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Natascha

Donald

My love for bodybuilding was birthed from pain, abuse and weakness. They call me GiJane and I like to think of myself as the Rose that bloomed from the darkness. I’ve wanted to compete ever since I was 16 years old working out at my gym Powerhouse at the time in Jackson, Mississippi. The gym became my sanctuary a place that I began to call home to escape from the dark world I was
living in that no one knew about at the time.  When I was 14 years old I was raped for a year by someone I considered a friend. I was assaulted by my boyfriend when I was a senior in high school as well. I never told anyone out of fear that no one would believe me. And when I did go to court my senior year the judge gave him 1,000 community service hours and 6 months suspended sentence because he was going to a junior college to play football on a scholarship. It took me going off to college and majoring in Psychology and Gender Studies which gave me a window into the world of healing. I learned through working with Family Crisis and going to counseling that what I went through was not okay and that it was okay to talk to someone and get help. Fast forward to 2012 I got pregnant and became a single mom struggling to finish college at Ole Miss. That summer I moved back home to Jackson to stay with my parents and get help with my baby girl.  I studied from Ole Miss online and was a stay at home mom that fall.  During the winter I took me and my baby girl back to Oxford for class and slept on my line sister’s couch for 3 weeks in order to finish 3 hours.  I went back that summer and lived with a very sweet family that I didn’t know as well as took my baby to class with me in order to finish 6 more hours.  That fall of 2013 I came back to finish my last 6 hours as independent mstudies through Ole Miss.  I graduated with a BA in Psychology in May of 2014.  This is when I reconnected with the gym because I gained 60 lbs through postpartum and depression from being a single mom and trying to finish school.  During this time my Alopecia Areata came back because of all the stress which I was diagnosed with in 2005.  It is an autoimmune disease where your immune system attacks itself and causes hair loss in the form of smooth round patches. So in October of 2013 after working out and trying to rediscover myself I shaved all my hair off and have been bald ever since.  In January of 2014 I committed to competing.  Over the course of 10 months from October 2013 I lost a total of 50 lbs and competed in my first competition The Mississippi in Body Building and received 1st place.  In May of 2015 I switched over to Women’s Physique after falling in love and wanting to go pro and won 2nd Place in the Southern Classic and in July 2015 I was in The Mississippi again this time in
Women’s Physique and received 1st place and Overall.  I then stepped out on faith and traveled to Texas and competed in the Texas State where I placed 2nd. After returning home I felt in my spirit it was the right time to go to Nationals and give the big stage a try. I prayed, meditated and fasted about whether God wanted me to go and how I would get there. He spoke very clear and told me our

work for the year was not done yet and that He had my back money would flow in in an abundance. I started a GoFund me account and got personalized bands saying I support GiJane" and had fundraisers and sure enough God did not fail me. I raised $5,000 that paid for my entire trip. I placed 7th in the Nation that November in Miami, Fl. In 2016 I decided to stop letting others dictate my life and to just follow my heart so I went back to WOMENS Bodybuilding. I vowed to never switch over again but instead to shine a positive light and to bring back the classic feminine look. I traveled to Texas again March 25, 2016 and competed in the City Limits Championship where I placed First Place AND Overall in Women's Bodybuilding which qualified me nationally again and I returned to
Miami last November where I became ranked number 4 in the Nation. I then prepared to compete  July 1st 2017 in Chicago for my Professional Card as a Bodybuilder. I dieted for 14 weeks straight and for 5 weeks my entire life consisted of working out and eating with only 2 hours of sleep. Some days I did anywhere between 4 and 5 hours of cardio which even included swimming. After all of that I won 1st place in Middleweight earning me entrance into the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) and IFBB PRO
status! In 2019 I competed in Chicago again for my pro debut and won BEST POSER! I am a personal trainer and life coach and was head trainer at Quest Fitness Club and Lady Quest and wellness coach for 5 years. In December 2018 I stepped out on faith and opened my own gym called GiJan3 StudioX in Ridgeland, Ms. Now in 2020 me and my husband have just opened a eatery/CBD lounge called MIND BODY & SOUL FOODZ... 2 doors down from my gym in Ridgeland. I was born in Zweibrucken, Germany February 8, 1989 and raised in Jackson, Ms. I graduated from Jim Hill High School in 2007 and The University of Mississippi in May 2014.
I have 1 daughter who is 7 years old. I have a group called “Project Rose" for young ladies 12-21 committed to grooming them, uplifting them and shaping them into future Queens.  My mission is to help young ladies not go through what I did and/or to help them rediscover themselves and take back their strength. I also want to shine a positive light on female Bodybuilding because it saved my life! Every time I get on stage I tell my story and it’s another piece of me healing. I’m a Survivor not a victim but I’ve been victimized.

 

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