Rebuilding Her Body and Her Life

After years of showing off her curves in rhinestone-studded bikinis on stage in front of judges and spectators, Cellekque Dorsey continues to attract furtive glances, wide eyes, and whispers in her daily life as a single mother. While she was previously upset by the attention, she now takes it in stride. Dorsey is proud of her body.

“I get more complements from women than men. At first I was insulted,” said Dorsey, a 41-year-old whose delicate eyebrows, shoulder-length straight black hair, and stage-ready smile are immediately overpowered by her bulging, rock-hard arms and chiseled abs. “This look isn’t for everybody. A lot of men want women who look more feminine.”

Dorsey (who pronounces her first name “Sel-leek”) has learned after three years of intense physical training that many people, particularly men, aren’t accepting of women who enter the traditionally male domain of bodybuilding.

At the gym, some men “feel intimidated or insecure. They are jealous that I’m curling more weight and they get mad. I’ve seen men literally get up and walk away,” Dorsey said. “I considered stopping because of the negative responses from men. But I’m full woman. I have to be thick-skinned.”

Despite the dramatic physical transformation of the 5-foot-2.5-inch, 128 pound Dorsey, who curls 15 pounds and has bench pressed up to 185 pounds, she says bodybuilding has never been about trailblazing. At a time when life’s circumstances seemed beyond her control, assuming command over her body was about empowerment. After she got laid off from her accounting job at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills in 2008 and faced the breakdown of her marriage, Dorsey found comfort in bodybuilding.

“I was unemployed for eight months, separated from my husband, and had lost my home,” said Dorsey, a former longtime resident of Granada Hills. “I couldn’t control my life, but I could control my body.”

In her rigorous physical training routine, Dorsey developed a discipline that enabled her to mold her body and ultimately find the strength to regain control over her life.

“I was at my bottom. This was all happening at once,” Dorsey said. “I took all that self-loathing and negative energy and turned it into a positive.”

Dorsey started releasing steam by weightlifting and running four days a week, training at the Chatsworth Bally Total Fitness and the Northridge LA Fitness. She has since increased her routine to two and a half hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings and 40 minutes of running on Saturday mornings.

Outside the gym, Dorsey took charge of her life. She moved into an apartment in Santa Clarita with her now seven-year-old son, Makari, and sought help paying her bills from Community Enhancement Services, a North Hills nonprofit that helps low-income people pay their utilities and buy energy-efficient appliances. Eventually CES hired Dorsey to process clients’ applications.

Dorsey and her husband were unable to salvage their 15-year marriage and are now divorcing, but she believes she’s made the most of a difficult situation.

“We’re still friends,” Dorsey explained. Their amicable relationship has made it possible to juggle a full-time job, caring for their son, and training. Makari splits his time between his parents’ homes. “I couldn’t do what I do without [my husband and mother-in-law’s] support.”

Bodybuilding, initially Dorsey’s coping mechanism, has become a source of pride and accomplishment.

“I was always an athlete, always physical,” said Dorsey, a former high school track runner. “But I wanted to take it to the next level.”

Since 2008, she has participated in four Southern California bodybuilding competitions, placing fifth or sixth in the first three events. But mirroring her perseverance outside the gym, Dorsey swept three categories at the 2011 Memorial Day Muscle Beach International Classic & Armed Forces Championship. Dorsey triumphed over more than 20 women to place first for best overall figure, and among six women to win best novice figure and best female bodybuilder over 35 years old.

“My son is my biggest fan,” Dorsey said.

More recent encouragement from strangers has also been validating.  

“I get lots of compliments. It makes me feel good,” Dorsey said. “I’ve even gotten hit on by lesbians.”

With contest entry fees up to $100, her custom-made bikinis costing $500 to $1,000 each, and no prizes beyond tall trophies, competing is expensive. But Dorsey believes there are invaluable personal, and perhaps financial, rewards for continuing to train and compete as she rebuilds her body and her life. Athletic and fitness companies seek bodybuilding champions to market their products.

“My goal is to get a sponsor. If I could get paid to workout, I would take it in a heartbeat,” Dorsey said. Her next competition is the United Natural Bodybuilding Association Samson & Delilah USA Muscle Classic on Sept. 24 in Hermosa Beach. “You have to invest in yourself. I’ll do this as long as my body allows me to do it.”