Last month, former Queenstown resident Cassie Chow had a dream night.
Standing on stage competing in the 2015 International Natural Bodybuilders Association (Inba) Brisbane Classic, Ms Chow (37) won the figure under 47kg open class 1 (short) category, was fourth in the figure international - a category judged on body symmetry and proportion - and went on to be named Inba Brisbane overall figure champion, a category contested by winners of all figure classes.
The former Alpine Health and Fitness group fitness instructor and NZONE reservations manager said it was a night she would never forget.
For Ms Chow, it was her first competition after successes in New Zealand in 2013.
She won her first regional title at the National Amateur Body Building (Nabba) Wellington Championships and was named overall physique champion at the inaugural Inba Southern Lakes Classic in Queenstown.
After taking a year off to have a ''mental time out'', she started preparing again in December, this time with the help of a Sydney-based online coach, who took ''the thinking out'' of competing in the sport.
The result was her best competition preparation yet - and the best outcome.
''My energy levels were better, my sleep was so much better ... I felt better, I was happier.''
Ms Chow's success is impressive, especially given that as a teenager she was in the grip of an eating disorder, relapsing several times after leaving school.
The pint-sized dynamo said she had always been fit and active and joined a gym as soon as she left high school, becoming obsessive.
''One of the effects of it is that you [excessively] exercise.
''I was eating, but I wasn't eating enough.''
Ms Chow said she would spend hours in the gym doing cardio exercises, at one point coming close to being ''kicked out''.
Staff restricted her to an hour a day in the gym and referred her to an in-house specialist for regular weigh-ins.
But she found a way to work around that - after visiting the gym she would head out for a run and the running sessions could take several hours.
''Then one day they were like: 'You didn't put on weight this week, what happened?'.''
So, she left.
It was the decision that would change her life.
At her new gym, Ms Chow was introduced to a trainer who began to earn her trust - avoiding scales and focusing solely on weight training.
''For the first two years, the goal was just to put lean muscle mass on.
''She never weighed me or anything, she was just really supportive. I loved training with her; I kept going back.
''Eighteen months down the track she asked 'Are you liking how you're looking? You've put weight on, but it's not fat'.
''By then I'd been training with her long enough ... I could see I was looking better like this than just skin and bones, really.''
The trainer then planted the seed for Ms Chow to start bodybuilding.
She was invited to attend posing sessions with other trainers and began working towards her first competition, where she finished fourth in the novice class.
Since then she has never looked back.
Ms Chow, who left Queenstown on Monday to move back to Brisbane, said for others struggling with an eating disorder, it was important to find someone to support them.
''Start looking at why you're in that place and what brought you there ... it's never about the eating, or it's never about the food.
''For me it was a fear of failure - wanting to be better, not feeling accepted.
''It wasn't until I found somebody who didn't focus on weight [I started to recover].
''Be kind to yourself, love and accept yourself for who you are at any given point in your life, talk kindly to yourself and surround yourself with those who also accept you for who you are whilst encouraging you to continually learn and grow.''
Ms Chow will next compete in the Queensland Championships and the Australian National Championships, both in September. Long-term she would like to make the Australian team, compete internationally again and possibly get her ''pro card''.
While family ties have taken her back to Brisbane, Ms Chow said Queenstown would always have a special place in her heart.
''I will miss this place a lot. I will miss everyone here - I didn't stay three and a-half years because I hated it here.''
