RX Muscle. Their story is long, populated by several great story points. It is not your typical "boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love" tale, but it is quite the story. The abridged version is that the pair came to start communicating through the messaging system of RX Muscle, as Brandon was one of the moderators of the community, and he would address Dawn's needs and concerns. But it quickly morphed into something far more casual and informal, and a friendship quickly developed. |

As time went on; the two remained in constant contact, on a daily basis. A definite shift in the relationship was happening, although neither really saw it yet. One day, during a text exchange, while talking about their upcoming trip to Las Vegas for the yearly Olympia Weekend, Brandon invited Dawn to an after party. Dawn stated to him that he better be careful, because she might get him drunk and marry him. To this, he responded that she did not have to get him drunk to marry her. Caught completely off guard by this, that one moment defined how everything else progressed from that point.

A wedding was planned, down to the smallest detail, for a private ceremony at a picturesque location. Keep in mind, these two had not met face to face yet. There were plenty of phone calls, and pictures exchanged. All of this transpired and came together while being separated by 2,554 miles, she in Surrey, and he in Memphis, TN.

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The two finally met for the first time three days before they were married. While many thought the marriage was doomed before it even got a chance to begin, it will be six years for the two in September, and the couple shows no signs of slowing down or fading out. So, for the two of them to come full circle and compete together, as the strong unit that they are, needless to say, it was very special for the both of them.

What lies ahead for this powerhouse duo? There exists the opportunity to travel to Poland later in the year, to compete at the World Bodybuilding Championships, in Mixed Pairs. This may, or may not happen. But first, another National competition stop for Brandon, with this being his fourth show in nine weeks, to compete in the Men's Physique Division, which he is double qualified for. He is on the hunt for his IFBB Pro Card as well. If good fortune does not favor him in that way, he is then off to Pittsburgh, PA for his fifth show, Dawn's third (second, in regard to her pro card), the 2016 IFBB North American Championships, where they each will once again, make a run for their pro cards.

There is no stopping these two. They definitely practice what they preach to their clients about consistency, perseverance, and determination to bring about the outcome you want for yourself. If you want to see how it is really done, you need look no further than them.

To contact Dawn or Brandon, you can find them online at http://www.fitbodybc.com. Additionally, the two enjoy a sizable following on their Facebook page, where you can find them by name, and also on Instagram: @dawn_alison, @g_brandon_best, and @fitbodyboxingclub, or on Twitter: @DawnAlison1 and @Xiongshou.

[Curt James]

Congratulations to Dawn and Brandon! Wishing you continued success and love.

[Sunnyday]

Love these two people! Big congrats, Dawn and Brandon!!

[fitbody]

thank you

[cook]

Congrats y'all

[Vince Goodrum]

I honestly thought it would fail....no joke. Having never met each other before. But it goes to show that true love has no boundaries, no distance, and no limits. It was a perfect match after all.

In Your Face, Vince Goodrum!! There...I went and said it...

[bigmikecox]

Mixed Pairs is back? Good shit!

Congrats

[fitbody]

Mixed Pairs is back? Good shit!

Congrats

it's back in the AMATEUR IFBB at World Champs, so Canada brought it back in 2014
this year 2016 was the 1st time Brandon and I had a chance to do it together
it was a great experience

love mixed pairs was sad to see them do away with it
wish it would come back at the IFBB Pro Level
ahhhhhhhhhhh i remember those days
Tony Pearson and his various partners
Dianna Dennis and her partner
was amazing to watch

[Sandpig]

Congrats, Dawn and Brandon.

What a couple! Simply amazing .

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[PTB]

I'm still shocked at how they met and married on RX... it just proves if you WANT it enough, you can make it work!


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[fitbody]

thankyou RX Muscle for bringing us together


Sept 26, 2016


6 years ago today I “Dawn” got married to my good friend Brandon Best...
and we are stronger & more in love today than the day we said “I do” & “I do too”....
“It is not a lack of love,
but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”
We entered into friendship through a mutual love “BODYBUILDING”
and thanx to the bodybuilding forum www.rxmuscle.com
& BLACKBERRY MESSANGER (the greatest technology of its day imo)
and us both getting a Blackberry cell phones...
which it allowed us to be in constant contact
and our friendship quickly grew as we got to know each other from a distance separating us by a divide of 2 countries & 2422 miles....
On Sept 23rd we met in Las Vegas baggage claim for the 1st time in person,
we went straight to get a marriage license...
then enjoyed the festivities of the OLYMPIA WEEKEND
and on Sunday got married....
and this was one of the greatest decisions of my life...
“Friendship- my definition- is built on two things. Respect and trust.
Both elements have to be there.
And it has to be mutual.
You can have respect for someone,
but if you don't have trust,
the friendship will crumble.”
I know in part of why this relationship works beside the common interest of Bodybuilding,
beside the mutal respect & trust we have for each other,
and in some ways we are polar opposites, as Brandon says I’m a YING to his YANG....
but another important thing is,
we both have been instilled with OLD WORLD VALUES from our upbringing that seems so rare these days....
here’s to many more years of friendship, love & happiness xoxo

PHOTOCREDIT: FEMME FATALE PRODUCTION (Nicole Kerr & Dion Farrell)
@femmefataleproduction

[inkedleo88]

I remember when I first started posting on here and Dawn was posting a bunch, next thing I knew it seemed like a romance had started. I thought it was all fake in the beginning and didn't hear or think much about it again until now. Congrats to both of them. What an awesome story.