This is part-two of my interview with Denise Masino taken at the (2011) Arnold’s Fitness Expo during one of her rare lunch breaks.
What would you consider to be your biggest triumph thus far? I think the major accomplishment would have to be the creation of Muscle Elegance Magazine and seeing how that changed the way people look at women with muscles. I take a lot of satisfaction in that. Of course, on a personal level, it would be the life that bodybuilding has given me. In the early days of the magazine, you published the Muscle Elegance – Denise Masino philosophy. Has the general thrust of that philosophy cahnged over the last several years? I think my views and values expressed in the magazine’s conceptual master plan are essentially the same that I have held all my life. It’s really one woman’s view on how life can be so much more if you explore its possibilities. Some of these being that strong, exceptional women ought to be celebrated and sex is not the enemy. You’ve played your share of sexy vixens. Are people ever disappointed that you’re not an alcohol-swigging party girl in real life? I’ve had many fans tell me they thought I would be different in person, but it’s funny, you portray an image on screen and everybody assumes that is what you’re really like. I’m amazed by this. I’m grateful, though, that these people are surprised and recognize that I’m not like the characters I play. The truth is I’m always busy with the business of running the business! Does it bug you that folks you’ve worked with often label you as “nice” ? Don’t nice girls finish last in business? I think people say that I’m nice because I’m professional and treat people the way people should be treated. I’d rather be labeled nice than difficult to work with, and I’d hate it if I ever became known as a diva. But that doesn’t mean I’m a pushover, either. I have my opinions. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s my ass on your computer screen. You’re the CEO of Image Makers and it’s growing family of internet sites, but are you still supplying day to day input on every aspect of the company? I am intimately involved in the creation of virtually every page of each of our family of sites. The original newsstand edition of our magazine remains the heart and soul of this company, even as we expanded our websites and DVDs to a global level. Speaking of technology, how has the internet expanded your company? I find it a remarkable phenomenon. It is the main reason we decided to move our newsstand edition of the magazine to the World Wide Web and that in itself has expanded our “reach” into a global fan-base. Now we are preparing to launch our VOD (Video-On-Demand) site with all the latest possible user-friendly “bells and whistles” ever seen possible on a site such as this. With the changes you personally are making on your new website, DeniseMasino.com and the decision to show more hard-core images, was this decision to do so a reflection of society’s progression regarding our acceptance of sex? Yes, that is exactly what it is. It is the advances in technology that have changed forever our views of human sexuality. Sexual fantasies used to be the hidden secrets in our lives. Now the hypocrisy that goes along with those hidden secrets is fading. Pandora’s box is open and you cannot put it back. We live in a world in which the human sexual likes and dislikes are no longer a mystery. They are a reality that technology has responded to. Do you think society is allowing sex on the internet to go too far with regards to individual freedoms? I wouldn’t say that there aren’t some examples of excess and exploitation in the media, but that’s the price you pay for freedom. Do you see technology as the future for your business? Yes, without question. How would you like to be remembered? Whew (Big breath). Without a doubt, as somebody who played some part in the way the world looks at female bodybuilding.
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