Standing at 5’2”, Victoria Petinos, or ‘Big Vic’ as her friends affectionately call her, has been a high school English teacher for nine years – and a professional bodybuilder for the past four.
Above her desk at Kogarah High School, English teacher and professional bodybuilder, Victoria Petinos, 33, has a pinup of American bodybuilder Kai Greene. The poster was a gift from a former colleague who pasted his own face over Kai’s in tribute to Victoria who inspired him to take up the gym.
Victoria has a Pro card for the International Federation of Body Building (IFBB) elite but has never competed as a Pro. She recently achieved third overall placing at the IFBB Grand Prix Pro Qualifier.
“Bodybuilding has definitely shaped me as an educator, as it cultivates an extreme of discipline and it allows me to demand the most of myself and my students. I am all about setting high expectations, and I would not have realised the depth of my potential in teaching without the bodybuilding stage,” Victoria says.
“I always loved reading as a child, especially the Greek myths that are the basis of Western literature and my own Greek culture. It didn’t hurt that the athletes they painted on the ancient pottery I admired were the first bodybuilders!,” she laughs.
As a 12-year-old, Victoria looked up to an uncle who was a successful bodybuilder. She would visit his gym and be in awe of the glossy posters of extraordinary physiques that adorned the walls.
“As a skinny Greek girl, I wanted to have a body like them. The lights, the posing and the music, all attracted me into that world,” she says.
Combining her passion for performance and teaching means Victoria is in the ideal position to guide high school students in a haze of hormones to accept their unique bodies, all the while discovering the possibilities of their minds.
The Women in Sport organisation reveals that 43 per cent of all girls discontinue sport post primary school due to body confidence issues.
“What a shame that is, selling your potential short,” Victoria says, adding that she makes a point of modelling healthy eating, particularly to girls, in her breaks.
The prejudice she sometimes faced as a female bodybuilder comes up in class discussion of gender injustice.
“Very few females compete to my level in the sport because of the 30-plus hours per week commitment training requires. I have personally experienced backlash from my own family and friends when I was preparing for my first show when I was 24. I was ridiculed, however, it only took Itzel Chavez, a six-time IFBB champion and mentor, to whom I owe my last seven years of competition success, for me to keep going,” she says.
As a bodybuilding ‘stage mum’ (she looks after a team), Victoria relates the family atmosphere of her gym to a school community.
“I aim to establish a similar family culture in my classroom, in that every victory and defeat is not individual, but one that we all face together. It takes most students by surprise initially, but the sense of belonging and camaraderie in my classes is something we celebrate, and we are only as good as the team of people behind the scenes.”
Victoria teaches with the philosophy that no two physiques are the same, as are the ways in which they respond to training.
“Always consistency over perfection,” she reiterates to students. “Just like daily gym sessions, it is better to try over and over to master a skill rather than expecting instant perfection.”
She remembers a particularly challenging predominantly male Year 8 literacy class in Campbelltown who took a strong interest in her work to compete on stage.
“I began to introduce goal setting and progressively adding skills as they were meeting learning objectives. Because of our shared interest in the gym, they were motivated to achieve more academically and took risks in their learning as opposed to work-avoiding behaviours. Assessment submission was 90 per cent; the first time many students had ever submitted a task. I have seen some of them competing at my own bodybuilding shows which is very surreal,” she says.
Victoria also overturns the stereotype that social media is a narcissistic obsession for her students by using it personally as a tool of empowerment and as a gauge of progress.
“I post before and after pics to motivate myself, and as athletes, we also have to be honest with ourselves and the work we put in. The process of reflection is the metaphor of the mirror as a tool for growth rather than punishment.”
She coaches students to look beyond the external validation of marks.
“A medal is just a bonus and frankly has never brought me lasting happiness. I explain to them the paradox of ‘pushing to failure’ in the gym. You do as many reps until your muscles fail and this grows the muscle, just as you need to grow the insulating myelin around your brain nerves to think faster,” she says.
By repeatedly using the analogy of bodybuilding in the classroom, Victoria encourages students to stay consistent to their goals.
“In my sport, if you cheat on your diet, your step count or your workouts, you are only cheating yourself and your family who all sacrifice their time, energy and money for you to live this dream on stage,” she says.
“As a full-time teacher, I don’t have the luxury of time that younger bodybuilders have – I’m up at 3am in the gym where I work out for three hours and in my classroom by 7.30am. Every minute counts and I food prep for the week on Sundays. I share my time hacks with students which allows me to show them that with organisation, the impossible can be done.”
Victoria, who is also Year 7 Coordinator at Kogarah High School, leans out the window and points at the students milling in the playground below.
“Right now, in my classes, I am the support person for that kid down there who doesn’t believe in themselves,” she says.
As she writes the learning intention on the board, she explains how bodybuilding is a long game sport, as is teaching.
“The evolution of the sport continues to grow, with improved science and coaching methods, just as education is moving into the AI space and we need to be ready.”
As the powerful links between body and mind are revealed through science, the more that hybrid teachers like Victoria can bring their personal passion into the classroom. This can ignite the desire for young people to use the skills from sport to enhance study.
As ‘The Eye of the Tiger’ plays as the bell song at Kogarah High School, Victoria lets her students flood into her classroom.
“No two bodies are the same just as no two brains are the same, but we can all take a better package to our next show.”
This article was written by freelance writer and English teacher Philipa Tlaskal.
