“Age is nothing but a number… I feel younger now than I did 30 years ago.”
Ernestine ShepherdErnestine Shepherd had been a long time model in Baltimore but with the growing age when her figure went out of shape she, along with her sister Mildred Blackwell, joined weight lifting and aerobics classes immediately and competed in bodybuilding shows under pseudonym Velvet, and Ernie. In 1992, after the sudden demise of her sister in brain aneurysm, she felt depressed, quit exercising and started suffering from high blood pressure, acid reflux and frequent panic attacks. It was her close friend who initiated and encouraged her to start her career in bodybuilding to show the respect to her late sister. Her fresh start rewarded her not only with medals and bodybuilding titles but with a happy family that consists of her 80 year old loving husband, 53-year-old son, and 14-year-old grandson.
