Zuzana Light:
Fitness and porn have always had some overlap, after all one could say that both
are in the skin profession but the two were fused a couple of years ago with the
arrival of Bodyrock.tv and its controversial star Zuzana. Bodyrock.tv is an
exceptional fitness site with killer workouts and healthy recipes - all for
free! - but they've gotten the most attention for the way they've packaged
their, ahem, goods.
Zuzana, an incredibly fit and gorgeous Czech woman, is filmed and photographed
by her boyfriend Freddy whilst performing a variety of different exercises and
cooking demonstrations. The filmography and techniques, however, are definitely
not what you remember from your Jane Fonda VHS days. Sure we all snickered as
Jane and Co. tightened their buns while pelvic thrusting or when Suzanne Sommers
made the crotch shot a late night staple with her Thighmaster infomercials but
Bodyrock.tv takes it to a whole new level. Videos often start with a shot of
Zuzana's ample cleavage on display and then zoom out to show the food. Workout
moves are illustrated by pictures of her wearing a sports bra half on/half off
and a miniskirt.
I'll admit to a love-hate with the site. As a woman in the fitness industry, it
bothered me that sex was the main selling point and a mostly unclothed female
body was the main advertisement. I prefer to tout exercise as a way to better
physical, mental and spiritual health. Bor-RING, I know. But women's bodies can
do a variety of amazing feats and the sexual ones have been pretty well covered,
I think.
Zuzana is no mere sex toy bopping around the studio in legwarmers, though - girl
gets crazy sweaty and has sculpted muscles that are the envy of any fitness
competitor. She is serious about her workouts and her health. She works really
hard and has earned all her accolades. I have to respect that.
The controversy in this whole thing enters the discussion the first time you
google Zuzana. There's a reason she knows how to drape herself so seductively
over a chair: she worked for years as an erotic model. Something, she says now
in an interview with a German fitness magazine, she really regrets. The
interview includes an honest, raw look at the porn industry machine that chews
up and spits out so many Eastern European girls, just like Zuzana. She explains,
" It is a trap that a lot of young girls in eastern Europe fall into and I feel
very lucky to have survived the experience, because many girls don't. When you
see these girls in the pictures smiling almost like they are happy having their
clothes off and being exposed like this - it is the biggest lie of all. I have
never met a single girl who was happy to be doing that job. Contrary to popular
belief these girls don't make a lot money doing this and they end up broken
inside and left with no self-confidence or feelings of self worth. Many of them
turn to drugs and alcohol to help numb the pain."
Even worse, Zuzana adds, is that the system is set up that way on purpose.
"The only people who benefit from the wreckage of all these lives are the
photographers and the multinational corporations like visa and mastercard who
pocket money every time images of one of these girls is sold online."
After breaking free of the industry that she says almost killed her, she has
overcome her past feelings of guilt, despair and shame - common to all victims
of sex crimes - to create a life " full of love and happiness." She'd adds, " I
have a dream about doing something to help stop the cycle of exploitation that
feeds on these young girls and destroys their lives."
While I don't plan on filming my next exercise movie in a tiny tube top or
storing my interval timer in my cleavage a la Zuzana (how does it not get ruined
from the sweat? Am I the only girl with seriously sweaty cleavage??) her message
of strength, resilience and living life on her own terms is one I can definitely
get behind. No more waffling for me: I love her. I hope she accomplishes her
dream.
Fitness video: BODYROCK.tv (2009)
A girl like Zuzana makes us ask the important questions in life, like: Can a
woman be too ripped? The answer is yes, of course, they can. Once you cross that
line, there's no going back. Zuzana lives on this line.
Even though she's straight granite and has the arms of a UFC fighter, there is
something about Zuzana's athletic determination and accent that makes us dig
this chick. (We're also sexual deviants, so that probably plays a part in it
somewhere.)
