A law student decided she'd had enough of studying so swapped the library for the gym and now she's training to be a full-time professional bikini bodybuilder.
Mel Wilkinson, 28, was trying to become a barrister but now devotes five days a week to working out for three hours at a time in the gym.
She gave up her course following her first year at Birmingham City University and has since spent thousands on entering amateur competitions across Britain.
Mel will now have the chance to turn professional when she competes at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB) in Portugal this weekend.
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Mel, who is 5ft 1ins and 52kg (8st), is currently consuming under a thousand calories a day and lifting 200kg weights in preparation for shows.
She estimates she has spent around £5,000 pursuing her passion - including £900 on bikinis and thousands on hotels, beauty and hair treatments.
Mel, of St Peter's, Worcester, said: "I wanted to be a barrister and I was training for my law degree and I always thought I was going to do my fitness on the side.
"But I really started to get into fitness at around 17/18 and before I knew it I was living the lifestyle of a bikini bodybuilder.
"Before then I wasn't particularly healthy, I was a typical student going out all the time.
"But I soon realised my true passion lay with fitness and I gave up university to follow that dream and got into bodybuilding and nutrition.
"My diet was never too bad at uni but I went vegetarian and now have a lot of fish and eggs as well as protein shakes and snack bars.
"Some people have said I'm mad for giving up law but I don't care because I really feel this is what makes me the happiest.
"It wasn't until lockdown that I started to train in order to compete and I did a couple of shows during the pandemic.
"Since then I have done another nine across the country and now if I win his competition, I can technically call myself a pro.
"I am very passionate and goal-orientated and I am determined and devoted to making it as a professional.
"I do two hours of cardio a day in the gym five days a week alongside an hour of weight training. But with my job I'm pretty much always in the gym.
"For competitions I tend to bulk up about 10 to 12 kilos and then you diet in the run up to the show so I'm currently consuming under a thousands calories a day.
"When I'm focusing on building muscle I'm eating around 2,000 calories.
"I've done competitions in England, Scotland and Wales and I'm getting sponsorship for my bikinis now, which is great as they are £450 each.
"I worked out I had spent around £5,000 pursuing this so it's an expensive hobby but one I absolutely love doing."
Mel, who also works as a personal trainer and female online coach, says she aims to inspire women to feel strong and confident in their bodies.
She added: "I think female bodybuilding is going to get more popular because more and more girls are working out.
"But people may think it is more glamourous than it is but the glamour is only on the show day.
"It is a male-dominated industry, but I love how many girls are going into it and not caring anymore."
But she said her decision to compete as a bodybuilder didn't go down too well at first and raised concerns among her family.
Mel, who lives with partner Lloyd Tonkin, 27, added: "My family was concerned because it can look like you're just losing weight, but if you're coming from a healthy mindset it's not that.
"Sometimes we have ex eating disorder people who come into it because they realise they have to eat in order to look their best.
"I still consider my diet to be pretty normal but I always like to eat a meal four times a day."
Mel, a former shop worker, believes the profession still had certain stigmas despite the discipline, training, and dedication bodybuilding requires.
She said: "People also think it's just a beauty pageant and it's easy and you just put a bikini on.
"But it is a lot of hard work that goes into it, but people just think it's something anyone can do, but you do have to be passionate about it.
"People just think bodybuilders are just vain because of how glamourous the pageants look, but that's just the show day, it doesn't look like that all the time.
"You need to have thick skin when people are commenting.
"As a female, you can get really caught up in what people are saying about your body.
"I have been upset when people have pointed out extra body fat but I know that being yourself is more than enough."
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